'Yanai -kal' meaning "elephant stone" in Tamil is a prominent landmark elephant statue in Madurai.
The suburb of Yanaikkal is a densely populated area located around the statue of the elephant, which was erected at the intersection of four roads on the northern outer road of Madurai. Of the four outer roads of Madurai, the magnificent fort walls and entrance gates built in ancient times, except for the upper outer road fort gate, the remaining three fort walls and entrance gates were later demolished in 1837 by the order of the British Collector John Blackburn. At the place where the northern gate was removed, this elephant stone statue brought from the demolished fort was installed as a symbol by the British engineer Marret.
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| 1901 - kids filling water |
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| 1920s picture showing the water tank adjoining the statue |
This elephant stone statue, which was placed facing east a few centuries ago, was turned to face a different direction for some time. There is a legend that Madurai was dry at first due to lack of rain, but then it was turned back to the east and again flourished with rain. After India gained independence, a statue of Gandhiji, a small park and a fountain have been erected and are maintained by the Madurai Municipal Corporation. Even the color of the elephant has changed from white to grey to Shiney black to matt black over time...
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| 2020s |
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| Recent renovated matt black look... |
