In a heartwarming video that has gone viral on the social media platform, an elephant calf is seen gleefully playing in a tub of water. The two-month-old elephant is adorning an elaborate headgear and matching footwear. She has a bell tied around her neck. In the video, the female calf is seen splashing water as she goes in and out of the small plastic tub which keeps collapsing intermittently due to her weight. This video was shot after the naming ceremony of the baby elephant at a temple in Karnataka’s Dharmasthala.
The female calf which was born on July 1 at Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Dharmasthala has been named Shivani. The temple authorities say that Shivani is healthy and loves to play in water.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1300351983577042946?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwShivani’s mother Lakshmi and her grandmother Latha were with her on the pious occasion. They were too decorated for the naming ceremony.
Shivani was born under the care of the temple administration in Dharmasthala for the first time. On August 31, the Pattadhikari of Dharmasthala, D Veerendra Heggade initiated the ritual by giving the baby elephant Prasada and tying a bell around its neck. On this occasion, the temple authorities arranged for a feast of fruits, vegetables, and sugarcane for all the three elephants.
Heggade informed that Shivani’s mother Lakshmi was sent to Bannerghatta Biological Park two years ago for conceiving.
“Gaja seve” is practised in Dharmasthala during temple festivals and processions for many years now. Earlier, the temple had elephants Bharata, Shankara and Gange which were part of fairs and processions, D Veerendra Heggade added.