Thiruvananthapuram: A heady diet of grandmother's tales during childhood in which crows and elephants and frogs speak and behave like humans seems to have rewired a Malayali's brain. This assumption of human traits in animals, an inclination called anthropomorphism, increases a man's capability to love animals. But the Malayali has taken it to absurd levels. What is good for him, he believes is good for the jungle world too.
Or else what could explain 'sukhachikitsa' for elephants, a rejuvenation therapy held in the Karkidakam month during which tired wounded and overworked elephants are given all that a human craves: rice, sugar, ghee, jaggery, chicken, mutton, and even 'chyavanaprasam' the Ayurveda's magic potion that supposedly improves immunity in humans. And, of course, 10-15 days of doing absolutely nothing.
The collector of Thrissur, the country's most elephant-crazed strip of real estate, has now asked the Veterinary University to scientifically assess 'sukhachikitsa,' how it affects elephants, and whether, as the name suggests, it gave some relief to the beasts. Collector T V Anupama took the decision on July 13, during the district-level Captive Elephant Monitoring Committee Meeting held in the district.
It was Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) secretary M N Jayachandran who raised the issue. When the Forest Department representative at the meeting informed that 'sukhachikitsa' had begun in Guruvayur, Jayachandran wanted to know whether a scientific study had been done on the benefits of the annual ritual.
His argument was that during the rejuvenation programme jumbo mouths are stuffed with ingredients that humans love to devour. Elephants, like cattle, are natural grass eaters; ghee and chicken are not their cup of tea. (Meat, it has to be noted, is served only in private 'sukhachikitsa' camps. In the camps of devaswom baords, it is strictly vegetarian but rich in fat, making it seem as if the elephants are served a Brahmin meal.) A former Guruvayur Devaswom veterinarian, on the condition of anonymity, said elephants at a 'sukhachikitsa' camp are also fed chemicals in the form of allopathic medical supplements like maltvirons.
Even the idea of rest, the 'sukha' of 'sukhachikitsa,' is something an elephant does not enjoy. It is a human desire foisted on the beast. Elephants love to walk long distances, at their own pace. In between they rest. They are vagabonds by instinct. "But to deny them rest during festivals and then to force them to rest for 10-15 days reflects our collective ignorance about elephants," the veterinarian said.
Jayachandran said that a study conducted in Europe after the outbreak of the fatal neurodegenerative 'mad cow' disease had revealed that it was the presence of bone powder, used as a calcium supplement, in cattle feed that had caused the disease in cattle. "I told the meeting that it was high time we knew how the 'sukhachikitsa' was affecting the brain and internal organs of the elephants," Jayachandran said.
According to K Venkitachalam, who runs the state's most active elephant NGO Heritage Animal Task Force, said that most captive elephants that had taken the rejuvenation therapy had died in their early forties. He cites the tragic death of Thiruvambady Shivasundar as example. "This elephant had been part of many such 'sukhachikitsa' camps but he developed such a grave form of impaction (a form of indigestion) that he could not stand, or even open its mouth to take a grain of cereal, for two months before it eventually died," Venkitachalam said. A post-mortem conducted on the elephant's body revealed a big solid mass of constipated excreta as big as a sack of grain.
The former Guruvayur veterinarian said that he had not found any postive change in an elephant post therapy. "Natural diet, proper rest and exercise is the best form of elephant rejuvenation," he said and asked: "why is it that we find 'irandakettu' (impaction) only in captive elephants and not in the wild."
