Page 113 - Musings 2021

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Blessing of Ivory
Aaditya Kumar
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Keshavan was the most majestic tusker the villagers of Arattupuzha had ever seen. He had all
the ideal characteristics, according to elephant enthusiasts. Eighteen nails, raised pointy tusks,
jet black skin, a broad forehead, a long whiplike tail, and a long trunk that curled up like a
python on the floor. Despite being blessed with such beauty, Keshavan had one major flaw:
his temper.

During their annual musth periods, the wild instincts of tuskers are referred to as mischief
amongst the elephant enthusiasts despite the dangerous demeanor of such beasts. Ever since
he was captured as a young calf from the Periyar forest, Keshavan was also quite
mischievous. Once Keshavan had tossed a huge trolley of hay just because it was parked on
his favorite spot on the training camp. On another occasion, Keshavan took a jab at another
elephant with his tusks for reaching towards his side of the palm leaves while they were being
fed in a common stable. Normally such uncontrollable captives are let out in the wild.
Keshavan also disliked the smell of toddy which was a popular alcoholic beverage amongst
the trainers. Whenever a drunk trainer approached Keshavan, he would immediately show his
discomfort by making angry noises. Since Keshavan was quite the specimen for his rare
features, the trainers persisted with the high maintenance beast, hoping some wealthy fanatic
would come knocking.

Narayana Menon was the head of Chittor Mana, a wealthy family from Aarattupuzha.
Produces from acres of farmland owned by the Chittor family enabled him to indulge in an
extravagant lifestyle and be patrons of Carnatic music and local art forms. Menon was quite
the influential person in the town of Aarattupuzha. Everyone in town knew him. His tall
figure with a shiny bald head was hard to miss during village panchayat meetings. If you
couldn’t see him, his loud voice would indicate his presence. His generous charity endeavors
also made him quite popular among the less fortunate people.

Menon was a devout believer in Aarattupuzha Dharmashasta, and took great pride in hosting
the annual festivals of Aarattupuzha Dharmashasta Temple. He also happened to be an
elephant fanatic, and despite already owning two elephants, he was always open to adding to
his stable. Once when Narayanan visited the Periyar elephant camp, he was struck by
Keshavan’s beauty and acquired him on the spot for whatever number the trainers could
imagine. Menon was keen on using Keshavan to escort the temple deity at Aarattupuzha
during the annual festival.

Blinded by his desire to flaunt Keshavan’s beauty, Menon rushed the tusker to its first festival
a few months after his acquisition. Keshavan’s debut festival was nothing short of a disaster.
The elephant just couldn’t stand still while the fireworks went off, and the intimidated beast
broke its chains and went berserk, destroying many food stalls and toy shops at the festival,
injuring many onlookers in the process. The animal then ran towards the Aarattupuzha river
and jumped in to cool down its temper and wash away the blood. A veterinarian doctor and a
hunter had to be called in to administer a tranquilizer shot to Keshavan via a shallow gunshot

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