The wild animals in our country are regarded as gods. There are many temples in India which are dedicated to tigers and snakes, especially Cobra. With the documentary film, ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ winning an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category at the 95th Academy Awards, these beliefs which are rooted in nature’s worship have been cemented at the international level. Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, her directorial debut, and produced by Guneet Monga, the 40-minute long documentary film showcases the bond between humans and animals.
The story is of indigenous couple of Bomman and Belli from Tamil Nadu who are entrusted with an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. Shot originally in Tamil, the film is set in the Mudumalai National Park and also brings to the fore the natural beauty of the forests. The film also highlights the harmonious coexistence of tribal communities with nature and pays homage to the country’s age-old tradition of safeguarding the environment. The wildlife at the moment around the world is affected due to the excess industrialisation and urbanisation. The struggle between wild animals and humans is rampant along with the rise in insensitive nature towards stray dogs, cats and other animals. However, the land teaches the human race about coexistence with animals. Sparrows and pigeons arriving at our windows is also in a way a form of coexistence. More often than not, the attacks by leopards in the jungles are mostly on the people who have encroached the respective forest area.
The tribals who have been residing in jungles for centuries have learnt to co-exist with the leopards. Just the way people in Mumbai know how to catch a train, similarly the tribals know how to behave with the leopards. They know why and when the leopards arrive and so, they do not do things which would provoke the leopards to enter their settlements. When human activities do not affect animals and vice-versa, that is called co-existence. If there are garbage dumps in our area, dogs and cats who wander such spaces are prey for the leopards who follow them into the human habitats. This is the reason why it needs to be taught to keep the localities clean. As per a survey, around one billion people get employment due to the animals and hence, it is necessary to take care of the animals in order to achieve sustainable development. With the Oscar win, there is a hope that welfare of animals and raising voice on their situation will be included in the government affairs. The baby elephants are endearing and affable who have human qualities of understanding the pain as well as joy. This holds true for other animals as well. The cattle in the cowshed to the dog who has accepted the responsibility to protect them from wild animals at night; are all part of the family. The humans have a generosity of feeding the animals first which lays the foundation of coexistence between humans and animals. Although the story of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ revolves around Bomman and Belli raising a baby elephant as their own child, such stories can be found in many houses in rural India.
There are many families in our own State who observe mourning over the passing of their family pets. Even today when wild animals wander the areas in villages, they return back to their habitat with ease. However, the same is not the situation in the urban areas where people are more likely to pick up a stone over seeing even a dog. The people are scared to death when a leopard enters the locality and that is because we have lost the sensitivity towards them. There are ten thousand years old carvings on the rocks at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) which portrays the coexistence between humans, animals and nature. There is a need to rethink and restart such a lifestyle. It is indeed true that the human race which forms an integral part of nature has distanced itself from the environment. There is a huge gap between humans and the rest of nature which has brought biodiversity on the planet into danger. This has also gravely impacted the food web and food chain. Some species have gone extinct while some are on the way to follow the suit. The humans have finally realised that the journey of this much needed coexistence is leading towards perdition and if the humans are to survive, we would need other living beings continuing as well. There is a need to re-instil the importance of coexistence today. Safeguarding the environment means safeguarding humans by-default. Let us hope that this newfound realisation will be strengthened by the Oscar win.
