Mahout - Co'Report

By Sheila Torres Photography Andrés Gutiérrez

“... and the eight elephants emerged from the egg, Brahma – the Creator – was holding. These eight animals were symbols of strength and they supported the Earth from eight directions.

One of them was Iravatham, the legendary white elephant of Indra, who rules the heaven…”

Elephants are part of Indian mythology and culture. According to Hinduism, Brahma created them to keep the equilibrium of the world and Ganesha, Parvati and Shiva’s son, who is an elephant headed man, is the god Hindu people pray to when they start new projects and who takes care of their homes.

Throughout history, these colossal quadrupeds have been trained for different and varied tasks. They have played roles ranging from exotic ways of transporting tourists to executioners of those sentenced to death, always under the control of humans.

In Kerala, one of the southern states of the country, there are more than seven hundred captive elephants which are taught, fed and looked after by their mahouts. The pachyderms are extremely important in Hindu rituals and celebrations. It is perfectly normal to come across a massive procession in the middle of a

busy street led by a pair or more, of large tusks and ears. These processions and festivals in which both, animals and people are dressed up in traditional costumes, occur all year round so, some of these elephants, like Srihari, have to work full-time for religious purposes.

Sreehari is an adult Asian male of the Indian subspecies. He has warm pink mottled trunk and ears and a way of looking that seems to mix tenderness and resignation towards those who have ordained a life based on obedience. He came to Kerala about sixteen years ago from the northern state of Bihar, travelling across the entire country by train and leaving behind family and natural habitat. Even then, Srihari, who had spent his early years in captivity, understood perfectly the orders the caregivers gave him in his native language, Hindi. When he arrived in the South, the first thing he did was to attend Malayalam (the language of Kerala) lessons, to understand the orders of those at his new home.

cluding his trainer’s salary, vaccines, medicines, water and more than 150 kilos of food which he eats every day.

Besides what the temple can earn with donations, Sreehari works in some seasons as a pack

Sreehari attends everyday the rituals at his temple and he works in some seasons as a pack elephant

elephant, carrying wood or tree trunks in factories, so he also earns his payment which is Rs 7,500 -almost 100 Euros- per day.

"Srihari is an intermediate elephant and when he attends a festival he can receive 10,000 rupees a day. “If we sold him today, we would get more than 1 Crore for him -which in its written form It was the temple of Tripu- would be 1,00,00,000, i.e. 10 minithura, in Cochin, the center of llion rupees (about 120,000 Euthe state, which bought the elep- ros). The value increases if the hant for 3 million rupees, or as animal understands more comthey say in India, 30 lakhs (about mands or languages. The higher 36,000 Euros) in 1998. It is often the level of the elephant’s skills the temples that decide to buy an the higher the price. Some of elephant, as, in addition to parti- them are authentic celebrities and cipating in rituals, it usually the owners receive more than brings them profit, in spite of 200,000 rupees (20 times what what it costs to maintain it. Vijay Srihari earns) for attending a fesR. Varma, a young man who is a tival. Of course, the investment is member of the temple’s associa- worth it, but in our case we do not tion, claims that for every festival have especial interest in making or procession Srihari attends, he money from our elephant -Vijay receives donations which ade- side nods, Indian style-, we do not quately cover his expenses, in-

exploit him. Many of the owners overload their animals, they even make them work when they are on their must period. This has been the main cause of accidents at festivals".

In the so called must, elephants suffer a kind of aggressive zeal that lasts for a couple of months, during which their hormone production increases. This phenomenon has no clear scientific explanation yet. Unsuspecting owners and mahouts provide them with medicine in this period to curb their symptoms and continue pocketing money. But sometimes must combines with irritation produced by fireworks, people pulling their tails, noisy bikes, masses of people that do not let them move, lack of rest or food, overwork, etc. then, some of them lose control and the tragedies that we read about in newspapers occur.

Due to this, the laws in Kerala have been tightened and nowadays all captive elephants have a chip put behind their left ear, in order to be identified and ensure that their caregivers and owners do not abuse them and provoke accidents.

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Luckily, Sreehari has never suffered any of these situations, his behavior has been exemplary so far and there is no incident marked in his chip. Every morning, long before dawn, Sugunan, that is his mahout’s name, comes to his stand to wake him up and give him a bath. In order to do this, the man wears a mundu, something like a beach wrap, a kind skirt which is typical of the area, and smokes a cigarette sideways.

He soon welcomes his peers, Aby and Kannan, mahout trainees who, dressed similarly, grab hose and sponge (sometimes substitu-

"Irikaane! Irikaane!", he orders the giant mammal, and it kneels down slowly to a sitting position, leaving its forehead at the right height for Sugunan to paint him the pottu (in Kerala, this is the name of the red dot on the forehead of Hindus), three other red marks on the ears and the tail to complete the makeup.

Then, "eniraane uavide!", and the animal straightens slowly and stands up. A chain from his back legs joins another one around his tummy to prevent him from striding. Thus, Sreehari moves with short steps to the temple where the ritual involves circling the sanctuary for about thirty minutes. The pachyderm goes back to the shed to get the chains removed and have his breakfast of bananas and palm leaves.

Depending on the season, after his breakfast he is ready to start a walk for food or for his dose of vitamins or to get on a truck which takes him to the lumber mill to work. There is a season in which Srihari just rests, "it is his vacation period -adds Vijay smiling- though Sugunan keeps coming every day to give him his bath and food".

"I have never felt afraid of elephants. I have been with Sreehari for seven years and never had a problem" ted by a half coconut shell) to finish the job faster. The three form the trio of caregivers all domesticated elephants must have by law.

