Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an interesting rendezvous with an elephant at a temple in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli.
The 24-second clip, that has gained nearly 100,000 views on X, show the prime minister inside the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, where he offered prayers ahead of the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22.
PM Modi is on a pilgrimage to key temples across the country that are connected to locations mentioned in the epic Ramayana. In the video, the prime minister dressed in simple traditional wear is seen petting an elephant named Andal. PM Modi then passes a mouth organ to the elephant who curls his trunk and starts playing the musical instrument.
As the animal performs, the prime minister pets its trunk again. PM Modi also took blessings from the elephant after feeding it.
At the temple associated with Lord Vishnu, the prime minister listened to a scholar who recited verses from the 'Kambaramayanam', one of the oldest versions of Ramayan. It is believed that the poet Kambar had first presented his Ramayana at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.
"All devotees of India are very happy that our PM is visiting Srirangam. Lord Ranganathar is also happy about the PM's visit. Our PM cares for everyone's welfare so is Ranganathar, so it's a blessed occasion for Srirangam. Before this, no Prime Minister has come to Srirangam, this is the first time a PM is visiting here. We all are very proud of his visit," the temple's Chief Priest Sundar Bhattar told news agency PTI.
He will be offering prayers at the Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram later.