Elephant, the majestic animals are an integral part of the daily life of Keralites. The deep forests in Kerala are the natural habitats of Asian elephants. Elephants are believed to be intelligent animals with a tremendous capacity for understanding and remembering commands taught to them.

Keralites have always been fascinated by these animals and they call this 'Anakambam' No festivals here are complete without an elephant procession. 'Pooram' the world famous festival of Thrissur, Kerala is also known as the 'festival of elephants'.

Punnathoorkotta , an elephant sanctuary in the temple town of Guruvayoor, under Guruvayoor Devaswom boasts of the maximum number of domesticated elephants and has around 40 of them. They get most of the elephants from a ritual called 'Nadayiruthal'.

"Nadayiruthal" - offering an elephant to the deity is a very common practice in Kerala. The ritual includes making a male elephant (Tusker) to sit on a white cloth and woolen blanket, together called 'Vellayum karimpadavum', in front of the idol for the priest to perform certain rituals. After all these rituals the elephant will be the property of the deity there. The elephant wears a tag around its neck, which contains its name and the name of the temple it belongs to. The elephant is dedicated to the service of the deity of that temple and carries the 'Thidampu', the idol of the deity, on all auspicious occasions.