Almost a week after the ill-fated elephant died of eating the cracker stuffed pineapple, so much of vitriol flows into social media and celebrities joining the bandwagon expressing the grief over the cruel death of pachyderm.
For many, the imagination will be ripe where the hapless elephant seeking food came to door steps and some cruel hooligan (possibly dark skinned thanks to filmdom or a skull cap man thanks to right-wing propaganda) fed the pineapple stuffing it with crackers with an evil smile. Let's cut the crap.
The day when one encounters a lonely wild elephant...it's the day to meet the creator. Unless the animal is merciful and in good mood or lady luck comes in favour, it will be the end.
So no one feeds a wild elephant or they come down begging for food like stray cattle lured for bananas from the astrologically motivated animal feeders.
Wild elephants live in herds which consist mostly females with young male and female calves with a most senior matriarch at the helm. Boys upon maturity are kicked out of the herd and spend rest of their lives in solitaire while female elephants go out of herd for mating and return back to herd after getting pregnant.
This particular elephant, one month pregnant, should have been heading back to its herd where rest of her gestation is well taken care of amidst the aunts, cousins and the grandma's. She apprently picked up the pineapple which was not intended for. And it's not diwali cracker stuffed inside pineapple. It's actually the crude country bomb made of blackpowder and nails waiting to break on pressure, a typical bait for wild boars ravaging crops. Again, why wildboars ravage crops because we shit in pants upon seeing a feline or wild dogs and killed them off and so there are no natural predators left in wild.
And, one accident brought so much of mudslinging on a state and community after a BJP ex-minister linked it with Muslim populated district in Kerala. It turned out to be a hate smear campaign in no time.
The relation between Kerala or South states in particular (TN and Karnataka collectively having more elephants both in wild and homes) and elephant is time immemorial. The ancient Chera kingdom's (present day Kerala) wealth was not measured by gold or silver but elephants. Both Tamil and Malayalam have got more than half dozen words for elephant. A Sangam era poem compares the beauty of woman to a female elephant.
It's not mere an animal for Kerala. It's our state symbol and our state animal. Our state transport corporation bus is fondly called 'aanavandi' (elephant vehicle).
Arm chair activists will never understand the emotional bond between a bull and South Tamil Nadu, a buffalo and South Canara (Kasaragod to Udupi region) and an elephant and Kerala.
A bond between human and elephant is beyond words. In below picture Chathapuram Babu, an elephant gone berserk is calmed by his owner Sridevi. We have lived with elephants for ages and we know them. The 'elephant lovers' going berserk in social media should also voice their aghast when the elephant habitat and corridors are mercilessly swallowed up by corporates and when forest ministry gives away sanctions to roads and railway lines and mining inside forest.
Kerala forests are better guarded than anywhere in the country and the forest department officials and employees protect them with their lives. The state government has initiated the probe and the culprits will be soon found.
Meanwhile, for all the mocking of our literacy and culture, why don't you better take care of your girl children and women. The brutality meted out to them is worse than the 'brutality' shown to 'animals' here.
PS: Oh gentle one! This post is not against you. For the pain you suffered, I could forgive myself if you have unleashed your anger before dying in the river. Your patience has given me a tight slap and reminded that, me a homo sapien, doesn't deserve this earth. Rest in Peace girl. I am ashamed but I am sorry.
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