From an elephants diary
“Gauri! Gauri!” my master shouted from the banks of the
pond. I pretended not to hear. I love bathing and decking myself with mud.
My pappan always complained about the difficulty in controlling me when
I bathe. The other day I heard him say, “Gowri is getting mischievous as
she grows older.” He’s probably right. The passion to stay in water seems
to increase, as I get older.
I was born in the jungles of Bihar 62 years ago.
I hardly remember the jungle. But I know that I had a family and lots of
friends and I was free. I don’t remember the name they called me. At the
age of 6, I was captured and brought down to Kerala. The men here named
me Gauri. ‘Men’ took me to the timber mills. The task was tough. They worked
us from early hours of the day till late at night. There were many others
like me; most of them had a frayed and jaded look, due to the hectic schedule
and the frequent blows.
By nature I’m lazy and obdurate, this probably added
to the number of blows I received.
When I was 45 I was hired by the forest department of
Kerala in their reforestation project. The job was tougher involving a
lot of risk; we had to travel through steep hills and gushing rivers [the
underwater current was dangerous]. I made a few friends who also worked
in the jungle. They too had quite a few stories to share. Late at night,
after the men had gone to sleep, we would gather round, swapping stories
- of happy times, of sad times, stories of love, stories of adventure.
I used to enjoy those nights.
Life took a turn when the Devasom Board took me to the
Annakotta in Guruvayoors. I had heard a lot about this place from my friends
in the jungle and wondered what it would be like to live here. This resort
(Annakotta) is a 10 minutes drive from Guruvayoor. I could feel the presence
of our forefathers whose souls, I believe, still wander about on full moon
nights. Although I’m not related to them, I feel as though I’ve always
known them, for they lived in a more torturous era than today
I was given palm leaves and sugar cane to eat. There
were special doctors to look after us elephants in the Annakotta (only
for namesake). They would give us medicines mixed in sweets or large balls
of rice. Most of the time, men come with their children and loiter around;
I don’t mind them if they bring some ‘grub’ for us. But many times, the
noisy authorities in the Annakotta, don’t let them feed us. Personally,
I don’t like being photographed, because most of the times, when the visitor
has posed next to me, he is taken to pose with one of my male counterparts
who later tell me that having a tusk really makes a difference !
I know I won’t be around for long as very often I overhear
the mahouts talk of things like ‘life expectancy’ and other things that
I don’t understand very well. However, I’ll keep going for as long as I
can. I know that a new comer will soon take up my role in this revered
place - whoever she is, I wish her well in her future endeavors.
