For the fifth version of the Dubai Pooram on the Etisalat Academy Ground in Dubai on December 2, 2024, 4 elephants had been paraded in all their festive regalia. Gently swaying, shaking their heads, flapping their ears and swishing their tails, these jumbos had been a sight to observe. One factor, although, these mechanical elephants had been made by two Kerala-based corporations.
Parading elephants in spiritual processions is a matter of pleasure for organisers and individuals in Kerala. These parades are normally eventless, however of late, assaults by captive elephants, (particularly in the primary two months of 2025), have induced 5 deaths in Kerala. Despite protests, elephants are getting used in such excessive stress occasions, which have noise of fireworks and loudspeakers, milling crowds of individuals and the mistreatment, which regularly set off these assaults.
Workers engaged in making of mechanical elephants at Four He Arts Creations in Chalakudy.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
A number of temples in Kerala have voluntarily moved to mechanical elephants presumably as a result of guidelines for parading an elephant in a temple have develop into strict because of the assaults.
Chalakudy-based Four He Arts Creations is without doubt one of the first corporations in Kerala to make these mechanical elephants. The three elephants on the Dubai Pooram had been made by them.
The 4 childhood pals — Prashant Prakasan, Santo Jose, Jinesh KM and Robin MR — made their first elephant, Kuttappayi, round 15 years in the past. Built over six months, Kuttappayi was six-and-a-half ft tall. By the time Kuttappayi, along with his bobbing head and swaying trunk, a swinging tail and flapping ears was prepared, it was Santo’s sister’s wedding ceremony. Just for a lark, the chums determined to put Kuttappayi on a stage on the venue.
“He became the main attraction of the wedding! People then wanted to rent Kuttappayi for their functions, exhibitions, shop inaugurations etc in and around Chalakudy,” says Prashant. After that the 4 pals made motorised dinosaurs, The Jungle Book and The Hulk-themed sculptures, which they do even right this moment.
Workers engaged in making of machanical elephants at Four He Arts Creations in Chalakudy.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
Cut to the current. The rudimentary Kuttappayi is a factor of the previous. The pals have graduated to making mechanical elephants to be paraded in temples, be placed on present at resorts and different industrial locations. So far they’ve made 46-odd elephants, not just for shoppers in India, but additionally Dubai, Singapore, Kenya and the United States. Four of their jumbos are a part of a circus in Spain. Not solely are these cruelty-free, they are low upkeep and could be rented out.
Donated by PETA
Prashant and his pals had been lately in the information as People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), in affiliation with sitarist Anoushka Shankar, donated the mechanical elephant Kombara Kannan made by Four He Arts Creations, to the Kombara Sreekrishna Swami temple close to Irinjalakuda, in Thrissur.
Prasant Prakasan, Santo Jose, Jinesh KM and Robin MR with Kombara Kannan
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
So far they’ve made three elephants for PETA, which the organisation has donated to temples in Kerala.
From the street, the semi open-air manufacturing unit seems to be small. But a peek inside reveals an area giant sufficient for a number of ‘elephants’.
A ‘mould’ is being readied, whereas a technician works on the top of an elephant. Its trunk is a collection of metallic items being positive tuned to present it flexibility and a few different staff are portray particulars on a headless ‘elephant’. “There are no ready elephants right now. So far we have made elephants for six-odd temples in Kerala itself!” When they began it was simply the 4 of them, now they’ve greater than a dozen staff.
Apart from Four He Art, Anamaker aka Sooraj Nambiatt, in North Paravur, 34 kilometres from Kochi, has additionally been making mechanical elephants. The day we meet, Sooraj is overseeing work on a ten foot mechanical jumbo for a temple in Kottayam. Although he had been making sculptures of well-liked captive elephants since 2007, Sooraj’s foray into robotic jumbos is as current as final yr. He has made two elephants for PETA.
A employee places collectively materials that may go on to develop into a bit of the top of a mechanical elephant
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
At Sooraj’s studio, the 10-footer headed for Kottayam, is preparing.
The utsavam season is a busy time for these elephant makers.
Robotic elephants
While Prashant and pals make mechanical elephants with out venturing into likenesses of captive elephants, Sooraj, a put up graduate in Fine Arts from RLV College, Tripunithura, makes elephants in the likeness of captive elephants if the purchasers so demand. “Customers ask for the face of say Pampady Rajan, elephants have distinct characteristics which people want for these. But of course you can’t call these elephant by the name of a living one. We improvise… so we have Robotic Raman,” says Sooraj.
