The elephant in Dubare

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On a trip to Mysore, we met this little fella in Dubare - A frisky baby elephant happy to be let loose for a little while. His mahout was a little kid of  about 8 or 9 years and I thought to myself, Well! Isn't this a great pair. They both ran into the Kabini river for bath time accompanied by a horde of tourists  wanting to  'bathe' the baby elephant while he just laid there in the cold water , happy as a lark , making gurgling noises and flapping his ears. I was one of the tourists and I was also happy to give the little one a scrub.

I like elephants. As do most people. But I suppose humans liking them is not a very good thing for elephants themselves. There is a lot of cruelty involved in making them ' human - friendly'. Have you visited the Mysore Dasara and seen the elephant parade? Or seen an elephant in South Indian temples? And admired them because they look so mammoth, majestic and grand? And felt affection and warmth for them, accompanied by a little fear?

I have felt all of this. I have also felt little niggling questions at the back of my mind whenever I have seen them. Questions like, "If I were an elephant, would I have liked to be prodded and commanded with bull hooks?" " If I were an elephant, would I have liked to be surrounded by thousands of humans as they jeered and took photos and selfies." " If I were an elephant, would I have really wanted to bless that devotee who gives me a measly ten rupees and a banana at the cost of my freedom?"

These questions led to a wordless picture book - An attempt to see things in a non-human light.


Location: Kushalanagar, Coorg District, Nanjarayapatna, Karnataka 571234, India

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