O Y GH 7 B C P RI T, 1 9 3 , Y CHA R LES SCR IBNER ’S SONS

Printed in the United States of A m eric a

ll o a t o th book A rights reserved . N p r f is m ay be reproduced in any f orm without ’ the perm ission of Cha rles S c ribner s S ons

PR EFA C E

This kind of book—and it is a rare kind—is the best

bo o k television we have yet discovered . It is scarcely a f at all . Never did print have such di ficulty in remain in g black or paper so nearly dissolve into a clear an d I u ndian air . It would be abs rd to discuss the writing

u to as writing , as it wo ld be talk ofthe brushwork of

a smile seen in the street .

In short , these letters are not works of art , but

n i n works of ature . Nature has certa n adva tages

n n A n d n natural ess amo g others . for authe ticity there

n hin i who is ot g to beat it , as those artists adm t marry

their models . So here we have India as one person saw it ; the

right sort of India and the right sort of person . No u politics or ologies intrude ; there are palaces , j ngles ,

k n mon eys , elepha ts . That is the India I was brought

A lo t w up upon . ofpeople have been tinkering ith it i ever since , and I am to learn that it is st ll there beyond

I fa cing T H E E L EP H A NTS A R E G ON E BA C K T O ' T H EI R J UNG L E

Photograph by Barba ra Flaherty va r: Ingen an an d the tropic oce , I am glad to have a piece of it

n here in my ha d .

n By good luck , which agai belongs to nature , these casual letters tell a story , or at least follow its contour .

film A film The story is that of a Flaherty . Flaherty differs from others ; the making of it is an adventure

n rather tha a gamble . It is an exploration into a sort of ‘ ’ nn n beauty that ca ot be put under co tract .

c These letters are a re ord ofsuch an exploration , of a search for all that is most delightful an d excitin g in

n India . That must have bee a great pleasure , and plea

tuII hi sure is the very s ofw ch they are compounded .

n No wo der it is such a pleasure to read them .

J OH N C OLLIER CONTENTS

Preface byJohn Collier

A Word ofExplan ation — Part I May to November — Part II November to M ay: The jun gle Epilogue

ILLUSTR A TIONS

' t h e e l e ph a n ts a re go n e b a c k t o t he ir jun gl e Photograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingen

' A e a sa n t a u o c a bufi a lo a n d a o o f r ic e p , b ll k , b wl Phot ograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingon

Sr i Ch a m un d e sv a r i De v i t ute a r o e ss o f so r e , l y g dd My , in h e r c a r

Th e bull o c k s o f Myso r e a r e a fa m o us br ee d

Sh a ll h e be To o m a i?

R o a d t o Myso re

— ‘ h t u l A r r is a in T e c a c a n e m a n . s e n e o h j g l d l , k d of l e m ur

Dho bis Photogra ph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingen

Sho o t in g begin s

R efr esh m e n t s o n t h e w a y

' A m t He a d tr a c ker fo r t h e Pr in c e s shik a r . l os h e t r a c ks by sc en t

t h e c o n t in uo us pr o c e ssio n o f t h e b ull o c k c a r t s

Mo n so o n Photograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingen 9 F A CING P A G E Th e Br a h m in bo y is t r a in e d in t h e r it ua l o f h is fa it h t o c a r r y o n it s spir it ua l a n d t e m po r a l a ut hor it y

In Me lko te bur n s t h e fla m e of Br a hm in pr iest h oo d

t ir w a r m s r in L Sa us e in e o e t o s r in e . iv dh , b gg g h y h h —f in g ve sse l s of pr a yer e a c h c r um b t he y beg a n o ff e r in g t o t h e go d s

G o m a t a Sr a a n a Be o a . Co o ssa a in st a t ue c a r e v lg l l l J , v d f f r D o ut o a sin gl e bl oc k o g a n ite . A . . 983

' Ir aw at h a s t r a m l n g

We a ve r s of Me lko t e

‘ ' Ir a w a t h a m ust h

Ir a w a t h a is we ll a g a in

Th e Je m a d a r an d go o d Ir a w a t h a Wh om h e c a pt ur ed ‘ ’ w a n de r in g a l o n e a n d m ust h in t h e Mysore jun gle

t Ta kin g t h e c a pt ur e d t usker t o wa ter . Th e w o kum kie s in t h e for e gr o un d a r e ac t in g a s b r a ke s t o kee p t h e t usk e r fr o m c h a r gin g t h o se I n fr o n t Photograph by Ba rba ra Fla herty van Ingen

Mo t he r e l e ph a n t wit h b a by b o r n in c a pt ivit y Photograph by Ba rbara Flaherty va n Ingen

ir n t Th e em a d a r . Our m a o ut s a n d t e e e a s o e J h h l ph l v d , fe a r e d a n d o be ye d h im

Th e t o c a e a te m a e t o s in u i e a t r a a n d S k d g , d w g p l k p c r a sh d own a t t h e c ut t in g of a r o pe

La s m i r iz e or e e a n t of t h e K a a n o t e c a m k h , p w k l ph k k p , put t in g up t h e g a te po st fo r o ur S t o c k a de — Th e Jun gl e R iver vill a ge r s c o m e for w a te r a n d t o b a t he I O On e tw o " Le t r i t " , f , gh

Th e wild h e r d c o m es t o t h e r iv e r t o d r in k Photograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingon

' t he b o y w e im a gin e d

a n a v a l a n c he of bo die s in a r o ll in g c l o ud o f d ust

’ P ui K a a Na a t ir t e a r s " f , l g , wh d y

I I

A W O R D O F E " P L A NA T IO N

Le an n st there be y bothersome confusio about them , the members of the Flaherty family who will be met ‘ ’ ‘ : n B o b with in these letters are my husba d , or Dad ’ d — a y Robert Fl herty , producer of films ; his brother ‘ ’ an d — assistant , David Flaherty Uncle David ; our ‘ ’ eldest daughter Barbara , Barbie , with us in India ; an d n an d M two you ger daughters , Frances onica , at

n n school in E gla d most of the time , though they did i come to India wh le we were there . These last are the ‘ ’ Darlin gs who were chiefly respon sible for this spill

ink ing of . The occasion for writin g the letters was our makin g

film M n A n d a in ysore , southern I dia . how did we " come to be making a film in southern India? Because

an of idea we had had in min d for a number ofyears .

1 20 From the time , 9 , that my husband first began

m s k making fil of Es imos in Hudson Bay , we had spent the years making film expeditions to various 1 3 m — to co ers of the globe , to the South Seas , Samoa an d hi A Ta ti , to the merican desert where we tried to — — film the pueblo Indians but found them alas in

to o ff tractable , some rocky islands the coast of Ire

an l d . Wherever we took our camera , from one

n primitive sce e to another , we used the native people as our characters an d took our material from the stuff l oftheir ives . We found what good actors native chil

n l dren can be , and how appealing they u fai ingly are

- to an audience . So we had this idea; why , if we wrote a film- story aroun d extraordinar y adventures that a native boy might have in his native env iron ’ ‘ ’ a him ment , wouldn t it be possible to st r that boy selfin the film?

to We set about write a story . The first one we

o f ni wrote was a Spa sh boy , and it was based on an — actual happening the pardoning by public acclaim of a famous Spanish fighting bull in the bull ring . Our l story, fol on the adventures of the two together, developed the devotion o f the bo fo r the bull up to y—— his pride and agony in the fm al life o r death scene . It ul was a good story . But we were uncertain of the b l ; we were uncertain whether we could show a bull on the screen an d make him so convincing in his lova bility as to be suffi ciently appealing an d sympathetic .

a With what nimal , we asked ourselves , would it be

to do ? o f easier this Why , course , with that great

n an t an d lumberi g , tediluvian pet , that greatest oddi y I 4 ’ most pec uliarly en gagin g of all God s c reatures o n — earth the elephan t "O ur story shifted in stan tly to

in n h n n In dia . What more trigui g t a the adve tures ofa little In dian boy o n a big In dian elephan t in the j ? gles ofIn dia with all thejungle creatures — B ut who could be foun d to produce suc h a film a ‘ ’ h n o n film t at depe ded a star who was a mere boy , an d n a a ative boy at that , a quite ide l boy , moreover , who had yet to be discovered by some o n e of us

in n " n c somewhere I dia This eeded a produ er , it must

n o an d n . be admitted , of little courage e terprise For

was tun ately there was such a o n e i n Lon don . There A A l lexander Korda . lmost before we rea ized it we found ourselves o n his produc tion schedule under the ‘ ’ n n worki g title of Elepha t Boy . M r . n ow But , Korda remembered , there was already a famous story of a boy an d an elephant that almost — ’ everybody kn ew Kipling s J ungle Book story of ‘ ’ To o m ai n n e c s of the Elepha ts . Immediately the e

n M sary arrangeme ts were made between r . Korda an d M r n an . Kipli g d the film rights to the character of ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Little To o m ai an d of Kala Nag and to the Kiplin g

title were ours . And the rights to the Kiplin g story as l we l , of course , if we wished to use it . The Kipling — ‘ ’ story revolves about an Elephan t dan ce the dan ce

n n of wild elephants in the ju gle at ight . This was ? pure fantasy . Or was it somewhat fact Was any — one suggesting that we should fin d o r m ake believe 1 5 -an Elephant dance in the j ungles of India for our film? Anyway our minds were full ofother pressin g and

more practical questions . Where in all India should we

to ? go make the film To British India , or to a native ? ? state Where , first of all , were the wild elephants

M o ff ost of them were way in Assam , in remote jun

n M gles . But there were plent y to o in the ju gles of y

in 800 m i sore south India , hardly les south of Bom

His i n M M bay . Would H gh ess , the aharajah of ysore , u an exclusive and conservative r ler , be graciously dis posed to let us work in his domain? Would he let us have his elephants? Fo r we needed a quantity o f tame

a eleph nts as well as wild ones .

ll in a With all these questions sti the air , my husb nd ,

i . w th Barbara and David , set out for Bombay By the

m to e ti e , six weeks later , that I was ready follow th m , — all had been settled settled by the gracious permn H H M M o f . . sion the aharajah of ysore , by a telegram

his n M on ofwelcome from Dewa , Sir irza Ismail , and ll the warm recommendation of His Exce ency, Lord ’ ll who in Wi ingdon , said that he couldn t th k of a

to better place for us go .

1 6

West E d Hotel n ,

Ban alore M sore g , y ,

Ma h y I 5t .

Darlings , A VERY spiffy hotel a nd such a spiffy apartment as we have "Six rooms an d a verandah for the two of ’ n us . It isn t done for us to share a dressi g room and

o wn " a nd bath , so we each have our (4) bedroom (shared ") (5) and sittin g room Drapery doors an d

n everything open , and the breeze blowi g through .

The beds are netted . Got my first malaria inoculation , i ’ e . . . mosquito bite The brutes don t buzz , they simply

n bite . Fans all buzzi g ; big ones hung from the ceiling

ll ot hot n . go round like a Dutch windmi . But it is f A ter Bombay and the boat it is deliciously cool .

n n Barbie met me in Bombay . Thejour ey dow was ’ n t half as bad as I had expected . There were great preparations in the way of fruit and lime squash and 1 9 Evian water and two huge pails of ice . A first class compartmen t is a room all by itself; no corridor ; with its own toilet and wash room , two big fans , two long

- leather settees . Barbara , like an old timer , pulled out ofher bedding roll a neat little woven rug which just

the ti la rincess be fitted seat , and there , p we reclined hind closed shutters to keep out the sun , but with a crack open to look out o n the country side as we

rattled through it at a good European clip . It was countr y like our desert country round Tuc

son , very , very like . The earth is that lovely , soft ,

- low reddish yellow colour . There are bushy cactus and rows o f that same Mexican cactus that is so pic tur

an d d esque , there are many large , shapely , sprea ing

trees of a deep luscious green . There were the same w bouldery buttes rising o ut of the plain . There as the

w as same sense of great space . But yet there a greater ’

i . del cacy about it It wasn t wild and rude , it was beau tifully refin ed and sweetly and subtly patterned an d

to decorative . I could begin understand the delicacy A d subtlet o f n . n c and y India design when , my lears , the Indian women and the bullock carts came into the

how " picture , then , oh then , I wished I could draw ’ u Because I don t think I co ld possibly describe it .

Daddy met us in Bangalore , looking quite old

tim e r ish to o , in his topi , and completely wedded to ‘ ’ n Gul Kah . Gul Kahn is his bearer . Everybody has a

two . bearer , or or three Anyway , you always have

20

a cin P EA SA N ’I‘ U "f g A , A B LLOCK , A BUFFALO AND A B OW L o r RICE Phot ograph by Barbara F la herty van Ingen

— - — - one who is your body- serva nt body soul an d purse Bearers

n servant as a matter offact . He does everythi g for you

n but brush your teeth . I mea it . He is your shadow . ’ You can t lose him from the time he comes in the

an d morning to wake you draw your bath until , hav ing turned down your sheet and put out your slippers ‘ ’

n . and tucked in the netting , he salaams a good ight ’ c an Then you have yourself to yourself, for what s left ofthe even ing " Barbie and I had a bearer just to bring us from A m eer

Bombay here . I wish you could have seen him . He ’ n n has gone back to Bombay , so I ca t even send a s ap

r n of him . He was a huge man , with a ve y sple did

an d n n an d black beard a sple did portly beari g , a

lia hi bril nt purple turban , w ch he wore , in the manner

his fl n of tribe in the north , with one end owi g down hi him be nd . I was scared to death of , but Barbara

o l carried him ff superb y . She has quite the correct

- a mem sahib manner lready . Ameer (that was his name) rode in a third class compartment in a whole row ofcarriages overflowing

nit with motley Indian huma y. At every stop his pur

r a n ple tu b n would come bobbi g , towering above the l station crowd , and he wou d stoop and peer in at the

nl window, or sudde y appear in the doorway with his

n ? ul huge bulk . Was there anythi g we wanted Wo d we have tea? Would we have our lunch in the station or brought into the compartm ent? He thought we

2 1 A m eer had better have it in the compartment . The next stop

u the to o u wo ld be one get t and go to the dining car .

to i Now he was going fix our bedd ng , etc . I thought ’ I d die when Barbara had to ask this mountain of dignity fOr toilet paper " ’ h His Gul a l . Daddy s bearer , K n , is much trave led — last sahib took him right round the world to where

do ?—M you suppose amaroneck , Connecticut (the Gul station after Stamford , do you But ’ a Kahn got homesick . His wages weren t Americ n ’ ik n wages l e the other serva ts . The American children

made fun o f him .

