A Tragedy in Kerala

Before you read this, here's a backgrounder. On June 5, 2020, a 15-year-old pregnant elephant consumed a pineapple implanted with a bomb. It was purportedly kept by the locals to scare away boars that come to eat pineapples from the farms. The elephant injured its mouth so badly by the bomb that exploded when it tried to eat the pineapple that it got into a nearby water body to soothe the injury in the cool water. All efforts by forest officials to coax her out of the water failed, including trying to make two other elephants push her out. The elephant succumbed to her injuries.

This incident upset animal lover Preeta immensely. "The whole incident was so tragic and unfair. I love elephants and always think of them as gentle giants, they are wise and amazingly dignified creatures. As always I had to write about this in an attempt to get over this tragedy and pay my respects to this unfortunate creature."

She ran hungry and hurt
What is this agony- how can she end it?
Into the river, she plunges
Cooling her blasted and wounded mouth.
She refuses to leave the water
No refuge or safety on land
They send in her sturdy brethren though
Trying to nudge her out onto the bank.
But she bids them a sad farewell
Telling them to leave her there,
There is nothing left for her here
No one can help her, alas!

She thinks of the little one in her womb-
“I’ll be your shelter, my baby
This world is not for us
Let’s move into God’s own heart
His country is not for us!”

He gathered her back into his arms
His tears a mute apology-
It rained as never before
that day in God’s Own country!  

Image courtesy: Pixabay 

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