KERALA'S ELEPHANT MELAS ARE SPECTACULAR EVENTS, AND FEATURE THESE MAGNIFICENT CREA THEIR RESPLENDENT GLORY

In india, fairs and festivals area joyful series of events, marking the rites of passage between birth, death and renewal. There are possibly more festivals in India than there are days in the year, which is not unlikely in a country where small, local, village rituals of worship and propitiation are celebrated with as much fervour as are important holy days across
the country that draw millions of people.
In Kerala, you can see festivals which follow the ancient tradition of celebrating, which goes back to the Vedic times of the Aryans. The Vedic scriptures and literature have many references to festivals, when celebrations were carried on to honour gods, rivers, trees, mountains, the coming of monsoons, the end of winter, or the first flush of spring. The celebrations included not only fasting and prayers, but equally, events of social and cultural significance. Performances of music, dance and drama took place side by side with more rugged physical activities: displays of valour and virility through chariot and boat races or wrestling matches and animal fights, in which rams, wild bulls, elephants, oxen, horses and even rhinos took part. Then, as now, feasting and merry-making was an integral part of the festivities.
When it comes to religious festivity, Kerala's gala events are a visual treat, more so its Gajamela or elephant pageant, which is celebrated every year, between the months February-March. The term is self-explanatorygaja, denoting elephant in Sanskrit, and mela, meaning fair. The elephant is the most well-loved festivity without elephants seems wanting. The gentle giant is animal in South India and more so in Kerala. Any temple or religious greatly revered and is accorded the privilege of escorting numerous gods and goddesses during the religious processions and parades. In the recent past, many well-to-do families in Kerala owned elephants, which were considered a member of the household.
Kerala's elephant processions are spectacular events, the 'pooram' and 'vela' festivals (a series of events, comprising changing of parasols, fireworks, etc) feature these majestic tuskers in all their resplendent glory. Colourfully decked elephants—numbering 15100 or more—line up on the temple premises, with mahouts atop them, holding high-tinselled silk parasols (muthukuda) and swaying white tufts (venchamaram) and peacock feather fans (aalavattom) to the rhythm of the temple orchestra.
This is how the Gajamela is celebrated in Parippally, a village in Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the boundary of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. Parippally is part of the Kalluvathukkal Panchayath. At the Kodimoottil Sree Bhadrakaali Temple, in Parippally, the Gajamela is celebrated with great fanfare. The ten-day festival has many attractive events like the Thalappoli—a procession of women in traditional attire, holding lighted lamps in decorated platters, and Kuthiyottam—a ritual which takes place on the ninth day of the festival. The imposing Gajamela, or elephant pageant, comprising about 100 gorgeously turned out elephants, is held as a culminating event. Traditional percussionists accompany the tuskers as they proceed on a grand procession which takes place on the tenth day of the annual festivities at the temple.
An elephant pageant is usually accompanied by the panchavadyam (the traditional, five-instrument musical ensemble), which works in up to a frenzy as the kudamattam ritual (the synchronised changing of the parasols atop the tuskers) gathers speed. A unique practice observed during these festivities is the ritual offering of elephants to deities as nercha, or offering. It is a popular belief that an offering of elephants satisfies the deity and grants all the wishes of the devotees. The festival is punctuated by cultural programmes.
Nearest railway station: Kollam junction, about 23 km away. Nearest airport: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, located about 54 km from the shrine.