Irinjadappilly Raman is being installed in a temple in Thrissur

Sree Krishna Temple, Irinjadappilly, a small temple near Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district, is going to create history in the festival culture of the State.

Irinjadappilly Raman, an elephant, is all set to be brought before the lord at Sree Krishna Temple near Irinjalakuda for Nadayiruthal ceremony- a ritual where elephants are offered before the gods in temples on February 26. But Raman is not like the other elephants familiar to the elephant-crazy Thrissur. He neither needs a mahout to control him nor any food. It is an 11 feet tall and weighs 800 kg robotic elephant that can move its head, trunk, ears, and eyes. The metal behemoth can move its ears and tail, spewing water, and also carry people on its back.

The robot elephant, which was contributed by a group of devotees of the temple, operates on five motors. It was manufactured by four sculptors namely Prashanth, Santo, Jinesh and Robin, natives of Chalakudy.

“The elephant has been designed in such a way that the mahout can control the movement of the trunk. It can also spray water through its trunk,” said Prashanth.

At a time, when long hours of parading in the scorching sun, torture, health issues, and unscientific management take a toll on captive elephants, animal rights activists are extending a hearty welcome to Irinjadappilly Raman.

It’s Irinjadappilly Raman, a life-sized mechanical elephant! #ElephantRobotRaman pic.twitter.com/AU31bG5ryg

— PETA India (@PetaIndia) February 26, 2023

PETA has sponsored the robotic elephant. PETA, which has raised its voice against the ill-treatment of captive elephants, has been trying to create a practice of parading motif elephants for some time.

Robotic elephants can serve as a suitable alternative and also save the animals from being harmed.

Khushboo Gupta, Director of the Advocacy Project, PETA says, Elephants are wild animals. Captive elephants are stripped of everything they have naturally. Robotic elephants are a perfect solution for replacing real elephants. The real elephants should be sent back to sanctuaries.

“More and more temples are ready to adopt such elephants. This electronic elephant costs only ₹5 lacks. PETA is ready to support them to procure them,” she says.

However, a group of festival organisers and the Thrissur-based Poora Premi Sangam are not happy with the robotic elephant. They claim that elephant parading is the most attractive part of festivals and that robotic elephants will spoil the charm of festivals. They also alleged efforts to spoil the cultural heritage of festivals.

Rajkumar Namboodiri, a member of Irinjadappilly Mana, who manages the temple, says that tantric texts, which are the base of temple rituals, do not insist on the use of elephants for temple rituals.

Mr. Namboodiri says many temples have shown interest in parading the robotic elephant. Many spiritual leaders are participating in the function of offering the elephant on February 26.

V.K. Venkitachalam, secretary of the Heritage Animal Task Force, says the task force is trying to get more robotic elephants. “ We are planning to get 50 more robotic elephants in the coming years with the support of PETA.”