I am on vacation now to Chennai for at least a month. There are several interesting stuff happened that I can blog about, like Dittu's pranks, visit to Madurai, anniversary celebration with DH, etc. Was quite lazy enof to write about these but this book made me to write about it.
We had been to Thekkady with our extended family. It was sooooo much fun. I always love going to Kerala.. it is definitely the Gods own place. So fresh, so much green, so mushy... hmmm... what else can relax us than visiting one Kerala hilly place like Munnar, Wayanad, etc. I prefer hilly areas over backwaters like Alleppey. May be I will had I been consuming fish in my food. By birth and by choice me and my DH are vegetarians. anyway Thekkady was very tranquil. especially the boating ride in the Periyar lake. The cuddly, chilly breeze and lazy afternoon post lunch definitely made all of us doze for a short while. After that we went on elephant ride. Us on one elephant and my BIL family on another. Our elephant Latha was a bit naughty. She seldom listened to her mahout. She kept stopping every now and then naughtily. She started putting up with a cat that was sitting on a compound wall without paying any attention to her mahout's call to move. Though now laughable it was a bit frightening then. What if she becomes crazy.. or what if the cat jumps up on us.. etc. As we were discussing these with our BIL that is when he introduced me to this book - "Majestic Elephant" by Mr. Lion A. Selvaraj.
Selvaraj uncle is a family friend to my co-sister. He is quietly running a medical stores, that is all I know about him. But was surprised to learn that he has been a forest officer and is experienced hand in the field of elephants for over 20 years. He is known as "Yaanai Vathiyar" meaning "Teacher of elephants" in Tamil.With so much eagerness am reading this book. Am not yet done but is so good that I am immediately writing this particular post!
The language is as moderate as my blog that it can be enjoyed by anyone. The book is more like riding down his memory lane that is very interesting and makes a page turner. The book speaks about the features of elephants, both bull and cow elephants, gestation and maternity, birth, behaviour of baby and mom, tiger vs elephants, men vs elephants, etc. It is interesting to know about the naughtiness of baby elephants, the care of not just the mother but also the aunt elephants for baby, etc. It is amazing to know about the intelligence of the elephants like how it tricks the forest men, how they get in pet-fight with human beings, the help that they do to human beings, etc. At the same time it is equally amazing to learn about the encounter between tigers, panthers and elephants. One particular incident about the cow elephant "Rathi" against the bull elephants who come for mating, brought a BIG smile !! :-D Proves that elephants also do have feminists in them!!
I read out certain interesting facts to Chinni. She too thoroughly enjoyed the pranks and wondered about the intelligence of these mighty ones. She laughed out loud when she learnt that one of the elephant was teasing a baby elephant by 'pinching' it with her(big elephant's) trunk. Quotes about "Kumki" elephants did not quizzes us, thanks to the movie! :) It is interesting to know about training these lord of the jungles like doing pooja, ringing the bell, dance, etc. It is hair raising to learn about the ferociousness of wild elephants like 'Nanjan' against human especially while protecting the young ones.
The flow of the book reveals the love that the author possess on the elephants. Who would not use any soaps or detergents just for the sake of these animals??? That shows the dedication of the author in his work and for the nature. He has sprinkled tips here and there but is not making it exclusive. It just goes with the incidents, more like hidden messages but not that difficult to find. How much of it will we remember when we encounter one huge animal in front of us, is doubtful.
He doesnt forget to point out the mistakes that we humans do when it comes to the nature. Really humans have LOT to learn from these animals who do not have the so called sixth sense.
Not sure if this is available online and all (tried googling it but none exist. May be I will ask my co-sister to talk to him about it). The publication is done by "Nivethitha Publications", West Tambaram, Chennai. It is magnanimous of the author to dedicate this book not just to his fellow colleagues or acquaintances but to the Late Ceaser Elephant the Great!!!
As I said am not yet done but already am engrossed with the book and there by with Elephants. We fall in love with the mighty one, we learn to respect them. Thats the success of this book.
Selvaraj uncle is a family friend to my co-sister. He is quietly running a medical stores, that is all I know about him. But was surprised to learn that he has been a forest officer and is experienced hand in the field of elephants for over 20 years. He is known as "Yaanai Vathiyar" meaning "Teacher of elephants" in Tamil.With so much eagerness am reading this book. Am not yet done but is so good that I am immediately writing this particular post!
The language is as moderate as my blog that it can be enjoyed by anyone. The book is more like riding down his memory lane that is very interesting and makes a page turner. The book speaks about the features of elephants, both bull and cow elephants, gestation and maternity, birth, behaviour of baby and mom, tiger vs elephants, men vs elephants, etc. It is interesting to know about the naughtiness of baby elephants, the care of not just the mother but also the aunt elephants for baby, etc. It is amazing to know about the intelligence of the elephants like how it tricks the forest men, how they get in pet-fight with human beings, the help that they do to human beings, etc. At the same time it is equally amazing to learn about the encounter between tigers, panthers and elephants. One particular incident about the cow elephant "Rathi" against the bull elephants who come for mating, brought a BIG smile !! :-D Proves that elephants also do have feminists in them!!
The flow of the book reveals the love that the author possess on the elephants. Who would not use any soaps or detergents just for the sake of these animals??? That shows the dedication of the author in his work and for the nature. He has sprinkled tips here and there but is not making it exclusive. It just goes with the incidents, more like hidden messages but not that difficult to find. How much of it will we remember when we encounter one huge animal in front of us, is doubtful.
He doesnt forget to point out the mistakes that we humans do when it comes to the nature. Really humans have LOT to learn from these animals who do not have the so called sixth sense.
Not sure if this is available online and all (tried googling it but none exist. May be I will ask my co-sister to talk to him about it). The publication is done by "Nivethitha Publications", West Tambaram, Chennai. It is magnanimous of the author to dedicate this book not just to his fellow colleagues or acquaintances but to the Late Ceaser Elephant the Great!!!
As I said am not yet done but already am engrossed with the book and there by with Elephants. We fall in love with the mighty one, we learn to respect them. Thats the success of this book.
