Participating in the exhibition “Ganpati to Gajah” — scheduled to begin from Friday and organised by the non- government organisation Wildlife SOS is in-house artist Phoolkali.
The exhibition showcases the footprints or padchins of elephants created with the help of Phoolkali. However, her journey to the canvas hasn’t been an easy one. The abused and overworked elephant was rescued from Agra and rehabilitated in 2012.
“The first time our team spotted her, she looked like she was about to collapse,” recalls Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan. It was evident that she was being badly treated and neglected.
“As a working elephant, her long days were not followed by rewards and praise. They were followed by tight chains on the leg to prevent her from running away. A covert examination by our team determined that she needed to be rescued.”
“Our team approached her owner and offered him a seed fund to surrender Phoolkali to us. The offer was enough for him to start a different livelihood that wouldn’t involve harming animals. He was reluctant initially, but agreed later. We left to begin preparations to bring her to the centre. When we returned two days later, the owner and the elephant were missing,” noted a release issued by the NGO.
For three days, the team searched frantically for her.
“Then someone told us about an elephant locked in a deserted warehouse. She was locked in a windowless shed near the highway. After making sure she was fit enough to handle travelling, we started preparations for rescuing her. A team went to arrange for a truck, while two of our mahouts rushed to the site. Phoolkali was lured on to the truck with water and sugarcane. Twelve uneventful hours later she arrived at the centre. She was frail and almost skeletal.”
The vets and mahouts immediately got working. Soft gruel was prepared for her at the centre. A water trough was kept on the side and stacks of sugarcanes were brought out. Bijli was the first elephant to meet Phoolkali. She walked up to her, investigated her a little and touched Phoolkali with the trunk.
Nearly 50-year-old, Phoolkali is blind in the right eye. She has recovered and is now friends with Maya, and loves to eat fruits. She also loves throwing mud on herself and her mahout…when he isn’t paying attention.