In 2024, this elephant was the fourth mechanical elephant on the Dubai Pooram, and he was fondly known as Dubai Raman. He made a mechanical duplicate of an elephant which lately died, Arjuna, for a temple in Mysuru.
Prashant says,“We make generic elephants because people are superstitious about making sculptures of things/people who are still living.”
Four He Arts Creations obtained its first order for the Dubai Pooram in 2018 due to a video of Kuttappayi the organisers noticed on-line.
Although the Dubai Pooram order for 3 elephants was positioned in 2018-19, the elephants had been finally prepared in December 2020. The three elephants had been paraded on the Pooram that yr. The Dubai Pooram is the Dubai-version of the famed Thrissur Pooram.
“These electricity-powered elephants are made of fibre and are usually shipped internationally in containers. The elephant is ‘cut’ into four segments — the head, the body, front legs and hind legs. They are then assembled at the destination. For instance, we went to Dubai for the purpose, but could not go to either Tampa in the US or to Spain because we did not get our visas in time,” says Prashant. He did nevertheless go to Kenya to do a research on an African elephant for one they are making for a temple there.
Sooraj Nambiatt of Aanamaker with one in all his elephant sculptures
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
While the eight foot elephants weigh beneath 300 kilograms, the 10-footers weigh beneath 500 kilograms. The costs for these vary from ₹3.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh (at Four He Arts Creations and Anamaker). The charges are fastened relying on the motion of physique components — the top, the eyes, flapping of ears, the trunk (swaying/spraying water), tail, and limbs — these could be customised. A motorised elephant with all options is the most costly. The detailing on the elephants, proper right down to the eyelashes and hair on the tail is beautiful. These can bear the burden of as much as 4 folks sitting on them. These are mounted on wheelbases for ease of motion.
Kombara Kannan’s journey about to begin from the workshop to Kombara Sreekrishna Swami temple
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
“We can even build one entirely of rubber, but that would cost around ₹7 lakh. It would feel very natural!” says Santo.
Making a jumbo
Made of fibre, mesh, rubber, foam and metallic, it may possibly take anyplace from a month to 45 days to construct a motor-powered jumbo. Work first begins with making an elephant-shaped body of metal sq. pipes and iron rods which is then coated with cement over which the fibre is poured and set. Once it units, the mould is damaged, the markings made on the physique, smoothed and completed with the top being connected.
“Since these elephants were not manufactured here, we have had to experiment with materials and processes. Most of what we use is now locally sourced except the electrical/mechanical components which are bought online,” says Santo. Even now they proceed to experiment with materials. While the physique is made from fibre, the ears are made from ‘rubber fabric’ that resembles a cover. While Santo and Jinesh work at Apollo Tyres, Chalakudy, Prashant and Robin work full time at Four He Arts Creations.
A mechanical elephant losing for the ending touches
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
Captive elephants in Kerala have a devoted fan following. Elephant lovers or anapremis are a power to reckon with in terms of the recognition of the elephants paraded in temples. Some of the favored ‘stars’ have run amok and attacked folks throughout these festivals. Mechanical elephants are seen as diluting custom; the makers have been getting a backlash. “We are not forcing temples to buy elephants from us. They are coming to us for these,” says Prashant. Interestingly Prashant and Sooraj have prospects from exterior Kerala, particularly North India.
The Kombara temple has not used a reside elephant for its temple procession since 2015 because of the price and the struggling of captive elephants. Ravi Namboothiri, the temple president, says of accepting the mechanical elephant, “In honour of our decision to never hire or own an elephant for our rituals and festivals, we are absolutely thrilled to accept a mechanical elephant [from PETA]. All of God’s creations deserve love and respect!”
Sooraj says, “Maybe it is time we moved on to mechanical elephants. The treatment meted out to them is not the best. Elephants may have plenty of fans, but they are not treated like pets. They might be fed on time and bathed, and taken care of but are these elephants treated well? I have seen the dark side of this.” Once upon a time, he provides, there have been 1,000-odd captive elephants in Kerala, lots of whom had been paraded in temples, he provides, “but today there are barely 200 or so left, and most of these are more than 50 years old. How long can [real] elephants be paraded anyway?”
Published – March 01, 2025 10:46 am IST
