For centuries, elephants have been a source of wonder, fear, and fascination to man. While depiction of the elephant in art, sculpture and literature goes far back in time, this anthology focuses on the nineteenth century when the British Empire was on the ascendant in India, Burma and Sri Lanka, and colonial rulers began using the elephant in war and for transport, even as they were hunting it. This comprehensive collection includes excellent descriptions of these intelligent and sagacious animals in the wild, with rare insight into elephant behavior, anatomy and haunts, as well as the odd apocryphal story about them: is there really an elephant graveyard in Sri Lanka? Do elephants have extraordinary memories? Did a man-eating elephant actually exist? The book contains accounts by leading elephant-men--from Champion and sanderson to Samuel Baker and Symington--all from works no longer readily available. With fascinating photographs and drawings, this is an informative and delightful collection.
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About the Author
Dhriti Kanta Lahiri Choudhury is at Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta.
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The Great Indian Elephant Book,
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This review is from: The Great Indian Elephant Book (Hardcover)
This anthology is broad in its treatment of the Indian Elephant as a game animal, during the colonial era. The first section is largely on the early observations made by hunters about the Elephant, its behavior and habitat. If you like stories about hunting, the next section is the best. It begins with " Shikar as a Part of Life "by J.G. Elliott, an excellent account of the sporting life pursued by the British in India. Three stories on marauding rogue elephants stand out - " The Mad Elephant of Mandla", " Charged by a Rogue Elephant" & "Peer Bux, the Terror of Hunsur". They convey the terror and havoc that rogue elephants cause. They make exciting reading and are reminiscent of the tales by Jim Corbett. The rest of the accounts in this book, that include pieces from Sri Lanka and Burma, almost seem indistinguishable from one another, a cavalcade of hunters pursuing their elephants. In fact some of it is revolting, hunters shooting indiscriminately at herds of elephants, wounding their quarries ant not following them up etc. In fact my one criticism of the book, is that in his attempt to capture a broad range of stories, the editor has included quite a lot of mediocre writing. This book also gives you an interesting look in at the lives led by the British Sportsmen in India. One cannot but be amazed at the abundance of wild animals, during this period, in South East Asia, and yet be saddened by their plight today.
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