Aanayoottu held at Vadakkunnathan temple

THRISSUR: The annual ‘Aanayoottu’ (feeding of elephants) held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple here on Sunday witnessed 44 elephants being sumptuously fed as part of the ritual.Ashtadravya Mahaganapati Homam was also held on the occasion.The pachyderms were fed parched rice, ghee, coconut, pineapple and sugarcane.T R Hariharan, the convenor of the elephant feast, said 10,008 coconuts and 500 kg of rice were used to feed the elephants.Paramekkavu Padmanabhan and Kuttamkulangara Arjunan were the main elephants at the ritualistic ceremony.Chief priest Kottampilly Narayanan Namboothiri inaugurated the festival by feeding Chettuva Kannan, the youngest elephant.Puliyannur Sankara Narayanan Namboothiri led the Mahaganapati pooja.Around 70 elephants were expected to take part in the ceremonial feast but only 44 participated.A team of seven veterinary experts, headed by K C Panicker, was present to supervise the animals.Around 230 police personnel were deployed to ensure security during the festival.