He comes from Peshawar , up by the Khyber Pass ,

all the toughest frontier town , Daddy says , in the

world . Besides a big wall , it has an electrified barbed

wire entanglement all around it . The gates are closed ’ at six o clock . The cin ema audiences are guarded by

police with fixed bayonets . Through the Pass , as

n in all a through the openi g a dam , pour the carav ns

f - an d - A f rom the north , north east north west . The i ghans , the w ld mountain men , raid them . A handful

of English soldiers guard the Indian side of the Pass , fi like a n ger in the hole ofthe dam .

22

al passed through the Bang ore bazaar . That alone was ‘ ’ n to e ough keep one shooting a week . Hum an

M sore Hotel y .

Later— b in ed.

e a nk Th y think I have m laria , but I thi I am going hi . li to fool them I believe it is not ng but ver again . It — hi is Gul Kahn who gives me my orders not to do t s ,

t o o . A ll his not g out , etc I think he is rather a dear . fam ily were in and about "uetta when the news came

o f . the terrible earthquake Daddy , thoughtful as ever ,

fo r sent a telegram him , and when the reply came that

wn they were all safe , the tears of relief streamed do

his cheeks .

n ffi i The I dians , o c al and otherwise , are cordial and

u - i charming . The city is beautif l , park l ke , spick and l span , up to date , brilliantly ighted , six palace domes

- n . i in magnifice tly flood lighted The court , or ental

o n a colour and pageantry , is conducted the most p

proved English lines . It is all impressively progressive

and Arabian- Nightish at the same time . I can well believe there is n o other state or city in India to com

pare with it . ’ M t It is the aharajah s Birthday Week , and the ci y is full and there is a great programme of even ts every

— ni n day races , polo , a mal shows , hu ting with the

M u a —all nl ysore ho nds , Gymkh na in the most heave y

A n d gorgeous weather , in lovely grounds . everybody 24

a cin C H A M UND ESV A R I "f g SRI DEVI , TUTELARY G ODD SS o r E MYSORE , IN HER CAR

comes from all th e plantation s an d settlements for miles ar ound ; guest palaces an d joc key an d hunt clubs and hotels are all full an d overflon in to ten ts that have sprung up like mushrooms everywhere . Garden

t m n n n par ies , teas , a co mand di ner at Gover me t

all in n House , very much the English man er with a t l — s rong British stamp . Delhi on a smal er scale all — except the Royal Birthday Procession that was

i n th e e . India , an Ind a worth saili g sev n seas to see Thousan ds of the finest horses in regim ents o f flash

be— n ing colours ; turba ed troops in gorgeous , exotic livery , astride beautiful mounts caparisoned with leo pard skins ; the royal and sacred elephants , wonderful to see in gold and silver brocade and jewelled trap

th e M a in pings . And aharaj h and his heir the midst of it , in pale green and gold and rose and gold ; His High ness ridin g upon a pure white Arab charger .

It was no theatrical show but impressive dignity . M The aharajah is a little , pale man with a kind , sad i face . His city is his jewel . He goes up every n ght to his temple an d dwelling on his high hill to meditate over it and institute projects for the people—arts and

m i l a crafts , a silk mill , sandalwood l , a model farm ,

vi a — to model llage , w ter power and summons his

i an d projects the best mach nes , materials brains of

so M m ini Europe , that ysore is the best ad stered state

a in India . The person lity of the little man , whose m i essence I feel everywhere , intrigues me ghtily . 2 5 - B Daddy met him to day at the races . arbie and I

o ff sat in the grand stand , part ofwhich is partitioned i for with a private tea balcony beh nd . The

- i n race course is a charming place , l ke everythi g else ’ a His c rrying Highness s private stamp , something outwardly English but with an essential difference ; a

an d greater charm delicacy and lightness ofgesture .

a ni There is fant sy in it , as there is in the fur ture in

an d f furni the Arts Cra ts Institute which we visited , ture made ofthe fm est native woods after well chosen

l i the English models , and then embe l shed by loving

an d hand and eye imagination ofIndia .

sat We were invited to tea on the balcony . As we

e M a a a an d th re , the aharaj h rrived in his carri ge pair ,

t hi f . beau ifully liveried , driving msel So presently Daddy was ushered in to meet him and said he had a H ’ r H . . ve y pleasant talk , though didn t distinguish us ,

a f n . pparently , rom any other motio picture company M i It is the Dewan , the Prime in ster , whom some ‘ ’ a has body described as living brain , who bidden us

to M here . It is the advertisement we shall be ysore

hi o u r e that he is t nking f. We already have a yo ng

Tim es o India hi porter from the f , writing up everyt ng

as we go along . ’ - is H H. s . The race horses were beautiful creatures , Engl h ,

- H . H un . . co try bred , Arab and whalers has a stable of

d i saw . an three hundred Barbie I , visit ng the stables ,

r o n e o f i eve y last them , and fed the darlings , all cran ng

26 ’ n c o f im m ac ulatc ll their e ks out sta s to see who s there , n ic ke r in n the f n g , reachi g up for tu ts ofsweet gree the syces (grooms) had all tied up in little bun c hes to give ’

u . n us . It s a reg lar show of course We we t the com

le te n n p rou d , from the State stallio s that have to be a

an d R a u pure , spotless white are a breed peculiar to jp

n in n n A n n an d ta a Ce tral I dia , through ustria , E glish

n c n o n e Irish beauties to the po ies for theroyal hildre , of

an n . which , we were told , could beat y horse at raci g

fin e ll The horses made a show , but the bu ocks were l l n . n u real y exciti g The most e ormous of the b ls , of some northern breed with a tremen dous weight of horns , lapped up our bouquets of juicy green , as gentle as a lamb . The Mysore bullocks are n o t as patien t an d lon g

ff n n l su eri g as they look . Like elepha ts , they Obey on y

an d their keepers , are dangerous to all others ; also like elephan ts they have a long memory an d will bear a grudge . Several keepers tried to make their bullocks l i lie down for us , pu l ng on the rope which passes

h i n n t rough the r te der nostrils , but the obsti ate beasts ’ H H wouldn t . Perhaps . . co uld have made them . He is evidently one ofthose who are born with power over

ni a a m ls .

hi s There are many stories of power . There was a bad elephant who had killed three men and wo unded

. n four He was tied up , waiting for the executio er to H H come and end his wickedness with a ball oflead . . . 2 7 ‘ : came along , walked up to the elephant , said You l i ta e- S b n have been bad but I forgive you this tim e . Do o t do ’ n i . to n it agai And from that day th s , that elepha t has

n been good . Again , there was a da gerous dog , so vicious that he w as put into a cage like a wild beast H ‘ H . : and kept there month after month . Said . What have you there? Is that a tiger that you keep him ’ ‘ ’ ? do caged He spoke to the g . Be good . And they let

an d a o r the dog out the dog licked his h nd . Believe it not "

’ s " H H oo . . s " o o ff Anyway , gives you an entirely di erent feeling about the animals from any other "o o that I

an d have ever been in . There are four enormous most

splendid and fearsome tigers . Perhaps it isjust because they are so jungly fierce an d seem to have lost nothing oftheir real selves that the "o o feels like a place where

yo u c an meet the animals on their o wn level . They ’ haven t been shamed or cowed by c aptivity one little i ’ ’ . n ni . bit All dig ty preserved . That s why it s ce After the races we drove up to the top o f the hill

"

H . hi r H . n c t . overlooki g the y loves t s hill , and crown

in - g the tip top ofit he has a house for himself, where he c an go every evening to watch his city shining

with lights likejewels vying with the stars . We drove

like the wind to the top and turning , drove down

H . H . again , to meet . coming up This was my first

a . glimpse of him face to face . I forgot my m nners I

simply stared .

Ifa cing T HE BULLOCKS OF M YSORE ARE A F A M OUS BR EED

’ H H s " oo His Highness has issued orders to give us all the . .

n . assistance we need . We may have his elepha ts So

r n eve ythi g looks rosy .

‘ n F an Mail" Revere d Sir , In the daily newspaper I just n o w read the state ’ ment regardin g your desire to have Kiplin g s Toom ai o t l l M a f he E ephants im mortalized in the cel uloid . y I request your hon our to give me a chance of takin g however a small part in your ambitious project? Your honour will ask at once “ What is your qualification and experien ce in this line?

Nothing ofthe sort , sir , except my sincerity , com i mon intell gence and inquisitiveness , enterprise and intense zeal toward it . t As regards myself, I am a youth oftwen y, am five i feet n ne inches in height . For two years I am studying ll books on Cinematograph at home , theoretica y , but t Sir , none has yet extended me any opportuni y to try my ability in the practical field to begin my life anew ’ therewith . So at least I seek your favour and shelter .

I beg to rem ind yo u that according to your letter

1 M a 1 n o t of the 7 th y, 935 , I have received any letter as yet as to what you have decided . Oh Sir , am I doomed? Often I curse the lon g past day when this idea of acting in film first struck to me an d rooted 29 F an Mail" itself in my heart for which I have n o means to be

freed but to seek your shelter . Can this great ambition ’ ofmine n o t be realised?

‘ Respected Sir ,

‘ I un der stan d that you are in search o f a Mahout hi boy and you t nk that he is somewhere in India .

Who n o t d knows that I am that boy . I am sen ing my

photograph with this letter . Please see it and let me k ’ bo . now ifI am the y ofyour Dream I wish I am .

‘ Dear Sir , I am a you ng lad of eighteen years only but I

r look ve y much younger and tender in age . I am very

a - h ndsome and my complexion Is brown yellow . I keep every information of the world n o t to speak of

m s m i screen an d stage . I have studied all fil nutely that

has been shown in India . I can read , write and under hi l stand English language very well . T s letter wi l prove my abilities and my command and capacity

a n o over the l nguage . It will be exaggeration ifI say I

in the am intelligent an d smart . I may be lacking tech niques and arts o f fine actors but I think it is not diffi cult to develop them under yo ur fatherly Care an d ’ guidance .

30 “ M n Fan Ma il" To The a ager ,

n The Ci ema Factory ,

n n l n . Lo do Fi m Corporatio , Ltd , M ysore .

M ay I request you to be good en ough to let me

f n kn ow ifyou c an take me on your sta f o at least Rs . I OO per m en sem as an Assistant Man ager or Super

in ten den t .

n I am a retired Police Superi tendent . I am a motor

n n ist and I mai tai my own car . I was an actor during M my college days in adras . I can manage your corres

on den c e p and put your actors in the way , as I have an eye for art . ’ I was acting principal of a Girls High School be fore I got into Government Service . I was a private Coach for European an d In dian girls appearing fo r

in Cam bridge and Intermediate Exam ations . This is to hint that I kn ow how to keep girl actors in ’ discipline .

’ fan This , my dears , was Daddy s mail , a sample of

nn it , in Bombay . The papers a ounced that we had ’ Ki n Toom ai o the Ele hants come to film pli g s f p .

India is a film producing country . Daddy says it is

n in the second largest co sumer ofraw film the world .

1 80 ni in a There are over compa es all , sm ll though

o wn they may be , that are producing films for their 3 1 — people in In dia film s that the western world never ’ P'Odum o" sees and that it knows nothing about . ’ 1 Bombay alone has 9 studios . I don t know how

a m ny p icture houses it has , but David says they are fil always packed . The ms are hours and hours long , most of them the stories acted out of the old Hindu — iffi legends god and heroes , their loves and d culties

m s i and wonders performed . Ofour fil they l ke horror

an d an d m ob mystery westerns , and they the Tarzan pictures " ’ ‘ ’ T m ai We haven t found our o o yet . We have been through the Palace elephant stables where the ma ’ H H s houts tend . . processional elephants , and through the elephant camps where they keep the work ele

han ts— so n p looking for a young mahout . Now David has gone further afield to the elephant camps in — M . Coorg , Cochin and alabar hundreds ofmiles

Meantime we are all keeping o ur eyes open here . Yesterday I spied a likely lad in the hotel yard an d ‘ ’ n " hauled him up for i spection . No He was a sweeper

(low caste) and kneeled and kissed o ur feet . But the

- little shock headed urchins who run the roads , herding

an d ff m . skittish goats lumpish bu alos , are good aterial

"fa cing SH A L L H E B E T OOM A I ?

Onr alace as P and plaster , about as human as a stone statue and i M ’ mysterious . It was bu lt for the aharajah s grand i mother n nety odd years ago . A fortun e teller in ‘ Paris once told me I should be equally at home in a ’ In hi hut or a palace . I suppose t s is the palace . Daddy says we must have snake charmers come in and clear

o f the place snakes before we settle in .

to o ur We had find one white character for story , a ‘ hi ’ white hunter ofelephants , Peterson Sa b . There was

n o a him mist king him when we found , almost at once ,

o f an u - ff a n in the person p state co ee pl nter , with a ki d

- and competent , weather bitten face , most photo

r a h bl m li u a e . g p He , Captain Fre n , was actually a h nter — — a shikari as they call them in India and a very

o n e M fm e fine , the best in ysore ; and a very shot ,

which was to prove more useful than we knew . He had been forty years in the countr y and could tell us ’ n all we didn t k ow about it . And best ofall he played

ul o ff bridge . Now I co d keep Daddy that horrible , exasperatin g game o f Caram i fm d o ur . e . Next we had to locations , to explore our surroundin gs for their picturable possibilities and

decide where we were going to make our scenes .

T a nn th uesd y J e 4 . Dear Ones , — Two lovely drives yesterday and to day , looking

e to Nil r i for j ungle locations . Yest rday the g (blue) 34 ll Nil ri n an F irst Hi s . The g Hills gave gra d v tages overlook '‘ m dr m an d g a vast spread of wooded country , pp g fiffiefizzfe r isrn g In valleys an d r l dges to a far backgroun d of

V fin e misty blue ran ges . ery but looked just like

M V an d ichigan or ermont , just as tame ; a busy high

n n road runni g through it , rattli g with motor buses

ul an n an d ff all f l of people , and pl tatio s of tea co ee

A n d n along the way . yet this was really truly ju gle

le a A o ff an d nl e h nt . not o y that , it was p jungle step the road and you stepped into it .

ac kal The first thing that ran across the road was a j ,

n n the a wild boar , a small , black fellow , the a beauti ful n — sle der , vivid green snake the driver said it was ‘ ’— not poisonous but would spit in your eye n ext a

- n mongoose . Besides the little red faced , commo ‘ ’ nk lan o o r s Irish mo eys , there were trees full of g ,

- nk o n e ll long tailed , bushy grey mo eys , and tree fu of less common monkeys that are jet black . We stopped an d left word fo r the jungle men to catch some for us an d m en bring them to the bungalow . Thejungle are ‘ ’ a n n ked aborigi es with mops of shaggy black hair .

