The gruesome death of G Gajendran (45), the mahout of Arulmigu Samayapuram Mariamman Temple near Tiruchirapalli on Friday by the temple elephant Masini inside the temple premises has brought back debates about the advisability of using pachyderms in temple festivals.
It is a tragic irony that Gajendran (which means King of Elephants or the Elephant King) was trampled to death by his own ward Masini right in front of the presiding deity of the temple . Ten-year-old Masini has a VIP tag attached to her because she was donated to the temple by none other than Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister who herself was a wildlife aficionado.
Devotees who saw the gruesome act from close quarters ran helter-skelter as the VIP elephant kept on kicking Gajendran’s body after trampling him many times.