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"It
was
a
long
love
affair
with
a
country
that
ignited
my
passion
for
elephants.
Fifteen
years
ago,
I
decided
to
write
my
next
book
about
a
journey
across
India.
Purely
on
a
whim,
I
decided
to
buy
an
elephant.
"After
all",
I
thought,
'what
mode
of
transport
would
allow
me
a
more
wonderful
insight
into
the
magic
and
complexities
of
a
land
that,
like
its
elephants,
moves
slowly
and
subtly'?
After
many
weeks
of
searching
for
available
elephants,
fate
led
me
to
my
future
paramour,
late
one
monsoon
night
on
the
outskirts
of
a
village,
in
the
eastern
state
of
Orissa.
There
standing
quietly,
illuminated
by
the
glow
of
the
campfire
were
three
elephants.
My
mouth
went
dry.
I
felt
giddy,
breathless.
With
one
hind
leg
crossed
over
the
other,
she
was
leaning
nonchalantly
against
a
tree,
the
charms
of
her
perfectly
rounded
posterior
in
full
view,
like
a
prostitute
on
a
street
corner.
I
knew
then
that
I
has
to
have
her
and
I
realised,
with
some
surprise
that
I
had
fallen
in
love
with
a
female
Asian
elephant.
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Then,
I
had
no
idea
what
pulled
me,
like
a
magnet
to
her
that
night.
I
did
not
even
notice
the
other
two
elephants.
Maybe
it
was
her
eyes
-
gentle
dark
brown
pools
of
kindness,
fringed
by
lashes
long
enough
to
suggest
they
were
false.
Or
maybe,
it
was
the
way
she
stretched
out
her
trunk
and,
with
the
utmost
delicacy,
explored
my
pockets
searching
for
hidden
goodies.
Or
how
she
squeaked
with
excitement,
flapping
her
huge
ears,
the
ends
of
which
were
splashed
with
the
palest
of
pink
spots,
when
I
tentatively
offered
her
a
banana
for
the
first
time.
She
was
in
pitiful
condition,
scrawny
and
starved,
her
ribcage
clearly
visible
and
her
skin
hanging
in
folds,
like
an
ill-fitting
suit.
She
looked
at
that
moment,
exactly
what
she
was
-
a
beggar
-
a
beggar
with
a
pronounced
limp
due
to
deep-rooted
ulcer
caused
by
the
wicked
metal-spiked
shackles
the
mendicants
had
used
to
hobble
her.
But
I
know
that
I
was
never
in
control.
She
chose
me.
It
was
karma.
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After
a
series
of
complex
negotiations
she
became
mine.
I
called
her
Tara,
which
means
'star'
in
Hindi.
Three
hundred
kilos
of
fodder
each
day
and
veterinary
care
soon
restored
Tara's
health.
Accompanied
by
an
ingenuous
Indian
nobleman
and
gifted
photographer
called
Aditya
who
taught
me
Indian
ways
and
a
drunken
mahout
called
Bhim
who
taught
me
elephant
ways,
Tara
allowed
me
to
ride
her
a
thousand
miles
or
so
across
her
country.
My
book
'Travels
on
my
Elephant'
is
the
account
of
our
adventures
together.
I'm
often
asked
how
old
Tara
is.
I
refuse
to
answer.
A
gentleman
should
never
disclose
a
lady's
age.
But
I
will
give
a
clue.
She
is
young
enough
to
have
children.
I
am
now
on
quest
to
find
the
perfect
husband."
-----
Mark
Shand
Mark
Shand
is
now
director
of
"Elephant
Family"
a
charity
dedicated
to
the
survival
and
care
of
the
Asian
Elephant.
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