The Elephant That Tossed a Cruel Mahout: A Boy's Touching Story!

In Kerala, there lived on a big farm a large elephant named Elumalai with a pair of shining, dreadful tusks. His trunk was as strong as a tree trunk, yet he was good, tame, and docile. He obeyed the commands of his mahout like a dutiful son.

However, Mahout Marappan was a cruel and sadistic person who simply enjoyed insulting Elumalai. For small lapses, Marappan would beat the elephant. Marappan had a son named Madhusudan, who—unlike his father—was a very kindhearted boy. He loved Elumalai so much that he wouldn't eat before offering something to him.

Even when what he offered was very small, like a banana or a handful of grass, Elumalai would accept it and show his affection for the little boy by touching his face tenderly with his trunk-tip. (Like us, elephants have fingers on their trunk-tips and can easily pick up a needle from the ground.)

Madhusudan hated his father for ill-treating Elumalai, but he could not stop the torture. Lakshmi, Madhusudan's mother, was also unhappy with her husband's cruelty. "You are playing with fire. The elephant's tolerance will break one day, and you will not see the next day," she used to warn.

One day, the inevitable happened. Marappan went too far and poked Elumalai's underbelly hard and unnecessarily. Elumalai, the dormant volcano, erupted. He picked up the twig-like mahout with his mighty trunk and flung him afar. Marappan sustained multiple fractures and was taken to the hospital.

It took an hour for Elumalai's anger to subside. When everyone else was too scared to go near the elephant, Madhusudan walked right up to him and stood there with tearful eyes and folded hands, seeking forgiveness for his father's offense. Elumalai's big heart melted. He stretched out his trunk and wiped the boy's tears, as if saying, "Sorry, dear, I lost my temper and attacked your father."

When Marappan returned home from the hospital after a month-long stay, he was a changed man. He became an exemplary, kind mahout and started bathing Elumalai with love. For the first time in his life, Madhusudan felt proud of his father. Normally, a father feels proud of his heroic son, but here it was the other way around.

We live in a world filled with cruelty towards animals. To be compassionate towards these voiceless creatures is the first and foremost quality that makes someone a true hero. My idea of a hero is not someone who has others fight their battles. My hero is someone who fights real battles to defend poor, exploited animals, trees, and plants.