They look very likeable . Captain Fremlin swears by

. ni them Ifyou want any a mal ask thejungle men . ’ We went o ff the road to a dak (traveller s) bun galow where the keeper says a tiger passes almost

ni hi s his n every ght on way to hunting . Comi g down in t lan r an o o o s d . the car we stopped watch some g , R

M r s B r r dail . o o e and caught sight of a snake . It was 35 i only a gl mpse , but from their description the driver

a i s id it was a King Cobra , something that Capta n

Fremlin in all his forty- two years ofjun gle life has

n ever seen .

n We threw sto es at the place where we had seen it . The driver was frightened for fear the snake would

n an d onl charge us , as Ki g Cobras y King Cobras

d to o to n n o . c He was afraid , , bri g us ba k alo g the

fo r n an highway after dark , the the wild eleph ts come

On e out on the road , and it is dangerous . herd , dilly

a in hi ffi fo r d lly g on t s same road , held up tra c three

hi . to days , only a little w le ago But look at the road

o u l fo r un y never wou d have believed it , the j gle is

scrub and looks hardly differen t from a back- yard

- wood lot .

Bam oo n o t un to— we w en t a b It was til day , when i in nother

to direction to the Kakankote jungle , that I began

realize I really was in elephant country . I watched for A ll m il to to . the milestones change black the estones ,

s in in u t ar e el ewhere sh g white , in elephant co n ry

a e l whi l p inted black , b cause e ephants hate te and wi l

root the white stones up . The stones turned black when we came past stands of teak forest (the road was lined with procession s o f bullock carts swayin g alon g with great square logs o f

a - u te k , iron heavy , swung nder them) into creaking

r n bamboo thicket . That c eaki g thicket somehow ’ seemed much more jun gly than yesterday s forest . 36

"fa cing R OA D TO M YSORE

‘ ’ n n the Bam oo With its queer creaki g , its perpetual talki g , b

m n an d n ba boo forest is stra ge mysterious , both alluri g

— l n n an d forebodin g just right for e epha ts . Whe the forest fires come the hollow stems ofbamboo explode an d crac k like rifles ; an d the soun d ofit burn i ng is like

n the sou d ofbattle . On the way back we saw the elepha nts that are kept

n n n for the teak work . They were havi g their eve i g

in the n bath and scrub river , throwi g water over themselves and rollin g in the water o n their sides an d grun ting an d rumbling with content . There were

n an d o n e eleve of them , several good big tuskers big

c n nl o n e cow , with a lear , ki d eye , who was o y year

u n out of the j ngle , but so ge tle that we could pat her d ’ an o n . trunk , I loved her the spot I can t get over either the stran geness or the complete lovablen ess of

c u . these reatures . Their maho ts are a people apart

in - The jungle with the little , black , happy sk and

n n m en A n d M bo eju gle in it is a world apart . from y sore here you c an step in to it by merely driving forty

in miles , two hours a car . You watch the mileposts an d n n , as I say , when they tur coal black with stari g white numbers you are in it . The mahouts made the

n big tuskers salute us as we we t past . The sunset as we came back was so beautiful that

a n everyone is t lki g about it . The country is wonder

l i in A n d fu ly beaut ful with extraord ary variety . the

t n ff varie y among the people , the umber of di erent 37 - types , is never ending and fascinating . I long to ‘ ’ ak t an shoot them all , m e a real s udy ofthe l d and the

m m - M people , the co on every day life , the aharajah — an d his hin a - industries , everyt g complete cross sec tion ofa native state . Barbie has been cataloguing her

brav e photos up to date ; a show , but still just a beginning .

‘ ’ e W now moved into our palace , our mahal Chit tar an an M hi a j ahal C ttar njan was its family name) , ( — and made ourselves at home ourselves an d other creatures besides .

M h l M so Chittaran an a a re . j , y

une 2 8th j .

Darlings ,

nni hi Things are begi ng to happen , t ck and fast , l f al . o . First of , cobras The yard is full them The first o n r a i e was c aught just at o u door step . L st n ght the

f un two watchman o d another . The caught were ’

so o f . young ones , evidently there s a family them The bite o f the young ones is as deadly as that o f the o ld n o t ones . The little krait , much bigger than a pen ll ’ In i . cil , can ki 5 m nutes time A cobra in a bus in

M a —M the f a t adr s adras , ourth l rgest ci y in India f bit first the driver , then three passengers one a ter

an d . another , all four died , so potent is cobra venom I can tell yo u we watch our step "N0 on e has lived in 38

o ut n figures spreading over the dirt plain behi d us ,

hi e where derelict ant lls , riddled with hol s , denote the hi abode of the cobras , ofw ch we have already killed

. n o two on our doorstep So far good . They have

f r piped and played in vain . We wait o the noon

sun to add M day its potency to the charm . eanwhile o ut of an innoc ent- lookin g basket are pulled a half

c a tl v e a fo r dozen p cobras to d nce us , their wicked ‘ ’ sw h hoods outspread . They dance and then with a us they give a wicked lunge and strike , are picked up by the tail or anywhere , and gladly of them selves slide back under the dark cover o f the basket again . The charmers say the snakes are hibernating during ’ u So the monsoon , far , far undergro nd, far they can t ’ th So hear e pipings . they probably won t come out

a any more anyway , until it gets hot g two We have scorpions , too ; whopping ones ,

n picked out of the lab . , and a tribe of mo ks , perfect ’ pests ; lots of fun . Can t leave windows open at night

all a or they are through the house , and nyway their funny faces are always peering in at the windows ,

n i squatti g , hopping on the sills , finally all retreat ng to the big trees out back , where they attend to their ff i own a airs with swinging and shriek ng .

two . A man brought tiny , tiny civet cat kittens ’ n They do t mew , but cry like birds . Our menagerie is growin g so fast that we have transferred it to a special 40

‘ a cin T H E - A L A "f g CATCH j UNo EM N . L OR Is M U A SLENDER , A KIND OF LE R

the an ni l n department on roof, with a ma man , To i , in charge . ’ But Ton i doesn t have much luck . The four little u pups were getting on so beautif lly, so fat and roly

an d l n poly, the pie bitch is real y a darli g mother to them . This mo rn ing Toni showed me one ofthem all hi an d . s very foaming at the mouth . It had rabies A

n n mad dog had come i to the compou d and bitten it ,

its i bitten l ttle tongue .

an d do Now we have a baby black buck , I hope it

ill . will live . The mouse deer is st very shy The baby

s panther is gettin g rather rough for play . He squall up

‘ on the roof, squeezed half way through the railings ,

n n to peering down at us , beggi g for someo e come up and get him so that he can prowl around the house ’ u and chew thin gs up . Daddy s slippers are partic larly growly things to chew . ‘ ’1 We have been shootin g monkeys all ili o n our own tribe of monkeys in the trees in our back yard . A wandering tribe of snake charmers and jug gler s came around an d the minute the python came out of the basket you should have heard those mon

the s keys , din they made , and how they made a ru h

all through the trees and hung , fascinated , hair on

a end , over the basket . Now they have discovered new game . They are shooting the shoots down the fly

1 ‘ ’ S o o tin wit us o f c o u se n e e has an t in to do h —g h , r , v r y h g wit a un o nl the c am e a h g y r . 4 1 Mena er ie i n a nd g of our big tent , sw ngi g up the guy ropes bal

an c in g on the cross pole , a whole row of them with f their tails lying S shapes .

The Ba ni by To caught a baby monkey . I confess we wanted f v 1ew o . it with a , course , to film shots We nursed it ff o ur o a . in spare room; fed it the fat of the l nd It ate , ll l but it cried and cried , pitifu y , screwing up its ittle mouth with such a world ofmelancholy in its pathetic

A n nh little eyes . d the u appy mother hovered about

in the house , peering at the baby through the window ,

moaning . When all the other monkeys had left , she

n still stayed in the yard , jumpi g from tree to tree . ’ At last I couldn t stand it any longer . I took the

f. baby on to the roo The minute the monkeys saw it , what a bedlam of shrieking and a chatter broke out "

I thought I should be mobbed . The mother came

leaping to the nearest tree . The baby saw her and

a m s began to shriek and struggled in my r . I slipped

the leash . One leap and it was at the edge ofthe roof,

on e o n e more and it was in the tree , more and , oh ,

my soul , in its terrible fright and trembling hurry it

hadjumped short .

t n I saw it hurtling hrough the bra ches , and closed

my eyes . I heard it strike the ground . I was a murderer ,

No nk . n no better . , tha goodness , the little thi g was up

n n and running for dear life , straight i to the wide ope

door of the laboratory . I called out . The whole staff

turned to , and the laboratory was searched . A few 42 ’ m i n n nutes later out came Ra ga Rao , holdi g at arm s t length a small thin g drippin g wet . The luckless lit le

n . creature had jumped straight i to a tub ofwater Yes ,

c its 0 n it got ba k to mother . N more baby catchi g for

th nk an d us . I thought e mo eys would hate us desert ’ h n B t e ut . compou d . they didn t Next day they were

c w n n in all ba k , s ingi g and shrieki g the trees again ;

n th eve e baby .

B ut the other day in the road a mon key was dead .

In n None of our men would touch it . stead they we t

n n to fetch a priest and rose water and i ce se , in order

n . to perform a proper ceremo y to bury it Yes , the monkey is sacred .

We fixed up a splen did laboratory in the old ser ’ —a al vants quarters ofour palace n ide place for it .

M n o n t n y husba d usually travels light his expedi io s , with as little extra work , as few people and as little outfit as possible . It is easier that way, less distracting . There ar e not so many people and thin gs to keep

o n e going then , if might wish to stop , once in a while , to think .

n a fil ff But this I di n m was di erent . There was to be no stint of people an d everythin g possible to help us make the picture an d make it quickly ; which was all ver y good fun for our large Indian staff ; for our c on

e l n n fr res from London as wel , who were e joyi g the

h n w ole thi g with us . 43 Letter to an oldfriend who knew our ways

The Outfit I wish you could see us here ; you who saw us in Aran "How you would open your eyes "It is so differ — ent that we hardly know what to do about it so

n all n ma y people about, doing for us the thi gs we have — usually had to do ourselves a fleet ofcars flying here

o f as and there , a lorry as full people a Sunday School picnic plyin g daily from town (two m iles) to our ‘ ’ bungalow ; thousands o f cameras ; thousands ofracks

lin bursting , brist g with tripods ; a stills department ’ with two assistants and I don t know how m any still

o f r ns a cameras ; thousands carpente s , electricia , t ilors ,

e im bear rs , coolies , sweepers , mahouts , an al trainers ,

— t nk clerks , accountants , interpreters you would hi we were a b yfactory " ‘ ’ We cele rate b We havejust had a puja . It comes on a certain day .

e in we all Everything , all our tools , ev ryth g use , the

n d various instruments in the laboratory, the weird a i wonderful mach ne which prints film , the huge drum

which drives it , and the projector which projects it , all must be worshipped and bowed down to ; even the kitchen stove an d all the saucepans ; and o ur own

n f n selves , sitti g on a chair with lower wreaths rou d

o ur an d i - heads and around our necks , a t nsel wound flower bun ch in o ur hands and a plate with nuts and

raisins and fruit at our feet . We have had it all day The excitement has been intense an d we are all quite 44

"fa cing DH OB Is

Phot ograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingcn

n We cele ra te car ried away by it . Probably the greatest exciteme t b a the h n n n ew n n was at mac i e shop where a bra d , shi i g circular saw made a particularly splendid thing to bow to .

B ut the happiest m an of them all was the dhobi . I had told him he must boil our washing . I upset the whole tradition ofwashin g which had come down in

m d n n his fa ily an caste for gen eratio s . It eeded a very ‘ ’ n ew n extra puja . The wash boiler was quite hidde un der a mass of flowers an d heaped with fruit an d corn and live chickens and other things to eat . Him

- n in i . self, cross legged , sat ear estly the m dst ofit It is my sin cere sen timen t that this custom is a very M o n e . fine I wish we had it ourselves . The aharajah performs it , too . He performs it in public with great

his n an d an d ceremony , worshipping elepha ts horses carriages and everything that is his . ’ We ve got a little elephan t boy David picked up C andidates or Toom ai M n n f somewhere over in alabar . He is the most e deari g kid you ever saw . He is supposed to play around the

n o n n yard , but , he much prefers hangi g arou d where

Daddy is and David , whom he adores , and with me . He is as bright as a dollar : learn i ng somethin g every

n in t mi ute ; learn g o repeat his part .

in Yesterday morning he came trotting , eyes spark ‘ ’

n a his . li g , with letter he had written to manager This mornin g it was pictures he had drawn with some

A n n crayons David had bought him . d all mor ing 45 fl ’ long he sat on the oor , drawing elephants . He isn t a ’ ah l real m out boy , but he isn t a bit afraid . He c imbed ’ right up on a big elephant when even the mahout s ’ son didn t want to .

We have three others besides , that we have gathered fr om here and there all over the country to try out

T m ai o o . for They are adorable youngsters , but every

to o in t one ofthem th . The little mahou boy from the ’ ‘ ’ ’ n c Palace said he wasn t goi g home for lun h . He d ’ his al on e had me , his daily meal , he wasn t hungry . him We sat down at the table , and he ate like a horse .

I watch them playing around , kicking a football ,

shouting and fighting like kids everywhere , and think o f the strange stroke o f fate that is hanging over one o f them .

B M r There is one boy among them whom ordie ( .

B o r r o daile hi , our c ef camera man) brought in the other day ; found him at the elephant stables . He is is different from the other sprightly little sprouts . He rather pathetic , more reserved , an orphan . His mo ’ ther s A family came from ssam , where the people are part Mongolian . His name is Sabu .

u f We were n o w to see some real Indian j ngle li e . We were in vited to Karapur to take part in an ele M ’ phant shoot . Karapur is one of the aharajah s hunt

in ing preserves , where he has a hunt g lodge and guest

a house . We had practic lly decided on this preserve as 46 n It the best location for ourjun gle sce es . was to Kara pur that we inten ded to come for them after th e m o n

the n i soon was over . I dreaded shooti g part ofth s ex d pe dition but we had to have experien ce an get

n an d l an d acquainted with ourju gle wi d actors , with

n m en n the ju gle , and with the forest ra gers with whom we sho uld have much to do . The game preserve offic er was out to shoot five elephan ts that had been givin g trouble in the teak plan tation s n ear Begur across the river . These were

n n not rogues , but si gle tuskers , wild , grown fo d of

n an d n teak sapli gs paddy, and grow bold by succes

n sive raidin g ofthe tempting paddy fields . The atives

fi r - - are n o t allowed to carry e arms . Tom toms and

M r l n n bamboo clackers , . Wi d Elepha t soon k ows , D F n o IS . O . only make a e So the . . (District Forest

n . ffi Officer) a d the G P . O . (Game Preserve O cer) get together and the G . P . O . brings out his big elephant gun and a company ofsoldiers .

