A female baby elephant born in Dharmasthala on July 1 was named as Shivani at a ceremony in the temple town on Monday.
Its mother Lakshmi and its grandmother Latha were with the calf on the occasion. All the three elephants were decorated for the naming ceremony. The calf, decorated with balloons, played with water stored in a plastic bucket for sometime on the occasion. The temple had arranged a feast of fruits, vegetables, and sugarcane to all the three elephants on the occasion.
D. Veerendra Heggade, Pattadhikari, Dharmasthala, said that Lakshmi had been sent to Bannerghatta Biological Park two years ago for conceiving.
Referring to the birth of Shivani he said that a baby elephant was born under the care of the temple administration in Dharmasthala for the first time.
The “gaja seve” is practised in Dharmasthala during temple festivals and processions since many years. Earlier the temple had elephants Bharata, Shankara and Gange which were part of fairs and processions, he said.
