Kozikode, 16th January, 2023: Elephants in Kerala, Cultural and Ecological Encounters – the topic is of widespread interest to elephant lovers and those interested in history and culture.

This session was a part of Gajotsavam, initiated by Wildlife Trust of India that is a knowledge partner in the Kerala Litfest and the Whitley Fund for Nature. Gajotsavam is conceptualized as a multidisciplinary celebration of India’s National Heritage Animal, the Asian Elephants in God’s own country, Kerala and comes to Kozikode from a month long celebration titled Aa Aana in Kochi integrating art, policy, media and conservation solutions using technology.

Vivek Menon delivering his talk at Kerala Literature Festival 2023 | Photograph by Sreenanth K/WTI

Speaking of elephants in Kerala, Paul Zacharia said, “It is quite unfortunate to see that people are still using elephants for heavy weight jobs. There was a time when man used elephants to lift heavy logs, pull down heavy trees, etc. But with the advent of modern machinery, man is able to accomplish heavy tasks with the help of machines. Yet people use elephants to do this work, and that’s quite a depressing sight, he added.

Vivek Menon shared his experiences from the field. Emphasizing four terms he uses to describe an elephant- Big, Social, Intelligent and Nomadic he shared that It has become a major challenge to provide space for species like elephants to move in the ecosystem. In his talk, Vivek explained the relevance of elephants in Kerala’s Culture and literature.

The talk also touched on the relevance and importance of elephant in malayalam literature, cinema, etc. He also pointed out that the way captive elephants are treated is wrong. “The animal needs to eat a lot of things. Its diet includes wide variates of shoots and fruits , but in Kerala elephants are provided with heavy fibrous diet. And this is creating digestive issues in elephants.” He said.

Members of audience at Kerala Literature Festival including Mr. Paul Zacharia and M Mukundan | Photograph by Sreenanth K/WTI

He also said that nomadic elephants have fixed routes as their migratory paths. Electric fences are usually one of the measure implemented by local community, FD and plantation owners to avoid elephants. In such scenarios, the conflict increases.

Other celebrated guests at the event included Mr. M Mukundhan, an eminent author of Malayalam Literature. In recognition for his contributions to the world of literature he was awarded with Vayalar Award, kerala Sahithya Academy Award, Sahithya Academy Award, etc. Gajotsavam brought together some key thinkers and decision makers of Kerala over the past month and its organizer WTI hopes to continue to engage with people in Kerala to develop a community of collaborators and supporters to arrive at solutions to facilitate Right of Passage to elephants in Kerala.

Gajotsavam is supported by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a nature conservation charity that provides funding, training and recognition to support conservation leaders in developing nations.