While they are crooning melodies in Malayalam, Srihari lies stretched enjoying the massage. Sugunan gives him orders to get up and lie down on the other side so he can thoroughly clean every corner of his rough skin. The animal follows orders and with slow movements and some occasional snorts, turns and lets himself be rubbed, squinting in acquiescence.

The word mahout comes from Hindi and means elephant rider, but to get a ride, one has to win its trust and respect. The job requires dedication and years of

work. It usually comes through the family and it is transferred from one generation to the next. Parents teach their kids to look after elephants and even elephants to take care of their children, creating a bond of mutual protection between them. Sugunan’s case was different. His father was a laborer, he was the first in his family

to feel attracted by this world of walking among giants and learning how to domesticate them. He was born and grew up in Vaikom, a small town, fifteen miles south of Tripunithura, Cochin, where he currently resides very close to Srihari. When he was a child he was fascinated by elephants. His neighbour Venu was

an old mahout who looked after one near his home. When Venu passed by his street, the young Sugunan went out to see them with the same awe as one attending an appointment with the grandeur of Nature itself. Not frightened, but amazed. Before he turned fifteen he decided to start accompanying Venu, to learn from him the arts of the care and training of the huge animals. "Venu taught me a lot -Sugunan says with nostalgia-. At first, I just walked by his side but after some time, he delegated more responsibility to me and that is how I learnt. My first elephant was old when I started with him. His name was Jayadevam and he died years ago".

His behavior towards his caretaker is based on obedience and loyalty

Sugunan says he feels lucky because all the animals he has worked with have been disciplined and obedient. "Srihari is my sixth elephant. I've been with him for more than seven years and I have never had a single problem", he says proudly.

The mahout points out how life has changed by comparing his payment of 15 rupees a day in the beginning, with his current salary, over thirty years later, which ranges between 15,000 and 25,000 rupees a month, depending on the work of Srihari.

More than forty times what he used to earn when he started working as a mahout. He claims that, despite having to live away from his wife and children, who he left in his hometown, he earns enough to live and support his family. His mobile phone -anot-

her sign of modern developmentallows them to stay in touch, so he does not complain.

The behavior of the animal towards his caretaker is based on obedience and loyalty. The mahout prevails over the elephant despite the obvious difference in size. "The way of teaching is simple, if he does something wrong or does not obey orders, he gets hit with the vadikambu, a long wooden rod -explains Vijay-.

Once he has learned, he does not need to be punished again, in general, they have a very good memory".

The mahout uses this stick together with another, that ends in a sharp hook, the thotti, "I poke him with it a bit in the leg when he does not listen to me," he confesses.

preciate each other. According to Prasanna’s thesis, this emotional bond is created between them only when they spend time together. She claims that this is not very common since, in general, caregivers pay their elephants minimum attention.

Sugunan gets on the back of his animal from behind, Srihari in a helpful mood, bends one of his hind legs serving as a step and lift for his passenger. Every time he gets down to buy lottery tickets or snuff, he leaves his two sticks leaning against one of the huge legs. Srihari remains still until the mahout returns. "He is very docile and playful", says the caretaker and laughs while hanging from the large tusks the elephant carefully moves.

The image of a man embracing the world's largest living creature is overwhelming.

"In the social hierachy, mahouts are hardly taken into account" K.

Prasanna Varma, whose thesis in psychology was based on the study of the relationship between mahouts and elephants, agrees that this relationship is mainly based on the pain. "In herds, there is always an alpha male. If an elephant faces him, he ends up injured after the confrontation. That is the way it works, so the mahout plays the role of the dominant male animal which must be respected", adds the psychologist.

The friendship between Sreehari and Sugunan shows how long they have been together. They have learned to understand and ap-

Unfortunately, not all elephants in Kerala have had a similar fate to Srihari. Some mahouts go beyond the line of training and even abuse their elephants. According to a publication in September 2013, thirty-six malnourished and mistreated elephants have died since the beginning of the year. In a country where they are adored by people and so profitable, it is contradictory that there are so many cases of death due to malnutrition or malpractice and for not being promptly treated by qualified professionals. Although the laws

are tougher against abusers, there seems to be a lack of control and a fully effective regulation regarding the living conditions of the elephants.

group of people who attend festivals at temples and worship elephants, which shows some respect for the figure of the mahout. However, when establishing their position in a social hierarchy, they are hardly ever taken into account. Some of the mahouts I interviewed told me it can be difficult for them to find a wife or to get a husband for their daughters", says the psychologist.

Nobody else could give orders or dominate these animals

Moreover, not all mahouts seem to be treated fairly by society. Many of them are illiterate and belong to a lower social class.

As Prasanna says, almost everyone starts their craft at a young age as an expert mahout assistant (usually to their father or uncle) so they drop out at an early age. "There is a small

However, when an elephant gets up before it should or makes an

unexpected movement at a festival, everyone looks at the mahout and expects him to resolve the situation, demonstrating his skills in controlling the enormous animal. Only then will attendees of the traditional rituals with flowers and water or fire realize the importance of the mahout in such celebrations, as nobody else could give orders or dominate these highly revered animals.

The moment Srihari arrives from a festival at his stable, Sugunan takes the chains off, stands in front of him and looks into his eyes. At that moment, when both are exhausted after a long day, some complicity between them can be sensed. The animal moves its trunk and its mahout timidly caresses his forehead thinking, "Oh, my old friend, our lives are nothing more than this, huh?".

Resigned to a life of obeying orders they are lucky to have each other.

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