The first character on this stage is Devi. Like most of
the elephants at Annakotta, she was born in Assam too, captured and sold
at the Bihar Elephant Market. However, Devi’s first home was not the Annakotta
near Guruvayoor. Her first home was in Bihar. Her master was a very rich
and powerful man. You had to be rich if you wanted to own an elephant.
She had no other elephant companions there. So, she was pampered and petted
by everyone. Everyone always told her how beautiful she was and treated
her with great respect. And so, as she grew, so did her pride.
But, her idyllic life soon changed. One day, when she
was 5 years old, some men came with ropes and prods and forced her out
of her comfortable home. She protested valiantly but it was no use. From
the snatches of conversation she heard, as she was loaded into a truck,
it seemed that her master had sold her. She was now going to live in some
temple, far away from her home.
After a long and tiring journey (she hated trucks ever
since !), they finally arrived at her new home. This place was very different
from the home she was used to. For one thing, there were plenty of other
elephants here. Well, she was sure they would soon recognize her greatness
- then she could rule over them all.
“Welcome, welcome”, they others said softly to her. She
thanked them graciously enough. As the men led her to her enclosure, she
inspected her new surroundings. Yes, they were very different from the old
home. There were a lot of shady trees here - thank goodness. She had always
hated the heat of the sun. In her paddock, she was given some leaves to
munch. They were different leaves, a kind she had never seen before. But,
they tasted good - different, but good.
And so, Devi settled down in her new home. However, her
haughty pride made the other elephants a bit wary. She would try to boss
around the other elephants, even those much older than her. The others
soon discovered that she had a selfish streak. She always expected the
best portions, the juiciest leaves and the shadiest trees. But, they preferred
to ignore her and leave her alone instead of fighting about it. And so
life passed on peacefully enough in the Annakotta. Then one day, Devi met
Tara.
Tara and Devi didn’t hit it off from the day they met.
Devi could not stand this ‘ill-mannered brat’ and Tara decided that she
definitely did not like this new ‘uppity upstart’. Tara’s spirited nature,
which endeared her to the other elephants made Devi very jealous. Tara
just couldn’t stand Devi’s domineering ways and her defiant nature
showed itself whenever Devi tried bossing her around. This rivalry between
the 2 finally came to a point when Devi, the larger elephant, gave Tara
a hard nudge. Fortunately, before a full-fledged fight could break out,
their mahouts managed to separate them.
Today, Tara is 31 years old and Devi is 35. Their rivalry
still exists. The mahouts are careful not to put the two of them very close
to each other. But for them, all this is a part of life at the Annakotta.
