Celebrity-spotting at Mangalamkunnu

Last Sunday I drove from Palakkad to Mangalore with my family. Started at 7 and reached Mangalore at 5:30. Had some breaks in between: for breakfast at Olavakkode (Crown Restaurant), for lunch (at Thalassery - a biggish hotel on the left opposite the City Centre mall) and for tea at Vidya Nagar, a couple of kilometres before Kasargod. Then there was an unscheduled stop at Mangalamkunnu for some elephant-spotting.

I absolutely love these kind of breaks - long drives with family. The destination should be far away, and the roads should be good, and the weather and environs should be inspiring. This day was bright and sunny (monsoon hadn't quite caught up - thankfully. It was 1st June, and I had expected torrential rains the whole day). I had trouble deciding whether to take the Mannarkkad route or the Kongad-Kadambazhippuram route to Perintalmanna. I love the Mannarkkad route because of its proximity to western ghats (and the magnificent views) and the better road conditions on offer. The Kongad route is shorter but roads are not as good. However I decided on the latter.

We were having a very pleasant and relaxed drive on this route when, just before the Mangalamkunnu junction, we suddenly saw some elphants lazing out in a plot on the left side. There were about five or six of them, all tuskers. Realizing suddenly that this was Mangalamkunnu, home to some of the better known elephants in Kerala, I stopped the car.

There were a couple of mahouts sitting near one of the big animals. One of them introduced their elephant as Ramachandran (prefix Mangalamkunnu to get the official name - Mangalamkunnu Ramachandran). Then he gave names of the others present - Aravindan, Vijayan etc. Well I was impatient by then - where are the stars, Karnan, Ayyappan and Ganapathi? To my relief he said the big 3 are also present in town, I just had to go till the junction to see them.
I proceeded, and was rewarded. Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan and Ganapathi were tied in a plot where the owners were constructing a big house. When I asked about Karnan, I was told that he was in musth (madappadu/neeru) and so tied a little away in another plot. I was introduced to Karnan's randaam paappaan (second mahout) who took me to Karnan. He was in neeru so I just watched him from a distance.

Karnan - "Na sar jhuka hai kabhi, aur na jhukaenge kabhi.."

Look at his edaneelam (body length)

Karnan, best known for his 'nilavu' (thalayeduppu - the head that's held high) stood with its head high as usual, and he seemed very peaceful though in his musth. Karnan's thalayedupu has won him prizes in many contests, and he is one of the few who can compete with the likes of Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran, currently the tallest bloke in Kerala at 10' 3"(after Kandampully Balanarayanan's passing away - Balanarayanan was 10' 8" but wasn't great in Gajalakshanams). Karnan is about 43 years old.

Ayyappan, like Karnan, is a Bihari. He was the first elephant bought by the Mangalamkunnu brothers, Parameswaran and Haridas. And he is a beautiful elephant with great features. He looked in a playful mood, but the people nearby cautioned me to not walk near him - he could pelt stones (or anything that's avaiable) at you! That seemed to be a favourite trick with him. I was told that he hit targets quite regularly too. So I took a circuitous route around him to go and see Ganapathi, the gentle veteran.

Ayyappan

Ayyappan - isn't he handsome!

Mangalamkunnu Ganapathi is a nadan elephant (local elephant - captured from the Kerala/TN/Mysore forests) unlike the other two. And he has good features and is a very well-behaved elephant. One among the best nadan elephants around in terms of gajalakshanams, he is as old as the venerable Guruvayur Padmanabhan - 68 years old. Some of the other great nadan elephants are Padmanabhan himself (who is the reigning King and is considered a worthy successor to Guruvayur Kesavan), Pampadi Rajan (the tallest nadan guy around, at 9' 11". Young, tall, dark and handsome), Thiruvambadi Sivasundar(most expensive elephant on record - bought for 28 lakhs - he carries Thiruvambadi's thidambu at Thrisstur Pooram), Kuttankulangara Ramadas (who has one of the best pair of tusks) etc.. I am no expert in this subject, so pardon me for any mistakes or missed names.

Mangalamkunnu Ganapathi - a true veteran

Karnan's randaam paappan

I couldn't spend more time there, as we had to reach Mangalore by evening. So we continued our journey - I made a mental note to try and visit more places where I can get up close with other celebrity elephants of Kerala.