If you shoot an elephant you must shoot to kill , ’ a n both for the poor beast s s ke and your o w . There

- On e are two places where a well placed shot is fatal .

in is on the side in the earhole , the other front at the

k . n top of the trun If wounded , the elepha t charges ,

l i hi s covering this vu nerable spot by curl ng up trunk . B egur lies across the river from Karapur . One

n crosses the river on a bamboo raft . U fortunately, by

n the time we arrived in Karapur the river , swolle by 47 We o out n an d g nine days of steady monsoon rai , was so swift to shoot high we could n o t cross . There was nothing to be A . s done about it We spent that day in camp . a matter i o f n . fact , we spent three days camp

Darlings ,

n n Just back from the ju gle . Bearer unpacki g my

hi n ni . t ngs , fixi g up my ce bed , drawing my hot bath M " ’ y Won t I be the spoiled baby "He is a dear . I love

him like my shadow .

two Karapur Camp consists of bungalows , more

H . i fo r H . l ke country houses ; one , the other for

guests . We had the guest bungalow ; three suites of — three rooms each bed , dressing and bathroom . Com

f r bl n o ta e m n . , you can i agi e The walls were hu g with

e n o f fram d photographs , which were most i teresting ,

in r H . H R . fo mer hunting parties . There was . the Pr ce

o f A Wales , sitting for his picture , the Russian rch — dukes eating their breakfasts this photograph was — dated 1 89 1 an d Lord Willingdon holding up a river u V catch , a huge mahseer . The b ngalow is called ice

roy Lodge .

e to The suites op ned on the verandah , looking out

on a formal garden of clipped hedges , trimmed yews

an d e an d l bougainvill a , exotic palms ornamenta cac 48

"fa cing SHOO TING BEGIN

n all He came out fi ally before the camera and ofus , as

- we stood around staring , perfectly business like , self P n o t . be contained , serious , a child at all erhaps it is

he . cause ~ is an orphan

' That ev en in g there was a bustle and a stir about the M ’ . ar s other; the aharajah s , bungalow Two c drove up ,

. o f obviously palace cars , and a truck Someone the i al m . roy fa ly had arrived It was Prince Jaya , the ’ Maharajah s nephew and heir .

Nil C an ter au , the came over after dinner to say that he was taking Prince Jaya on a hunt in the i ? morn ng . Would we accompany the party What ? were they going to hunt Oh , cheetal , sambhur ,

a hi — w s a . a bison , nyt ng trophy for the Prince He

i C an ter au very keen on sh kar . Nil laughed as he said he would not let him shoot anything but what was

to big enough be a worthy trophy for a Prince . We could have fo r o ur party one o f the hunting elephants

a u with a howd h for fo r , and would we be ready by

So fi v e- t by thir y the next morning , as dawn was ’ a the in n bre king , we were following Pr ce s car dow

nl d a the road . Sudde y four big shadows loome head

a o f us . They were our w iting elephants . With them on foot was a bodyguard with guns from the forest department . The beauty ofhunti ng with elephants is that yo u go

To through the forest as part of the forest . the wild 50

"fa cing REFRESHMENTS ON THE WAY

creatures by scent an d so und you are o n ly o n e of ’ a an d them . Anim ls don t look up as a rule , anyway they accept the cow elephan t on which you ride as a wi n o n n ld one . They pay atte tio ; you go among them M like owgli . Ahead of you , of course , go the little

n jungle men . They are your eyes and ears , seei g

r t n n n n everything , hea ing every hi g , k owi g every sig . Without them one m ight wander days and days and

an d l n The Trackers the forest be as empty of life si e t as a tomb .

They tread ahead of you , stepping warily , plant ing their feet firm ly and cautiously o n the j ungle ground .

l n The elephants fo low in si gle file , the head ele

a n ph nt breaking trail , bendi g trees out ofthe way with

in n his head and break g them with his foot , reachi g

his with trunk to break away the branches overhead . ‘ ’ w n n ll t a Slow progress but steady, do deep u ahs ( vines) when the howdah is almost straight up and down and the elephant places each foot with the ut most care an d stretches his hind legs straight out be hi n nd to act as a brake , climbi g the other side by doubling up his forelegs at the knees and pushin g ‘ m hi self up , up , encouraged , of course , by the hup , ’ his hup of mahout .

l h n The nu la s are exciti g , for there in the soft mud or sand will be marks clear en ough for the veriest

amateur to read . I saw the pug marks of a tiger ,

its five cushions as fresh as paint, and the track of 5 1 Our Shikar the bison we were following cut deep an d clean as a

ni - k fe in the dark red clay .

C an ter au On the head elephant rode the Prince , Nil

and Colonel Locke ; behind us came Daddy , Bordie

a m and C ptain Fre lin on a dear old cow with kind , k tired eyes and hollow cheeks , li e those ofan old , old

woman . Cows only are safe to use for hunting in ele

a hi alr ph nt —country, for the wild male is a c v ous knight he will attack the tame tusker but never the w c o . Bringing up our rear came a baby elephant , half

c his grown , the utest thing you ever saw , load the

n commissary departme t , bristling with baskets and

bright brass cans .

nk All of them fed as they came along , their tru s feelin g along the path ahead fo r young bamboo

n shoots and succule t grasses and curling around them . The grasses came up by the roots an d the swishing

a nd slapping of these grasses , as they shook them this way and that to free the roots o f soil before they

n m o n ths i daintily tucked them up I to their , was l ke

n . the slapping of wet sheets blow in the wind Slap ,

to slap , munch , munch , tramp , tramp , while we on p ducked the overhanging branches or broke them

SO . away . for four hours

We saw a beautiful squirrel , with a body as big as

a e n a badger and a t il lik a fox , flyi g through the

- branches overhead . Daddy saw a grey , black faced

lan o o r a n . g , with a t il (he swears) six feet lo g Bordie 52

' p N E "fa cing HEAD TRACKER FOR THE R I C s SHIKAR . ALMOST BLIND HE TRACKS BY SCENT

anythi ng . When suddenly there was a signal from the ‘ ’ ’ party ahead . TIGER " And the Prince s gun went o ff with a shattering bang . We all stood up in our howdahs (the elephants

t o f never urned a hair) and some us saw one tiger ,

‘ ’ so m e saw two . I never saw either of them . I didn t know whether the tiger was wounded , whether he

n was right over there , lurki g in the grass ready to

n o r . spri g , what The grass all about was lain on and

ra f t mpled . And just then a huge herd o bison broke

to o . cover , but some distance away, far for a photo (I

to n o n always seemed have the wro g lens my camera , ’ " n anyway , worse luck ) Our elepha ts weren t the

? in least excited by all this . Why not Were we not the m i ? slightest danger , then , that they ght stampede I

nl asked Nil C an ter au about it . He said a tiger had o y to rumble o ut a growl and rap the ground with his tail to make a whole herd o f wild elephants stampede . ? u What about ours , then They were trained h nting

G n elephants . But Nil antera laughed his hard , gusty

was laugh , as he said it probably just as well the

n m i fo r i Pri ce had ssed , we could well imag ne , what it would be like to be bolted with through that j ungle . So I gathered that a wounded tiger is no

to . sneeze at , even with elephants trained hunt

- c Olic an d The next day was a wash out . I had Daddy had a sore foot from walking about these infected t floors bar efOo . We stayed at home and nursed our 54 o n the n k two Minor selves vera dah li e old crows , while the A i h n lm en“ ot ers went hun ti g with the Prince again . They were

Mid n n n n to be back early . mor i g we heard ba g , ba g ,

reverberatin g from their direction . They were surely

having sport . Curse the luck . Noon time and they ’ ’ n had t come back . Three o clock and still no sign of

n them . I began to imagine all sorts ofthi gs .

Sabu was unhappy too . I heard a sob from the S abu has his Trou les depths ofa verandah chair . He had had no sugar in his b

ff n co ee (our stores happe ed to be low) . The cook had

m " been unkind to hi . (Poor cook ) And he ouched and writhed in bitterness ofspirit as I applied iodine where

n an old scab was a little broke . Gone was all his yes d ’ ter a s . y aplomb Sabu was just a lonely , homesick ,

heartsick little boy . A t about four- thir ty we went out along the road in j ungle i R oad the car . Th s is the time when everything begins to

n happen alo g the road and I love to be out in it . There

is the never- en ding wonder of the sheer numbers of

an d the droves and droves of cattle , goats as delicate

n an d f as deer , with poi ted horns delicate hoo s that

patter along the road like rain . They pour out from

all the jungle where they have been grazing day . The

h o f herd girls and boys , mere c ildren , stare out big

an d eyes tousled heads . They dare the j ungle and the

n ju gle roads , I suppose , because there are so many of

them . The same with the slow procession of the bul

- n n ni lock carts , never e di g day and ght . 5 5 n d From e to end of In dia they trek unceasi ng . It is i like a sort of n ghtmare to think of it . It is like the

n o f ni n o nu migratio ants one sees , no begin ng , end ,

n n n a broke , crowdi g , jostli g , whole mysterious way

b n of life eyond all common comprehe sion . As they

r n are c eaking by , or resti g with patient bullocks in the shade , I must always scan the faces of this vast com

n a . i a pa y of the ro d Some are w ld and fanatic l , some

n a d f d ge tle n fine . The faces o women an children peer

f - o ut from the frames o the oval basket work hoods . I wonder at the great size an d iron weight of the teak logs they carry and what else there is ofcargo to keep

n vi . n ul them ever movi g , mo ng The patie t b locks are

n n t o f stro g . Tipu Sulta with his bullocks had the bet er

n the E glish with their horses . He could move forty miles while they moved twenty. Some five miles beyon d Karapur the real jungle

i are e . villages beg n . They exquisit Thatched roofs

e nestle in banana groves at the forest edg , where the l forest is cut ike a slice , showing black behind the

e o f n an d whit boles enormous trees , or te der green fine as gossamer where giant bamboo fronds make a feathery screen and plume the sky higher than a f palm . Before them gleams a great lat stretch ofpaddy fi k - i in elds , li e a mirror mosa c , flooded by the ra s , viridescent where the rice seedlings are just sprout

‘ Ing ; beautiful; slender figures o f Women with shining

o o brass pots on their heads c ming acr ss them , thread 56

"fa cing THE CONTINUOUS PROCESSION OF THE BULLOCK C A R Ts

- n n r . n ing the a row , dyke like paths I have ever see

n w an ythin g more beautiful anywhere . I wished I k e

n n o t the people . They were evide tly the Kuruba

On e f k d ff n an . jun gle ol but quite i ere t , old people ’

n . girl I could t keep my eyes from Her hair , smoothly l l oi ed and pul ed back from her brow , was decorated at the back with a flower wreath ; o n top o f he r head

n n . she had plastered a gree fer , its fronds spread out ’ n n ff A n d there it stuck . You ca t imagi e how e ective

n wn .

Groups of m en were eatin g beside their bullock

n an d carts . They were most frie dly ready to satisfy my curiosity o n every poin t . They were making a

o ff n meal bamboo sprouts , a gree berry out ofwhich

n . they were poundi g the seeds , and some green leaves

S David says that the bamboo hoots , which look so good , are acrid .

i - hen eacocks Com ng home , a pea with her chick crossed P A the road . little farther on a gorgeous cock trailed its

an d sweepin g tail . We stopped watched it struttin g

n away quite unco cerned , a glowing spot of colour

n through the brow stems ofbamboo .

c The hunters were there , all inta t , when we got

an home . They had stayed out to track elephant herd .

n n No shooti g , but just the wo der that they could

n come so close . A bison happe ed to be with the ele

han ts p and took alarm . Otherwise they could have

n n To o m ai n mi gled with the wild herd , eve as mi gled 57 Fil o l s i n a m p r b em with them the eleph nt dance . Ifwe could only op ’ et ate the cameras from elephants backs in the jungle " We have to get the wild elephants moving through

the forest . Our script demands also that we get two fi tuskers ghting . The fi ght c an be staged in the mating season in Sep i . wi tember , says our Jemadar W ld tuskers ll be de

coyed into an area trenched around by a four- foot

an a be trench , insuperable obstacle to an eleph nt ,

nn ir an d cause he ca ot span cannot jump . The decoys

l ns will be tame cows , and that the fight wil e ue is ,

to . according everyone , a foregone conclusion If the

tuskers are equally matched it will be a great show . PrinceJaya has already spoken for a front seat "

Monda y. One more day in camp to see the elephants swim

an a the river d to talk with theJem dar . TheJemadar is

a a e the chiefofmahouts ofthe K k nkote camp , the b st

i tra ner of elephants in the country . We have had im quite a time negotiatin g for him . He will be an

f to on him portant person o r us . We have depend to

a a we a an d m ke the eleph nt do the things w nt , to

r e teach him a trick o two besides . You rem mber the

s jungle Book picture , where Kala Nag hold Little To o m ai up in his trunk? We have seen no elephant an d heard ofonly two who ar e suppose d to be able to

Pr assad do that . But the Jemadar says Lakshmi , the 5 8

Monsoon ff mahouts if they would care to try it , o ering a most

attractive reward . They were all willing but in spite

of their most violent urging , not an elephant would

go beyond his depth and face the stream .

an d Finallythe chiefmahout came down , we asked him if among all his elephants there was one strong

i enough to swim the r ver . Yes , he had one . It was ’ Pr assad Lakshmi , the Jemadar s big tusker , our pro

s e c tiv e p star .

a u dares m i S b Laksh forthwith was made ready for the swim .

hi a A rope was put around him , by w ch the m hout would be enabled to hold on against the ragin g cur ’ rent . Sabu , very busy , kneeling on Lakshmi s broad

S . back , helped trap the rope around him The mahout ’ mounted to his seat on Lakshrn i s neck . Sabu settled

himself, sitting behind the mahout . He was going ’ " W s to o a . a I didn t like it . I was afr id it surely all right?

a was They launched into the river . The b nk sheer and almost at once the elephan t had lost his footing

m in and was swimming , swim g strongly , his head up ,

a nd Mid- then under , up and under . stream , the cur

- d a n hi . rent caught them , swirli g , w rl pocked floo The elephant could make n o more headway and began

in slid g downstream . He was now completely under ; only the tip of his trunk showing ; and Sabu an d the ' e mahout were down to their armpits . We wer in a ’

ni n . pa c . We had not guessed the river s stre gth Twice ,

60

"fa cing MONSOON

Photograph by Ba rba ra Flaherty van Ingen

us . Sabu told afterwards , he lost hold ofthe rope just ’ — as well we didn t kn ow that as we watched them his

n o n an d little figure holdi g for dear life , the mahout , the head of the elepha nt bobbin g like a cork as the

n n n . curre t bore them dow , dow

h n Below t em , fortu ately , the river made a wide bend . Here at last they touched bottom and clambered

o n n . . up shore . We all broke out shouti g Sabu waved There was n o lon ger an y doubt who was to be our elephan t boy "

' a Mahal C hittaraig n .

