Pallattu Brahmadathan, Kerala’s famous and gigantic temple elephant, who had walked at the heart of Kerala’s festival life for more than two decades was laid to rest near the Pallattu tharavadu near Pala, with funeral rites performed just as they would be for a member of a Hindu family. He was 46.
Brahmadathan was killed by lightning on Sunday evening. He had been tethered near the house of his owner, Advocate Rajesh Pallattu, president of the Kerala Festival Coordination Committee.
A veterinarian who reached the spot confirmed his death. The post-mortem was completed on Monday before the funeral. Ever since the news broke the entire village rushed to the spot and visuals reveal men women and children all wailing inconsolably Since Sunday night, a long line of mourners had been winding its way to the family home. Many had travelled from neighbouring districts. He was in his post-musth rest, a period of quiet recovery that had kept him off the festival circuit for weeks. His first owners were from Puthuppally, and for years he was known as Puthuppally Brahmadathan. The tusker reached out to the body, then lifted his trunk high and held it there. The video moved people far beyond Kerala.
Heavy rain swept the area around 6 pm, and the bolt hit the shed where he stood. His journey began around 1999, when he was brought from the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, where he had worked hauling timber. He took the Pallattu name about 16 years ago, when Rajesh Pallattu’s family took him in. When Damodaran Nair died in June 2021, his family brought Brahmadathan to see him one last time.
Some carried flowers, some wept openly, and many simply stood in silence before the still form of the elephant they had watched at festival after festival.
