'Reserved'.....just in case
Sathyanarayanan yawned
and flapped his ears. The 39-year-old elephant reached down, picked up
a bundle of leaves with his trunk and stuffed them into his mouth. He slowly
chewed on his mouthful and flapped his fan-like ears to cool himself. The
afternoon sun warmed his back. He yawned again. He was bored…and sleepy.
It was off-season at the Annakotta
in Guruvayur. All the major annual festivals were finished. Which meant
that there would be no exciting outings for the elephants in the near future;
not unless someone decided to hire him out for a wedding or some other
festive gala. Now there was nothing to do but eat, sleep and stare at the
2-legged creatures that came to see him. At first, Sathyanarayanan had
stared at these creatures, called humans, in awe; how do they manage
to walk on just 2 legs ? But the fascination soon wore off. “If you’ve
seen one human, you’ve seen them all,” the older elephants had told him
and he realized they were right.
But life changed dramatically when
he turned 11.
He had been out with his cousins
when a loud noise had startled them. As they ran away, Sathyanarayanan
had fallen into a deep pit. He cried for help but no one came. Finally,
some humans had hauled him out and taken him away from home. From far away
he heard his mother calling his name...
He had been taken to the city and
sold to some humans who brought him to his present home in the Annakotta.
He was too old to be properly trained. However, his mahout was a wise,
experienced man who recognized his elephant’s quiet and peaceful nature
and nurtured it. Sathyanarayanan soon became the favorite in the Annakotta.
He stood about 7 feet tall and weighed 6 tons, making him the heaviest
elephant in the Annakotta. These facts also made him quite popular with
the tourists who visited the place.
Sathyanarayanan is well liked by
the other elephants too. The younger ones adore him and his peers respected
his views. Of course, there were a few hot-blooded elephants that regarded
him as a nuisance and tried to pick fights with him. But Sathyanarayanan
ignored them. Instead of getting caught up in the rivalries between the
elephants, he prefers to mind his own business and remains a neutral observer.
Most of the arguments in the Annakotta
centered on who would be selected as the chief elephant for the annual
Thrissur Pooram festival. Since he was only partially
trained, Sathyanarayanan had never been selected to take part in the festival.
However, he was taken along as a standby elephant and on 2 occasions had
participated when one of the selected elephants had suddenly fallen ill.
Sure, it was fun, but he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.
The Annakotta was quite crowded
today. The air was filled with incessant chatter of the visitors. Sathyanarayanan
yawned again and looked around for his mahout. It would soon be time for
his bath and he looked forward to spending some time in the cool water.
His mahout was an old man now and would soon retire. Sathyanarayanan hoped
that his new mahout would be just as kind and understanding as his predecessor.
He had seen how a hard and unkind mahout could ruin an elephant’s temperament
and break its spirit.
He sighed as his trunk curled around
another bundle of leaves. Well, there was no sense worrying about what
might happen in the future. He had to follow the path destiny chose for
him. He would just have to make the best of his lot in life as he had done
so far. Thoughtfully, he chewed on his mouthful of leaves. Truly reserved…..just
in case.