1 2th j uly .

Darlings ,

n n an d Oh how this monsoon wi d is blowi g , how it blows around this house "Usually it dies down a bit between sun set an d sunrise an d there is only a fain t moaning around the eaves and through the window d ’ cracks . But last night there was such a blast I coul n t

. n n e t sleep With the wi dow shut , my mosquito ’ ’ an d A n d n slapped banged like a ship s sail . I could t

n n in help thinki g ofyou two , ifthis wi d keeps on , the

n n an d I dian Ocean . You would be goi g up down , the way I dream ed of seas that mounted so high that I ’ co uld n t see their tops above the sky- scrapers and then came down sickeningly , and there was a wee boat

o In o n " g g up and down them . Horrible dream I am v er y brave to let you come .

6 1 Barbie has been breaking in a new assistant for her

self, and evidently they spend most of their time in

n l the dark room talking religio , etc . Re igion is the i great prepossession here . The first th ng our good looking young sergeant riding master asked me when he fin ally got a personal word with me was what my

all religion was . And the topic lasted the way across

n the big maidan . Everythi g we ask about is explained — to us from the point ofview oftraditional belief the

o g ds , religion , morality , idealism ; every tree we ask

n about , every flower we notice is con ected somehow

i . withreligiousbeliefand custom . It is almostwe rd The

strength o f it is something quite inconceivable to us .

Brahm ins n on e a Looki g for a location , day , we c me to a

n ff river . By the ba ks of the river were two very spi y

motor cars . We looked down the bank and there out

- in the stream , seated like a white robed Buddha in a

who n bathing ghat , was he was evide tly the prosper

o us owner of the cars , and his family , scooping up

portions offilthy river water , pouring it (like a soda

f to an d fountain clerk) rom one cup another , praying

in drinking . Once every twelve years the water ofthe sacred river Ganges is supposed to be di verted into

an this river , and this is the year . Along the b ks of the river there was such a stench of excreta that yo u ’ n lk o f could t wa there , and just back the temples was ’ in the foulest drainage ditch I ever did see . Isn t it credible

"fa cing top: THE BRAHMIN BOY IS TRAINED IN THE RITUAL OF HIS FAITH T o CARRY ON ITS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL AUTHORITY bottom : IN MELKOTE BURNS THE FLAME OF BRAHMIN PRIESTHOOD

an ater farn ilias of age , and the three wives , and the p ? himself . How do they live Coming back to town we passed the women who

A n pick grass . little sparse grass grows alo g the road

i an d side , cropped to the bare so l by the flocks flocks ofgoats and sheep and cows that throng the roads all

n day and all night . Wome go along digging at these

stumps of grass , pluck them out by the roots , wash

ff an o the soil d sell them in the market . i l Barbie and I have been to see the s lk mi ls , and the ’ m two o f M so r e s sandalwood oil ills , of the boasts y

n Progressive modern and progressive admi istration . They had the

o f . best everything At the silk mills , dyes from Ger

many , machinery from France , the famous gold

n h thread of Lyons , made in Ba galore by brot ers of the famous family in Lyo n s who have made this gold

thread for generations . And at the head o f the spin

l W a ning department a dar ing little japanese om n , The Silk who showed and explain ed everythingwith so much

r al her smiling p ide . I could only understand h f

m o f eager strea words , but did you know that ' each small yellow cocoon has wound upon it thr ee

u to one s h ndred five hundred metres of , fine go samer thread? The delicate brown hands o f the In dian workers (mostly women) working in this spinning maze of

n gossamer threads was as wo derful as a dream . They

get eight annas (ninepence) per day . 64

a cin "f g SADHUS , BEGGING THEIR WAY FROM SHRINE p R A Y ER TO SHRINE . LIVING VESSELS OF EACH CRUMB THEY BEG AN OFFERING T o T H E GODS

d At the san dalwood mills we learn ed one thin g of S anda lwoo

t l n o il c n par icu ar i terest . The , besides its use as a s e t , is a powerful antiseptic . The jungle people use it for

A n an d the . their cuts , not only people , but elephants elephant will choose a ripe tree an d uproot it and peel

an n " the bark and rub his sores . Like iodine pe cil A lso I wen t to the open ing session of a real Hindu Traditional ’

n B n n . weddi g , through arbie s Indian Ge tlema Friend ’ n It was his son s weddi g . Everybody else thinks the I G F . . . a great bore but I think he is so humorous and ‘ ’ His pathetic . every other word is etiquette . He and

nl the n his wife go to the movies ; o y E glish movies , n o t " the native ones , oh no Because in the English movies they know that everything they see is ‘ eti ’ ue tte n ll q and so they lear . We must be sure to te him ’ when his etiquette wasn t just right . He embarrass ingly presses gifts and more gifts and more invita

n tio s upon us , all for Barbara , while she makes cari c atur es him of as a wangling old humbug , as perhaps he is .

so Anyway , the wedding was pure Indian that it

I E - G . . was startling to see our . sitting cross legged

his upon a canopied dais , beside son , with a crowd of

Brahmin priests squatting about , performing a whole — n - rigmarole of ritual , lo g drawn out the wedding — lasts a week with offerings to the gods spread out so — “ simple bits offood , bananas , and flowers , and the dedicated household grinding- ston e and other homely 65 Traditional m all i plements , and behind these the temple eiaus and dancing girls keeping up a contin uous dron

an d dl an ing chant , drumming fid ing and d cing .

e i a T mple dancing g rls sound so rom ntic . I have

" always thought of them as the fairest and choicest of

sex . their But these were both old and not shapely .

a a m uch l They d nced with their h nds ike the Samoans .

The sweet , heavy scent of the jasmine flowers was

the like Samoa . But bride , besides flowers , had fin e jewels an d a costly sari woven o f gold an d

e . ros colour She was very lovely, demure , eyes do

She had a an d cast . been to Engl nd more than once ‘ ’ I E G . e . . r was well ducated , our repeatedly assu ed

to us . But that , most obviously , was going make little difference to her now that she was about to

r become a pu dah wife . There were two women there who were thorough

- ly westernized an d emancipated . One little body ’ a hi M so r e s looked like nyt ng but what she was , y first

Th dis a B A . e tin c wom n other, with more apparent

was ea the M ni tion , the h d of ater ty Hospital here .

a for nl the a - t Both in s ris , o y h lf caste discards his

badge o f beauty .

The Bor r o daile s e A nother , too , stumbled into a w dding of lowe r caste an d were eagerly pressed to join the

Th a be a t i e . e e e gu sts host cl im d to barrist r, but he r description of the sanitary horrors they had to witness

and e e o ut of iteness efu swallow v n , pol not r se to , 66 ’ A an n B . s d A nother was too am—azing . India s love to get . e tc e ducational tags . It gives them a coveted

i h t a standing an d prest ge . But t ey never hink of p plying W hat they learn to their daily way of living

an and doing things , which may be thous ds of years old and almost as primitive .

n It is the season of weddi gs . Yesterday we took a long drive to see one of the mon umental sights of

M a n ysore , a coloss l jain statue , about sixty to seve ty

M a miles from ysore City . We passed through m ny i v llages and stopped to eat in a dak bungalow . This ill v age , like the others we had passed through , was

u n . f ll of pipings , thin , translucent pipi gs There were three little groups of people circling in amon g the

b a houses , each with a and ofmusici ns . Our driver said

they were wedding parties . Would they , one ofthem , ? come over to the bungalow

They came readily , the young bridegroom and his

an d m n bride , shy sole , almost expressionless (he was eighteen an d she was twelve) led by three musicians playing on a drum an d two pipes and a little crowd

k n following behind . After ta i g pictures I put the silver pieces that Gul Khan gave me into the two

u a . n s c pped h nds ofthe little bride She folded her ha d , put them to her forehead like a temple priestess and

bowed . Then suddenly an Old man stepped forward and began to jabber something and his voice broke and 67 tears came to his eyes and I thought he was putting on a begging show to get more money . Not at all . He was only telling us how all his family were dead and ’ was his his nl hil ul n this last , o y grandc d and wo d t we g t him o f i please ake for a picture h mself with her . He was a sweet old man and the whole scene was very affecting . I am sure there was a lot of solemn an d d ’ sweet ritual to the little ceremony that we di n t see .

afi c in This was only the an g . By a recent law she can not be married until she is sixteen . We wen t on until we came to a hill that rested on the plain like a huge boulder . We had to be carried up

ul a it , swung on the sho ders of four be rers in a sort of l wooden cradle . It was a fearfu contraption and I did pity the poor bearers puffin g an d sweating in the full

f in to t bo m heat o f the hot a ternoon . A t y of a y ca e

a along with them and gave them a h nd , pushing ‘ — ’ ’ m ightily with cheery Hump h s . The bearers put down the cradle every now and then and mopped

n d their brows a smiled at me . As yo u approach the top o f the hill you see a great stone head an d shoulders against the sky above a tem

le . a p wall It is a coloss l statue , the biggest stone figure ut in the world carved o of a single block of granite . t Wrought with utmost simplicity, here is yet such a feeling ofthe texture offlesh about it that yo u wonder A D 8 c an . . . it be stone Its date is 9 3 , and yet it is as fresh an d perfect both in conception and execution as 68

S A I N "fa cing GOMATA SRAVANA BELGOLA . COLO SAL j

STATUE , CARVED OUT OF A SINGLE BLOCK

A . D . 8 OF GRANITE . 9 3

’ though it had come yesterday from the sculptor s hand . The figure represents a seer who has stood so lon g in the perfect immobility of profoundest medi tation that the an t hills have grown up about his feet

n hi and the vines e twined his limbs . Once every w le ff there rises up about the statue a colossal sca olding . — This is for a ceremony one of the ceremon ies of ’ n i u t V I d a s c lt of fer ility . otaries swarm in every

r n pa t of the structure and pour milk , huma milk ’ an d . sacred cow s milk , over the figure The face Is

h n n unforgettable . I shall always t i k of it looki g

n out over the wide plain , with the little weddi g pro cession circling a perpetual dance beneath it .

I F - n G . n ni his The . . came agai to ght , with fun y ik black face . Everyone still thinks him a bore , but I l e ’ to hear him talk . Bob says his stories aren t true , and makes fun of the way he goggles his eyes and purses

as ff ff his lips he makes his e ects . He told us most a ect M ’ in gly of the aharajah s illness . We could follow its

to progress from day to day and hour hour , through ’ al i thejourney to Bang ore and the next morn ng s ride .

He had shown consideration for everyone , protesting

all o that he was right , that they must g on and ride ,

hi o as his everyt ng must g on usual , until legs gave way and they caught him as he fell . ‘ ’ ‘ I feel so queer , he kept saying , I feel so queer . ’ ’ Where is my turban? (He couldn t feel it o n his head . ) 69 ‘ Why did the tailor m ake my coat without a ’ ’ ? his pocket (He couldn t feel pocket . ) We listened and felt as intensely as though we were hear m g about a personal friend .

all a Now they say he is right again , is w lking and

. ll M M going about and wi be back in ysore soon . y l sore will be ike a temple with its divinity restored . I ’ — H . H . don t know what it would be like without , not the same place .

- I E G . . To day the . told us what the Maharajah does fi f . v e every day , and no wonder he is rail Up at ,

a Indi n exercises , then European ones ; then the race — course four trotting horses waiting , three times

n l round , once galloping , once trotti g , then ga loping ,

a trotting and walking ; then bath , worship , and a we k f ff o . cup co ee ; then sees his secretaries Ten to eleven , ffi v s"o o e . isit , stables , garag s , band o ce Before break

to fast , I forgot say , he drives through a section ofthe

t see a . ci y with a notebook to if it is cle n , etc The

f e a ternoon he begins with music , writes privat letters ,

s a n an d sees his ecretaries ag i , receives the Resident

fi - a i ffi . v e other o cials At thirty , tennis , then t lk ng ,

in i then bath , worship . At n e a cup of m lk , then the newspapers , then reading , philosophy , bed .

