Elephant Talks

Elephant Talks

I am not referring to the two legged variety.
Talking to them has no meaning electoral wise since they cannot talk with one voice or with coherence.
I sometime think they talk from both ends open, since the odor or the malodor that emanate is no different.

I am referring to the four legged variety who take the center stage for a brief period of ten days in the hill capital, Kandy .

I wish they could talk.

If they do, I know, unlike the two legged variety they will talk with one voice.

They will tell us, ¨Give us our heritage, the vast stretch of land we had for ourselves including  the hill country now covered with tea plantation¨.

Do not give us th barren land without water in the dry zone.

We cannot keep cool in the dry zone without waterholes.

No more development please.
No more electricity nor fence with electric shocks.
This land was hours long before humans existed.
Mammoth has gone for good, we are next in the line of extinction.
Give us a break!

Give us the ¨watershed¨.

I wish they could pull a trigger in evolution to develop the capacity to acquire language facility of their own like how the humanoid developed it (the capacity to talk and develop language was a very recent development in evolution).

But the way, the things are as it is, there is no time in their life history to develop it.

In any case, the man (including Buddhists)  will not allow that to happen by even a stroke of accident.

Why?

They will be extinct in a matter of a century.

There is no time for the evolutionary changes to come about.

Since that is not possible, I decided to have little look around the captive ones and try to develop, some channel of communication.

Make it a silent rapport.

Yes, they can understand our language but we cannot understand how they think of us.

First I wanted to see whether they were happy or not.

Of the few I surveyed they were more than happy.

They weather gods had been nice.
We had light rain from the first day of the Perehara.

The scorching sun has taken a little respite.

They have had good baths, the manicure, pedicure and the trunk-cure (this is a word I coined today-the looking after, the trunk of an elephant) or the tong-cure have been excellent.

(Mind you Cambridge professor of English, take a note of my new word.
I have no trust on Oxford with the Olympics on stage.
They will be busy coining new words for the Olympic Security Protocol taken over by the private sector.
 It looks like, after the Iraq War Crime Issues of Labour regime in the background as it were with some bad taste, the conservative administration has no faith in their regular security arm).

All the elephants were happy, except one veteran in near retirement.

Unfortunately there is no retirement facility for these gentle giants.

He had tears down his cheek but they were dry when I saw him.

He was in the middle of the pack with young and the very young chaperoning him.

This guy was tall and that gave an indication of his age in years.

His skin was brownish and not golden black, like in the young adults.

He looked anaemic too.

He is no longer chewing his meal as he used to do when young.

His molar teeth are failing him and that would have been the reason for his pallor.

I do not say he was neglected but his age was showing.

Moment I came near him he gave me a gesture that told me.

I knew when you were young, you used to come and watch me in the parade or half ditched in water at Katugastota Elephant bath.

You have even scrubbed my skin and you were on top of me.

You were like a feather on my hat.

I was young but you were tiny.

Yes, I can jolly well remember you.

He lifted his trunk very very slowly not very gracefully though, but gave a glimpse of his good old majesty.

I took his picture in a snap second.

Then he stopped and looked at me very attentively.

That look was very familiar to me.

When did I see you last?

Could have been 40 odd years ago.

Your look is admirably different now.

You have no hair on your top.

They are becoming silvery.

But the smile on the corner of your mouth is the same.

You look is trim and I like the way your are.

Look at me I am having arthritis.

I cannot lift my trunk like it used to be.

I am not going to lift you up, it is going to make cranky noises in all my joints.

It might snap few ligaments if I try.

I am sorry but I wish I could take you up for a ride.

Don worry man.

My tears are not because I am sad.

I am old enough to take life on a springboard.

In fact I am happy to be in the parade this year too.

The tears were due to excruciating pain when I chew.

This may be my last parade or the tour of gratitude to the lord.

No, No I will come and see you next year too.

That is of course, if I do not kick the bucket before you.

But you can have  a bypass, know?

But I do not want a heart of a young buddy.

Even if I had a bypass my teeth are failing to pump in enough food for its smooth running.

Good Bye!

We may not see again or may be we might.

I keep my fingers cross.

I said thank you for his thoughtful gestures and remarks.

Good Bye and turned round to come home.

Mind you, I was in between four giants.

I was within their trunk range and all the mahouts were gone for lunch.

One big one was blocking my exit pathway.

He was telling me you had a big chat with the old guy.

Why not me, I can take you on my hood.

Just stay a little while,  till my master comes after his lunch.
I have not had a bath too.

I am game for a chit chat all the same, like the old guy.

As I entered the closed enclosure, I had a long pause at the entrance and he displayed few of his tricks to me with the mahout prompting.

I told the mahout just let him be.

I like the way he is.

You said you like the way I was.

I liked your comment very much.

Before you came, I was thinking of all the lasses I am going to see tonight in the parade.

When you said, ¨I like the way I was¨, I started thinking of the real reason I was here.

Not to see lasses but to pay homage to the lord.

I will focus on that now and I have all the years ahead of me to see not one but many lasses, if I do want.

I politely said, you are blocking my way.

There is nobody to order you now.

It is only a polite request from an older guy.
Why not let me go.

Your big trunk is far to comfortable for me.

I do not trust you.

You might take me for a ride or a trick or two.

I am not a bully, you know, but I like a few teasers though, to keep ahead of the time.

Then he turned 90 degrees to let me pass through the entrance.

That is very nice of you.

Thank you.

Do not forget to come again next year.

I will.

Who says elephants can´t talk?