Thrissur: It is an enchanted sight when the turtles of famous Paramekkavu temple here come in a row from the temple pond to savour upma, banana fritters and vadas from a nearby hotel.

The Jawan Hotel near the Paramekkavu temple in the city will close at 7:30 pm everyday. As soon as the light goes off, the turtles will come in rows from the temple pond. After eating as much upma, vada and fritters placed on the ground outside the hotel as they like, they will return without straying from the line.

The hotel owner, Santhosh, resident of Thanikudam, says that he saw the CCTV footage of turtles coming at night some four or five months ago. From the next day, he started putting food on the leaves and then between 7.30 and 8 pm, the group of turtles started arriving. The number will vary from day to day. Most days, the number comes up to ten.

The hotel is 50 meters away from the temple pool. In the earlier days, turtles were afraid of people and light. Now that has changed. 

Many people come to see the arrival and feeding of the turtles. Santosh is a retired Indian Army man. That is why the hotel is named Jawan.

It may be noted that feeding turtles with cooked food has yet to be scientifically proven healthy.