Do e e you believe th se other stori s , also told by the

The first on e is about Lakshm i Pr assad . In the Keddah Stockade with the wild elephants his

n mahout slipped o ff and fell to the grou d . A wild 7 o

We had had such marvello us glimpses of all sorts of animals on our shikar with the Prince that we now began to think how we were going to get a film of them . One obvious way was to set up our cameras

wh ni some ere and drive the a mals past them . It sounded simple and exciting . Thus my husband , writ ‘ ’— ing to the Home Oflic e the Studio in London ‘ Though the weather was almost impossible for

n a m li good camera work , I arra ged with C ptain Fre n to make a drive for us through a certain portion o f the

r an d Bandipu preserve . He recruited some hundred fifty jungle men and located for our three cameras a natural clearin g in the jungle . Here at three strategic

n m en i fo r a points theju gle made bl nds us ofbr nches , ff and we set up our cameras . Then Fremlin went o with his hundred and fiftyjungle men to a distance of u abo t two miles and began his beat toward us . ‘ o f - a To me it was more a try out than nything else , and I was curious to seejust what the techn ique of the beat wa s and learn som ething of it fo r the big drives

a which we would stage when the good weather c me , ’ after the monsoon . We didn t expect to see anything more formidable than a few herds of deer, possibly some bison , some wild pig and maybe a leopard . ‘ f m li o ff A ter Fre n had gone , the Game Preserve

ffi t O cer , who was with us , confided to me hat some two months previously they had pulled o ff a sim ilar drive and expecting nothing more than a few deer 7 2

’ "fa cing I R A W A T H A S TRAINING

s But not a twig snapped , not a gra s stirred , not a

e all creature of any kind did we see , not ev n a deer, ’ the way up to the cameras , where Daddy s red face

- - in - — peering out of his hide out , like a jack the box , was as frightening as anythin g "

e Do " Th x o o r an j ungl gs e p Captain was a crestfallen m . He sus pec ted thatjungle dogs had been hunting through the f o preserve and cleared everything out . That a tern on

we had proof of it . A beautiful sambhur hind came

leaping out on to the road in front of the bungalow .

n t Pie dogs were chasing it , leapi g at its hroat , on its

o f flanks , trying to hamstring it . We chased the dogs and the poor thing staggered to the ground where it

to o lay , making pitiful sounds , struggling , but ex

haust d a ain l e to get on its feet g . jun g e dogs had chased it as far as the road and then the village dogs had

o f caught on . We kept the dogs and sent to fetch

water for it , but by that time it was on its feet and ff staggering o into thejungle again . When we came back to the bungalow late this

Ir awatha v afternoon , , the elephant , was ha ing his

lesson . He and Sabu were rehearsing Scene One . m Everyone was laughing delightedly to see the . The ’ big elephant was stealing the sugar cane out o f Sabu s

his an d hand , raising foot to be punished squeaking ,

all to order . Sabu , his little brown body in nothing

- fi ttin f but a tight g breech cloth , was a per ect thing of

beauty . oinc d I sometimes have an u ncann y feeling about Sabu . C i ence ’ of " M am a " This is the boy we im agined way back in 29 when we no" ? w were writing our story in Germany . We wrote do n in so many words ‘ He is a little orphan boy and han ger- o n of the M ’ ’ aharajah s stables . And then we wrote ‘ His father died , and the elephant , the beloved ele phant who had been in the fam ily since his grand ’ t an d father s time , went mad wi h grief broke his i ff l ’ cha ns and went o into thej un g e .

And now here is Sabu in the flesh , a little orphan ’ n A n d Indian boy , ward ofHis High ess s stables . they

n his have been telling us the story , how whe father died his elephant grieved so that no one could do any thing with him an d there was nothing to do but take — him to the jungle where he ran away o ur im agined ’ r an d sto y Sabu s true story almost identical . It was as we were writing our story that all this happened to

Sabu , six years ago .

l It was a ready October . Five months ofour allotted year were gone and so far we had done little system atic shooting , as there had been no weather for it .

But now the monsoon showed signs of breaking . Ever ybody said we m ight begin to count on clear

to weather, so we made ready stage the opening

o ur s scenes in cript .

Ir awatha ai had to have a long , heavy ch n put on f rom his neck to his forefoot . His mahout rode with a

ai h a hatchet r sed ready over his ead, and the jemad r

- walked beside him , carrying a long , steel pointed spear . When , for the picture , we had to put Sabu on him n alone , a mahout lay co cealed under the pack

in o ut . cloth behind Sabu , ready to pop case oftrouble ’ Ir awatha s Yesterday , a white spot appeared on temple between his eye and his ear where there is a i l ttle hole in his head . From this hole , fluid oozes out ‘ ’ ‘ ’ e a wh n an eleph nt goes musth , and musth is a sick ness elephants have , during which they go mad . ‘ ’ - Ir awatha hi To day we learned that is musth , w ch means that we cannot work with him until he is well

an d ho w be again , nobody knows long that may

So n ow t three weeks or three months . we have o

in a Pr assad beg to tr in in another big tusker , Lakshmi ,

u a Ir awatha fo r inches shorter th n , very clever , but ’ - rather bad , and wall eyed . He doesn t like Sabu , and 1 ’ " f a o f him . Sabu is a r id Hard luck , isn t it

Melleote .

ober th Oct 5 . Dear We ar e camped on the tip of a thousand- foot

ll o f hi , overlooking an immense disc plain to purple

horizons that remin d me ofthe Arizon a desert .

’ 1 ‘ No t m an m on t late Laks m i Pr assad o in m ust y hs r, h , g g h , killed a m ahout who was walkin g in fr on t o f him . 7 8 Except for the new cloths ofthe fam ous weavers of Melkote

M n in all l elkote , there seems to be nothi g the vil age of sacred temples and sacred tan ks that is less than five

n am n n cen turies old . Whe we c e with our lo g trai of u elephants they told us that Tipu S ltan , a hundred and

f m i n fi ty years ago , had pro sed them that no elepha t M should ever again come to elkote . Now we had

i ten broken that prom se . So we paid the temple priest A rupees (fifteen shillings) . lso the people thought we

m an B ut were going to sacrifice a to an elephant . they are sweet people and have given us a romantic bathing

e place , one oftheir own sacred tanks , to bath in .

But we were no soon er settled in Melkote than the — Monsoon rain came down ; this time the little monsoon a sort of afterthought "We amused ourselves through the drizzling days riding on our elephants through the hi scrub bush gh on the hills , looking for pig and panther .

r The rain cu tains over the plains were lovely . Sud den shafts o f sunlight would shoot down through the rolling black clouds an d spotlight patches of shin ing l i green plain . Down on that ro ling pla n beneath us — was another sport black buck . We might not shoot them for they were protected . But I longed to go out and see them . And one morning we did . Darlings , It was almost to o fairy- like for me to de

r W e l . w scribe . left camp by star ight By da n and the light of the morning star we were rolling over the

plains , and somehow the great thundering dawn

an d i an d above us the great stretching pla n before us , dwarfed to the finest dry- point etching between

e on an d th m , ourselves our fantastic beasts , the deli

e in cat leaping buck , were like noth g but a Persian f m in iature painting out o a fairy story . d ’ f Black Buck The buck idn t know whether to be rightened .

f the ll an d the They sprayed rom ho ow capped rise , every delicate line from hoof to head an d horn flung f up sharp and clear . And we rolled on a ter them for

h o of ai the s eer j y seeing them leap ag n , up , up into

the sky - beautiful curves shivering like glass the first ’ rays of the sun . The lovely creatures didn t know

to ink a " what th . They had never seen eleph nts before

Ir awath r a o u . , Kala Nag , was veryill He stood doubly chained by his forefeet and hind feet In a place

i an d on e to a by h mself, no was allowed come ne r

him . He looked terrible an d his eyes were wild with

n . n o t l His pai He could keep sti l . head was never still

and but nodding and nodding and swaying swaying , u f p and down and rom side to side , and every once in

80

‘ ' "fa cing I R A W A T H A M USTH

u t an d a while he wo ld lift his runk up , up let out a

r - n i hea t re d ng cry .

Bob got out the cameras and filmed him . He had the mahout throw him a bunch of leaves as though

n him urgi g to eat , and Kala Nag , his head still sway

w his t n a nd ing , s ished it up in ru k swished it around and fin ally threw it in a completely mad gesture over ’

" n . his head , where it hu g awry, like Ophelia s wreath

i un u l n Th s so ds funny , but act a ly in the film whe we

ff . ran it , it was quite as a ecting as it was to see The poor elephant was most evidently in the depths ofan

agony that made you feel very sorry for him .

’ Bob always has the luck . I told you , didn t I , that ’ a Ir awatha M our eleph nt , , went usth , and we could ’ n t M a n use him all the time we were in elkote . It was

ill wind that blew us plenty ofgood , for we took pic

in tures of the poor creature his painful , uneasy state , and it made him look just as we want him to look in the story when he is ‘grieving for his master ’ "

i n The film begins to look l ke something . The casti g

r is over and the first third ofthe pictu e , all the open

ar e ing scenes , shot . And now for our big dramatic scenes in the jungles we are taking a fresh leap into

n an d n the u known i calculable .

8 1

Novem ber Dearest

The R iv er Oh , how I wish I could have you here in this

" be heavenly spot The jungle all around us , the river

as low , a blue sky above and everything bathed in

unl delicious s ight , a cool breeze blowing and cold

ni . n an d ghts A fasci ating film to do , a beautiful boy ,

to an elephant match , and so much besides that I am

On distracted . e wants to sit by the river side all day long and watch the river Village people come and go ;

in n a strip of shin g beach , bamboo behi d , river before and these beautiful people out of a fable with their

fin e n slender , cattle , shining pots , flowi g saris and

c inimitable grace and gra iousness . They are just get

ting water and washing themselves . But what a thing to see " This morning Captain Frem lin took me out in his

o f he little boat . A couple miles down t river and halfa

m an d to o ile up is our range , between swift waters

. many rocks . It was lots of fun . We paddled down ,

ll . close to the shore , under the wi ows and bamboo

n a U der the willows the c rp , little and big , little

a s ff spl she and big splashes , were jumping for the flu y

white seed- pods that drift down from them to rest

lightly on the water . Captain Frem lin knows the river stretch well enough n o w to know just what is there an d where to fl — look for it . We saw a bronze y catcher and then a 86 The R iver wagtail . There was a wagtail , he said , that sat on a tin y knob of rock in mids tream and poured its heart out in song . We came to the rock and there was the

a l " n l n wagt i and ever have I heard a more thril ing so g , ’ a n not even a c nary s . A other little wagtail stood quietly on the bank an d never stirred as we came

Kin fi sh rs n n . e along , head cocked , e tra ced , listening g

(so bright they made you gasp) , plovers , doves ,

i the m in the n fl ghts of trees , all we t about theirbusiness , ‘ ’ n fl c atc her s ll i and gree y , paddy birds and Di the K te A little farther down in a windfall of dead bamboo was what I am sur e was a monkey nursery . I saw the

n as ti iest baby monkeys I have ever seen , though just

an born . It was ideal retreat . And the whole tribe was

n in atte dance . I thought if I had young children again I should bring them up on this river and they would see the fabled kin gfisher and the carp who swallowed the ’ an d - Princess s ring , the story book kite , and how much more fascinatin g the fables and the story books would be .

Ele hant Farther down was another sight to see , a ferry ; not p

i n the ordinary k nd . The ferryi g was done by two l . u u l elephants They ha led the b l ock carts across , whi e the bullocks swam and the drivers rafted themselves on a bamboo raft . Cart after cart came down and the elephants plodded back and forth and back and forth ; an old tusker and a little cow . 8 7 a n A native boy h iled us from the bank , poi ting down stream . ‘M i i ‘ d ’ ugger exclaimed Capta n Freml n , and I di n t ’ bring my gun .

‘ The mugger (crocodile) was sunning himself on a r o ck n o t , much bigger than himself, for he was a big i one . He slid nto the water as we came along . We saw his sn out for a moment at the surface an d then he i dived under . In this stretch of river the crocod les are

- i eatm . not man g Fourteen m les farther down , they are ; hereditary taste , they say .

M o n Darling , Great excitement in camp " A wild tusker is visiting o ur cows where they are tethered o ut at

H fine ni . e ght is a specimen , half grown and extra

to th ordinarily bold . He came the roadside e other

n C O morning a d took a look at us . When Bob and .

c ow ta e a on a went up , most injudiciously , to k

a . nearer look , he stood his ground ready to ch rge ll M uthan n a says that he is an outcast from the herd . A herd has one leading old tusker an d a number of

n on e d a e youn g ones . Ifa you g becomes insubor in t he

To i has is kicked o ut . jo n the herd again he to fight

1 Murhann a was an o ffic er o f the Fo r est Servic e—detailed to H H o lo ok aft us kee us o ut of t ouble see t at in us b . . t e y r , p r h

- —- our ign o r an ce plus en thusiasm plus desper ation to get the pic tur e we did n o thin g r ash

"fa cing THE j EM A D A R AND GOOD I R A W A T HA WHOM HE CAPTURED WANDERING ALONE AND ‘ ’ MUSTH IN THE M YSORE j uNG L E

On e and overcome the leader . night we thought our B t the . u tusker had rejoined herd , for he disappeared

l n the fo lon ight he came back , so he probably had n o h M nn luck . It is t ese outlaws , utha a says , whose tempers get sourer an d sourer until they become the

dreaded rogues . The jem adar has all his mahouts workin g preparin g

an n n str ds of hempe rope , twisti g them together to ’ the thickness ofships cables . He wants to go out with

his cows and rope that tusker .

Going up to a wild tusker in thejungle and puttin g

n his a rope arou d leg was a way ofcatching a creature , u i reputed to be the most dangerous ofj ngle an mals , it that I had never imagined . Was this some special y of ’ the jemadar s? The impression was that since it was

ul . . the jemadar , it co d be done He had done it before As a matter of fact it was in this way in these very

ni Ir awa j ungles ne years before that he had caught tha .

Ir awatha n , the biggest tusker in Souther India , was

his - own single handed catch . Now it was the rounded

perfection ofstrength an d audacity in this half- grown specimen of a potential ‘ rogue ’ that set all the jema ’ a - hi a- dar s eleph nt catc ng nerves tingle .

The day appointed for the capture came . A special mahout had been sent for and had travelled all the ’ - way from up coun try to be the jemadar s right hand .

The thick , heavy coils ofrope were loaded on to five 89 a . speci lly chosen cows Five cows , laden with rope

n — n u nothi g else disappeared i to thej ngle .

We waited on the road . We were not to come in u ntil after the jemadar had the first rope around the ’

s a tr ee . tusker leg and securely fastened to We waited ,

—I mounted on our elephants , ready to be called 5

20 — minutes , a halfhour and then went in

n Never have I imagi ed such an animal scene . Aside from the struggles ofthe tusker uprooting bushes and knocking down a tree , and the clever way the ma

, houts tied him up ( actually with one foot each on the ’

c ow . tusker s back , it was the elephants that amazed me

The root of the matter is elephant nature . A tusker will never attack a cow ; it is the jungle law . And so the cows know that they c an do with him what they

: to will And their law is serve their master , the ma

all on hout . Leaning with their weight e on either

him side ofthe tusker , they wedged between them so that he couldn’ t move (of course he thought he was

n bei g made love to , anyway) , they flapped their ears ’ in dn his eyes , so that he woul t see thejemadar crawl m ing under his belly to get at his leg , and theyja med ’ his legs so that he couldn t kick . The jemadar was hi entirely at the mercy of s cows . Putting the first rope on the tusker ’ s leg was considered so dangerous that , as I have said, we were not allowed to come into thejungle to see it .

Is the most peculiarly awkward material—were he really on the go , one would hesitate to set up a

in camera his path . This scene that we had written for Kala Nag was

r n on e . a se an ang y , teari g , raging mad The eleph nt lo s

- all self control , breaks his picket , challenges the world

on an d an d to come be smashed up , then runs amok and begins to smash everything in sight .

