12-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO IS MAHOUT TO 2 ELEPHANTS
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| Vijayalakshmi, Pattathu Veedu, Keezhpullikkara, Thriprayar, Thrissur |
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Watching
an elephant from a distance is certainly a pleasant experience, but being
a mahout may not be everyone’s cup of joy.
But
to 12-year-old Vijayalakshmi, Pattathu Veedu, Keezhpullikkara,
Thriprayar, Thrissur, the elephant is like a playmate.
She is mahout to 2 tuskers, Sreekrishnan and Sreeraman being
maintained by her father Ashok Kumar.
The
2 elephants are kept in the yard near their house.
Vijayalakshmi washes the elephants every morning.
After bath, the tuskers roam freely in front of their house.
Her mother Vasantha Kumari feeds them rice rolled into balls.
“Why
should one be afraid of them?” asks the young mahout.
“One keeps cats and dogs as pets, isn’t it?
Sreekrishnan and Sreeraman are like members of our family.”
“At
school my friends keep asking hundred questions about the tuskers.
Their demand is to bring the elephants to the school,” says this
7th standard student of Seraphic Convent School, Peringottukara.
During
6 months from December, the elephants will be busy with temple festivals
elsewhere. At those times,
bereft of her playmates, she feels an inner emptiness.
“Not
only she, but we too feel the emptiness”, confesses Ashok Kumar.
Courtesy: Staff Representative (text), R.S.Iyer (photo), Vanitha, March 15-31, 2001
Contributed by: Administrator
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