Thiruvananthapuram: The elephant “Dakshayani” is to be felicitated by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), an autonomous body which manages Hindu shrines, and confer the title of ‘gaja muthassi’. An 86-year-old temple elephant in Kerala is being sought to be included in the Guinness Book of World of Records as the oldest surviving Asian elephant in captivity.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran would inaugurate the felicitation programme, in which Forest Minister K Raju would confer the pachyderm with the title. Dakshayani was gifted to the TDB by the erstwhile Travancore royals. The elephant is presently housed in the Chengalloor Mahadeva Temple in the city. TDB President Prayar Gopalakrishnan has said the Board had already written to the Guinness authorities in this regard. The TDB, which manages a number of temples including the famed Sabarimala Ayyappa Swamy Temple, has initiated steps to make the entry of the majestic jumbo into the Guinness Book of World records as the oldest surviving Asian elephant in captivity.