M an d We had a long conference with uthanna , the upshot was that there was great business for the

m en ll jungle on a wooded hi side , building a camp , the camp where Kala Nag is supposed to be tethered , where he breaks away , and which he smashes up . To this camp ofbamboo huts the captured tusker was led

M a n to play the part of the infuriated Kala Nag . uth n a promised us that he was in a furious mood .

e f It was exciting . He was tethered by rop s rom both hind legs to a tree an d the ropes were about sixty feet long so that he had a good range . The ques

n r tio , of cou se , was whether or not the ropes would hold him an d everythin g was arranged with a View to

a a possible accident . The cameras were not in mach ns

l an where they wou d have been safe . The mach s we t had had time o build were not steady enough . So

all in r ow to i f they were fixed a on p ofa h gh plat orm , which would come down like so much matchwood if the tusker ever got at it . Ladders were tied up to near 92

a cin "f g TAKING THE CAPTURED TUSKER TO WATER . THE T w o K UM K I ES IN THE FOREGROUND ARE ACTING AS BRAKES TO KEEP THE TUSKER FROM CHARGING THOSE IN FRONT Photograph by Barbara Flaherty van Ingen

year an d a half they nursed him an d how well they

an nursed him you c imagine . Then one day some

was one took him out into his old jungle . It too

to r e much for him . He came back the stables and

f . used to eat , and died It is a commonplace here that

elephants die of a broken heart . True Stories There are so many extraordinary elephant stories

a ll M r s hi we hear at first h nd . I was te ing . W tehead , wife of the Chief Conservator of Forests for Madras a Presidency , how extraordin ry I had found it to

as watch those cows at the capture of our tusker , i though , qu te independent ofthe mahouts , they were

doing the whole thing themselves . She said , yes , her

husband had caught a mother and baby in a pit . The

f e mother , a t r fighting frantically , just gave up and lay d ’ down a dead weight an they couldn t get her up . So

they prodded the baby , which put her on her feet

in was a an d . ag in rag g , they hauled her out But she in

e two such a rag that the big tusker and big cows , to ’ an d o ff which she was tied , couldn t hold her , she

the n tore into ju gle , dragging them after her and

spillin g the mahouts .

n as n Fortu ately , it happened , the leadi g rope caught in a tree an d snapped with such suddenness that it

the 5 0 an d threw mother . what did the tame tusker

ui tur cows do then , q te of their own accord , but n

an d stand over the mother and not let her up , but held

her there . And there they were when the mahouts 94 m A n d c t all m the u True tories ca e up . ba k hey ca e , t sker in the S lead as proud as pun ch . Meanwhile the baby had been hauled out ofthe pit d an . and tethered . It was bawling bawling They thought to hush it by letting it loose to go to the

h n o . mot er . But , it just bawled and bawled Where upon the tusker , completely fed up , took the situation

n o n e in ha d , gave the baby huge toss with his tusks

n and sent it hurtling through the air . The chaste ed baby picked itselfup and rushed to mother .

in She had another story , again about an elephant a pit ; this time another lonely , flirtatious tusker , like ours . Nightly he was allowed to visit his lady love

- w m over a well o path . Then a pit was dug under the path and guarding the pit at four corners were tethered four cows . The lady love was tethered at the far side . ’ M r a a . G ll nt came ; saw one cow . No , she wasn t

on e . an the Saw another . No , not she . Another and

" A n d other ah There she was . he made straight for his an d love and into the pit . But it was night , by

hin night not g could be done about roping him . And he began workin g with his tusks at the sides o f the

u n pit, cr mbling the earth and stampi g it under to

him So build self up and out ofit . jubilee , a big tame

to n tusker , was stationed at the pit edge k ock him ’ ni back ; which jubilee did all ght long . jubilee s ma hout had reason to thank jubilee before the night was 95 m i - Saved by out . He made a ss step over the corner of the pit ilee ’ j ub an d was falling in when jubilee s trunk shot out and

caught him back .

to the u Some time before we moved j ngle , David had been sent to Assam to report on kedda h opera

tionsan d possible resources for our film over there . i Frances went with him . Her letter about the tra ning of the elephants after capture made me wish our tusker might n o t have to go through such an ordeal

as she described .

a A ssam Assam , on the b nks of the Brahma Putra , they

found a dismal place , cold and wet and comfortless ,

remote and wild . First there was an incident at the stockade ; where

they were watching the elephants being roped .

‘ Dav id and I were perched on a narrow scaffolding

n all an d o top of the stockade with the cameras gear .

There was on e full- grown tusker viciously usin g his

tusks , goring his neighbours . He would catch one of

them by the tail and bite it . At this the jungle men

n raised a shout , for an elephant minus his ha dsome “ tail fetches only halfprice . Biddy , biddy , they cry . “ ’ ’ " ff o . Don t , don t and brandish a torch or shoot a gun ‘ e Well , as I say , we wer there , busy with the cameras

taking snaps . Suddenly the stockade gave a lurch and

a beg n to rock . I lost my balance an d clutched at 96

"fa cing MOTHER ELEPHANT WITH BABY BORN IN CAPTIVITY Photogra ph by Ba rbara Flaherty van Ingen

l n a David just in time to save myself from fa li g over . A ss m

wn s " The camera box did go over , do , cra h We

he n . n t looked dow Directly be eath us tusker , his

in tusks wedged the stockade posts , was shaking it

n furiously to shake us o ff or shake the stockade dow . That was o n e n ervous momen t "Then someon e flung

o ff n the stockade gates open wide , and he we t snort ’ in in l the . g , tai air Then the train in g ‘ As we approached the depot at night for the first time while still a m ile o ff we could hear the trumpet

the n ing of elepha ts , and , as we came nearer , the

n chan tin g of the mahouts . It was an exciti g sound .

an d k We came into the depot , it was lit li e a vault from underneath by a myriad of little fires which

were surrounded by squatting figures , behind which ,

n i ble d ng with the trunks of the trees , were the huge ,

n grey , shifti g shapes ofthe elephants .

‘ “ We had come to watch the night training of a twenty year old tusker caught that day and highly

n bid for at the auction that afternoo . He was superb ,

hi m i n short but t ck glea ng tusks , treme dously power — ful shoulders and head , and his eyes how can I ex plain it to you? I had seen wild elephants at

an d ni every other stage of their capture trai ng , but

o n e n in this I saw an elephant faci g the fires , the smell an d the cunn in g of human s for the first

97 ‘ — He was tied between two trees stretched hind an d

forefeet between them . Slowly a group of men ap

r h d u ni o ac e . i p with b r ng torches The elephant reco led, because there is nothin g that terrifi es him more than

n fire . He swu g his head from side to side , his eyes

il - ni r th e d ated and blood shot , strai ng at the opes ; but men approached nearer until they were surrounding him a an d hil n m . o e an Then they st rted chanting , w e

his waved a torch up to eyes , the others gently rubbed

. was his sides and legs with sticks At first he terrified ,

a i then bewildered . The ch nt ng , the continuous mo

n tion of the rubbi g , and the fire swinging before his eyes seemed to act like a drug . After halfan hour or so

unk nl on his him he began to sway dr e y feet , righted

an d r self, swayed again totte ed . As soon as he was about to collapse the men stopped their chanting u e him abr ptly , rais d a shout and prodded with their long spears to startle him into a standing position

to . again , only repeat the whole operation It wore the — elephant out as nothing else could , until after a few f hours they le t him to rest .

‘ The training as it goes on by dayis more kind . The ff mahouts praise the su erer . As he is marched up and down an d up and down between them they chant to him ; they praise his fine long tusks ; they tell him o f

who him o f the bigjemadar caught , the rich man who

ll o f wi buy him , the golden howdah he will wear one 98

Sabu thinks he sees panther stealing in the com

n o ff a ni pou d and taking pie dogs lmost every ght . ’ him an d It s the way the jemadar gets to go to bed , keep well un der the covers " It sometimes comes over me to marvel how casu

- o f- fac t ally and matter ly we live here and go about . Never a time do we start o ut on a jun gle adventure that we are n o t regaled with the most awful tales of the danger and ferocity o f the elephant in its wild

ul ro ue who li state, partic arly the g actually es in

' him fi o m wait for the unwary and tears limb limb , an d stamps him to pulp or tosses him into a tree

n r oxe , ca ts , men .

u in One attacked a motor car a few days ago . Ro nd g

o f a turn , the occupants the car saw the elephant standing in the road some distance Off . From the way he cocked his ears they knew he meant business . The elephant made fo r the car and the occupants aban don ed it an d got away . The elephant made a thor oughly good jo b of wrecking the car . In a few mo f ments it was a heap o scrap . Unfortunately for the elephan t the radiator gotjam m ed on his tusks an d o ff he went in to thej un gle wearing it "

Now came the question how were we to go about getting at the herds o f elephants in the forest to film

— n them . There were plenty of herds there the ju gle men were on the lookout for them , reporting every

1 00

"fa cing THE j EM A D A R . OUR MAHOUTS AND THEIR

ELEPHANTS LOVED , FEARED AND OBEYED H I M

(black head and gleam ing tusks) was the most mas sive thing I have ever seen . What was he going to do now that he had seen us? ’ Why on earth didn t he turn away? Captain Fremlin

hi r e assur took his gun in hand and w spered to me , in l him g y, that ifhe had to shoot it would be a damn ffi " di cult shot We did turn , and I kept looking over my shoulder . What was my horror to see that the

m i o ur tusker was following us , co ng exactly in path l ike a dog following its master , or a master of the

follo wm his our " harem g cows , cows Was it curio sity? Or had he taken it into his head to charge us? Then my attention was distracted by a beautiful — sight in silhouette against the light green foliage

an d m a three does with enormous ears , the gnificent " head an d neck ofa stag . Sambhur ’ A n d then all at on ce I began seeing them . One s ’ eye has to be accustomed for there wasn t a sound ,

e n o ur but goodness , there they wer right u der noses ,

hi l . dden , ha fhidden in the grass and trees On one side

n o of us there was an en ormous cow . She paid appar But ent attention to us . on the other side was a bunch

rs o f . of young tuske . We saw six them They were ‘ l watching us . We stood stock stil . They began k n nn i an d e li nocki g each other about , ru ng squ a ng ,

r o f havin g a frolic o a scrap . They were six replicas o ur caught wild tusker . I am sure he was one of their

1 02. A n n m n c f brothers. a gry tru peti g ame from urther ahead an d on an other side other great beast soun ds . We had wan dered squarely in to the middle of the

n M herd and were c ompletely surrou ded . ight they ? n o t Close in o n us Muthan n a said afterwards that

n n they might have do e . We tur ed back on our path , o n the same path down which the tusker had been

n o w ? followin g us . Where was he by The big cow to

n the left ofus still took o heed . (We heard afterwards

n n that she was calvi g . ) The three trackers were trotti g ’ n n ahead , when the jemadar s low war i g whistle

a n a an d sounded ag i . The trackers fell b ck we all

n c o ff n stopped while somethi g rashed i to the bushes .

n n M uthan He was standi g behi d a bush by the path ,

M n na said , when thejemadar saw him . utha na said he was waiting there to waylay us . How the jemadar would like to catch that herd ’ in . a keddah . But he can t No keddah could hold a herd like that with all those tuskers . Such a herd

n B ut was ever seen here before . we can try to drive them through a clearin g an d take pictures from machans .

These forests had been the scene of many famous ‘ ’ n A ll elephant drives or keddahs , superbly orga ized . through the forest were forest huts an d forest rangers

n an d experie ced seasoned to the work . Four miles

M asta ud n c from Karapur was g y, the elepha t amp , 1 03 t with twenty elephan s . Four miles beyond that in the m forest were the ditches , post holes and rotting ti bers d ofthe old keddahs still stan ing . ’ ust how we fi al j n ly came to the decision , I don t ‘

. t know It seemed to grow o u of the circumstances . That magnificent wild herd such as had hardly been

so r e seen here before ; the Old keddah sites , easy to i construct , all there ; the forestry organ zation just

to ready be set in motion ; and , above all , the certainty — of gettin g our pictures in this way as in n o other all these things conspired together . We decided to have

t to a keddah , a real keddah in the traditional s yle ; call all the villagers from miles around to make a small

to army actually) of beaters , pair these with

an d to l ffi jungle men , ca l out the forest o cers to cap — tain this army : to build the stockade and runways an engineering feat o f timber pieces) and rope (9 — tons) ; of diggin g and chopping an d hauling with

- hun dreds ofcarts and all the work elephants engaged . It sounded like a tremendous undertaking for just a M l f film . A keddah is staged in ysore on y a ter many months of preparation and only for one most irn — portant occasion the Visit to Mysore of a new vice roy or ofroyalty .

The habits and season al movemen ts and runways of

l an d a the elephants are wel known , the kedd h opera

n tors take account ofthese . The river ru s through the 1 04

a cin T HE T o IN "f g STOCKADE GATE , MADE SW G UP LIKE A TRAP AND CRASH DOWN AT THE CUTTING OF A ROPE

area an d they kn ow when the elephants may be ex

t d c pe c e to ross .

r x l un le Men The a ea is about si ty mi es square . In it there are j g

n A n d ten forest lodges with ra gers . scattered through it by twos or ten s are about eight hu ndred Kur ubar s

n m en l orju gle , who ive in grass and bamboo shelters on wild honey and roots . They are used for the ele

n ill phant drives o ly in company with v agers , because ,

a n h n an d left lo e , they are afraid ofelep a ts at sight ofa — wild herd will scramble in to trees probably because

n the wild elepha ts trample and destroy their huts . i i Though they look l ke noth ng but long , slender

in bones covered with black sk , they are very strong . We are building our keddah on one of the two tradition al keddah sites in a dense bamboo thicket

l en between the road and the river . The ine of the — closures an inner stoc kade seventy- fi v e feet in dia

n n meter , and leadi g i to it another about six hundred — feet long is being pricked o ut in enormous holes to receive the timbers which are being brought in by ’ a In two train after tr in ofbullock carts . about weeks

M in ll i . t me , uthanna says , everyth g wi be ready

nl From this time on the plot thickened . It was o y a few days to Christmas . As soon as the stockade was

ni fi shed , the wild herd would be surrounded and held by the beaters until time for the drive . The area within which a herd is held is called a ‘ sur 1 05 ’ — roun d ; the beaters who hold it stationed t went y to ‘ ’ all ir— n thirty feet apart around are the li es . It is the ’ beaters job to watc h that there is n o move o n the part ofthe herd to break through ; day and night they hold — the lines with fire and bamboo c lappers pieces of

bamboo split to clap together and make a sharp noise .

‘ ’ The Lines It was Christmas Eve just at midn ight that Frannie M and I coming from ysore , had our first sight ofthe 6

- lines the beaters around their fires , with their bam

n boo clappers . As we came alo g they delightedly gave

us a demonstration ofthe noise that they could make , clapping and yellin g out to the elephant herd some

lln where in the eerie black sti ess o f thejun gle . We had surrounded the big herd ; the beaters were

holding them there . On the banks ofthe river we had

ur A n d in put up machans for o cameras . the first th g we were going to do was to drive the herd past them

in to the river and across it . There we would again surround them and hold them until we were ready to

drive them again , this time back across the river , into

c n our stockade . The sto kade was ready . It had bee

an d n n f built of logs ine to s o rope . Beyond the runway wings exten ded along the river bank

I a n e (see diagram , page I The two gates at the entr c s

o f n hi the stockade and runway were giga tic t ngs ,

e ll n sp cia y constructed to swi g up like a trap , and crash

down by cutting a rope .

1 06

Sabu were back there on an elephant following the

l un beaters . The Captain carries the on y heavy g , the

e special elephant gun . We could only gu ss of what

was going on by the sounds that came , nearer or

e li i farth r , of yel ng , clapp ng , occasional shots and the

al bugle c l . ’ M Nothing happened . At five o clock uthanna

an d came to relieve us . Captain Sabu had had a

ns grand time i ide the lines . Besides the elephant herd u they had scared up sambh r , cheetah , bison , pig , a

- d l r s n an an o o . mouse deer , plenty of g Chasi g around

kum kies inside the lines with the jemadar , six and t twen y beaters , they had had a lovely time , but there

M a n had been n o organized drive . uth n a was very

r ang y with thejemadar .

n Three days o luck . Three days ofjust sitting in a machan all day—andjust wait until you try that for

s wi fun . Nibbling biscuits and and ches ; watching the birds com ing to the river to drin k an d teetering on

i to in their little tails ; go ng sleep , read g , writing , drowsing . Suddenly something like an electric shock went

ni f to through us , run ng rom one the other ; we m i d e i straightened up , breath caught in the d l , stra ned

e al o r our eyes over the placid riv r , ong the empty sh es ,

- h n to . e into the shadowy forest fri ge , trying see There " Of m in was But on the wrong side the river, co g from the opposite shore "An enormous tusker just

1 0 8

a cin " A "f g LAKSHMI , PRI E WORK ELEPH NT OF THE U KAKANKOTE CAMP , P TTING UP THE GATE POST F OR OUR STOCKADE

has an d On before he a chance to turn make trouble . ce

l A s to . be he turns , it is time shoot to ki l I have said

nl c ll an fore there is o y one vital pla e to ki elephant ,

n Fr m a spot four i ches square just between the eyes . e ’ in h n hi n l s s ot we t gh , into the spo gy bone above . It

o f was the power of the gun , the force the shot , that stopped the charge . There is little doubt that this tus ker was the on e we saw crossing the river "

Between the river where o ur machans were and the forest behin d us where the elephants were and from

n to r an which we were tryi g dislodge them , a road

n o w the highway . We came to the conclusion that it

i ffi t was th s road that was making the di cul y, that the

n to — u herd was refusi g cross this road and co ld not , m probably , be driven across it in the dayti e .

So we hatched another scheme . Instead of driving

an d fi in them across the river lm g them there , we would drive them across an open glade in the j ungle and film them there . m For this we had to put up machans again , this ti e B inside the lines . o b and the carpenters went out early

ni to . in the mor ng . I had orders follow at noon Then it was reported that lunch would be served in the

So j ungle an d ifwe wanted it we were to get it there .

o ut two . we went , plus guests We came to tw o korumba guides waiting for us by

I 1 0 in n n . the roadside . We struck i to the ju gle beh d them

A s n n c in u we jogged alo g , every o e a while my g ide

l s wou d let out a volley of talk as though to him elf, un til I discovered that every few feet there was a

u in n kor mba lodged a tree . The talk betwee them

- c sounded very busin ess like . We rossed a marshy place where the black mud was an immen se honey

n i comb o f fresh elepha t tracks . I was rel eved when at

c B b an d last we ame to o the others . ’ ’ n O ur reception wasn t cordial . We were t ex ’ e c ted n o f ho r s p , nor was the elaborate lu ch d oeuvres ,

n o t n n hot curry and what , bei g served out ofan e or mous box by all our bearers . However , there we were ,

n m l n right in with the wild elepha ts . Captain Fre i ate hi s lunch with his gun ready loaded at hand . The three kum kie s were station ed around us facing out

in n to al into the jungle , three directio s , give the arm u l sho ld any ofthe wi d herd appear . While we sat and ate I saw my jungle guide regardin g us fools of white m en sitting there eatin g with an expression

c n n of the most supreme o tempt . "uai t luncheon party " Finally everyone cleared away an d we were in our

n r in ? macha s . Ou s was directly the sun and was it hot A gain the drive would seem to be comin g an d then

n A t fall away agai , and again nothing happened . four ’ o clock M uthanna came rushin g up to tran sfer us to

Old t our machans by the river . The herd was going o

I I I " "B cross . "uick quick efore it would be too late to get a picture " So pretty soon we were up in our old stand lookin g

a ain other out across the river . And g it was from the side of the river that the first alarm came ; this time a bi ‘ c o w n n g with a toddli g baby behi d her , and her

- — in be three year old son , his little tusks just sprout g , hin a d the baby . She was grand sight . Then the light f il No a ed . Dusk . more chance for pictures . Still we

shi in had to sit there . We thought we heard cra ng the

hin al bushes be d us . We did . But again the arm came from the other side ; a tusker this time come down to

n e il dri k . He stood there by the riv r edge unt it grew

l n o him so dark that we cou d longer distinguish . It was quite dark when we heard something big in f the river exactly in ront of us , and gradually splash ,

an d . splash , nearer nearer A huge form with sudden gleams ofwhite tusks came straight toward us , loom

n a ing larger and larger . The from both our mach ns

o ut n u we broke clapping , yelli g , t rning the old fellow back and splash , splash , now louder and faster , back

n his he went o tracks . ’ At eight o clock came the relief. What had hap pened to the drive? Again the herd had balked at the

A to road . few had ventured cross ; that is what we had heard in the bushes . But again two cows had ’ n kum kies broken back , chargi g the . The Captain s

u . elephant had bolted , but fort nately in open jungle

1 1 2.

— "fa cing THE J UNGLE RIVER VILLAGERS COME FOR WATER AND To BATHE

B ut now the herd was so closely surroun ded that to

get water they would have to make a break somehow . They wo uld n o t be allowed to break back through thejungle so they would probably break towards the

an d n an d river cross it duri g the night , that is exactly

what they did .

A ll that trouble an d no pictures . Still our objective hi was ac eved . The elephants were now across the

river on the side where we wanted them . There are still halfa dozen elephants left wanderin g

the on this side . They were found when country was

scoured after the big herd had crossed in the night .

n But it was thought wiser to leave them alo e . They were the trouble- makers in the drive ; two big cows

n . with two you g , and a big tusker

s But we are not allowed to forget them . La t night , 1 M an d n uthanna , with Cape Bla d , found themselves h inside the stockade wit the tusker just outside . And

n hi evide tly he was watc ng them . For when they il moved he was still . When they were st l he moved .

fi n The beaters with their res were alo g the river bank .

n A bit of shouti g brought them to the rescue . The tusker ev idently wanted to cross the river to join the

. M herd He is conversant now with the stockade . y

n ow u question is , ifhe did get across wo ld he spread the alarm an d spoil the drive? Muthanna says if he is

leader the ofthe herd he undoubtedly would . 1 Our two so un d n in e g eers. I 1 3 n o has fir e But wild elephant been known to face ,

fi l . n ni h hence the re lines The o y a mal , Bob says , t at ’ l ill isn t afraid offire is the bu l moose . He w charge it , f even charge the headlights o a locomotive . ‘ ’ The Stockade Our keddah has grown from a chance keddah on a m ade “M f " g small scale to the traditional large- scale organized ‘ ’ drive ; all on account ofthese big tuskers in the herd ,

an d hi so many ofthem . It is evidently a very rare t ng

to have so many tuskers . In one keddah ofeighty ele phan ts caught only one was a tusker and he not so

an d very big . Hence the renewed hammering business

at the stockade .

in They are busy reinforc g it , driving a second row

"

ofuprights and buttressing them all around . Also they are hollowin g out enormous logs of a wood that is water tight for drinkin g troughs to water the ele

phan ts in the stockade . The stockade is on one of the

hi a paths by w ch the eleph nts cross the river . All the other paths or run ways for a m ile on either side have

a been barric ded , as also any place in the bank not

steep enough to form a natural barricade . The lay of

a the land is really ideal . It is ide l for us that this is all

al . tradition work , too

Ori in in a g qf The orig of these keddahs was with S nderson , M sore y r ffi sixty odd yea s ago , when he was Forest O cer for Keddah M hi hi ysore . He introduced keddah catc ng , w ch he

in o n learned Assam . His book is the classic the sub ’ M uthann a s j c et . But it was father some time in the 1 1 4

’ ’ Origin of 9o s who established the keddahs for what they are — an d have been ever since a spectacle organized to

the day and hour , such as can be seen nowhere else in

the world . And these keddahs were held for each new — ’ Viceroy Myso r e s unique way of showing honour

- to aVice regal guest . That is why this lodge we are ’ li n V o M vi g in is called icer y Lodge . The aharajah s ’ n own bungalow , just ext door , isn t half so imposing .

Lord Irwin s 2 The last keddah was held in 1 9 9 for Lord Irwin . V ’ There were two thousand guests . The iceroy s suite M alone numbered five hundred . The road from ysore was specially paved for the occasion a nd all traffic was

n held up during operations . U fortunately , the guests

made to o much noise . Half way across the river the th elephants turned , frightened , upset the beaters and e

n driving elephants and broke back into the ju gle . It was ten days before they were rounded up and driven

again . The old days before motor cars were very pic tur

in ll esque . Everyone came carts drawn by bu ocks , ‘ ’ M trotting bulls , a special and famous ysore breed .

The Maharajah still keeps a few o f them . With these bullocks the native troops could move faster than

the English with their horses . Captain Wellesley , the

o f future Duke Wellington , was the first of the Eng ‘ ’ n lish to use bullock tra sport . The bullocks trotted

at eight miles per hour . Every ten miles along the way " was a fresh relay . "uaint

a cin T wo " " "f g ONE , LEFT , RIGHT

ll n vi age to stay in a certai place . It was not auspicious

for them . Pre arations p A heap ofstones along the lines to- day marked the l ‘ ’ ac e o f . p a god Bob is giving money for a puja there , fl

and it makes them very happy . They all looked con

e fi r e - tent d and happy cutting wood , nursing their

in r . fires , cook g thei rations They get a ration ofragi a day—four to five annas worth—and their wage is six

to eight annas (ninepence) for a twenty- four hour

his day . The doctor was going round as we came M down . any of them were stretched out for their

- noon day sleep . We are having a medal struck o ff to i give them . It is a trad tion ; every keddah has had a ’ a ll I med l . Ours wi have on one side Sabu on r awatha s

h a an d e on t e . h ad , other a c mera tripod

a a Capt in Fremlin says the org nization is excellent .

So n ow o ur surround was on the side o f the river

a . m were we w nted it It was seven iles around . Inside — it there was n o water for the elephants they wo uld

have to come to the river to drink . Opposite two places where they were most likely to come we set up

a to ll m i the camer s . It was impossible te when they ght — come ; we mustjust be ready m an the cameras from

daylight to dusk . It was rather lovely spending the

on ti days camping that wonderful river shore , wai ng m for o ur ga e .

1 1 8 De ath. c . j

n ik il n Wild elepha ts playing in the water l e ch dre ,

in - right front ofour noses , at intervals to day , an hour

an d m i all at a time , we have ssed it , practically, simply h i by not being t ere . Cooper and Schm dt were there . But neither ofthem know enough about the cameras

a i hm i to m ke the most ofan opportunity l ke that . Sc dt saw a daddy tusker push a baby into the water . What a shot "

- all n o t To day , day long , we have left the cameras — hoping for the herd to come to the river to drink and bathe and play , as they did yesterday . Our t u cameras are mounted on pla forms , camo flaged , on l the foreshore of the river . Lined a ong the high bank behind us were the beaters beside their fires , to keep the herd from crossing . Should they start to cross we were to film as long as possible and then run as fast as possible for the bank and up it until out of reach . It

to o was to o steep for the elephants to climb . It looked

e steep for anyon to climb . I picked out a spot with i plenty oftree roots stick ng out for a hand hold . Probably we hardly realize what a sight it is to see

M a those elephants . uth nna realized it . There are forest rangers who live their lives in the forest , he

0 says , and are lucky ever to see an elephant at all . N a s one here ever saw such ight before . The herd come to the river because there is no water in the surround . If there were only full grown elephants they would 1 1 9 ni an d The come at ght . But there are a lot of babies it is hil ll better for them to bathe w e the sun is sti up . com e to bathe

an 1 st j . .

Sid has just come in from the location . The ele phants have already been bathing this morn in g

The big tusker came down first . Slowly ,

his majestically , deliberately , he came down lifting

trunk , testing the air in every direction . All clear . So

h A n d n back up the bank e went and signalled . the down through the screen of bamboo ju ngle they

f the dri ted , the big cows and the babies , tusker stand A ing to let them pass an d then comin g on behind . ’ baby got too far into the water . Out came daddy s

trun k and pulled him on to the bank and laid him flat . If we could only get little things like that into the picture

Yesterday we waited fo r them until we were ready

’ "

al . to give up . Six o clock . The sun was most setting

M f s nn his m er s to hi . Sh utha a , with g lips After our whole day o f waiting here they were com ing at

s a . last . First the big tusker , as u u l I opened my big lens out to the last stop He stood on the bank halfhidden by the bushes and all we

ul his u hi co d see was tr nk raised above them , t s way d i u an . that , feel ng the air I was sure he wo ld get our

W n scent . The i d had died down . It had been favour

1 20

"fa cing THE WILD HERD COM Es T o T H E RIVER TO DRINK Photogra ph by Barbara Fla herty va n Ingen

h n able to us all day . Now t ere were curre ts going

n n . every which way . Yes , he had tur ed up the ba k ll The game was up . He had sme ed us .

B l an an d n . ut no . Ha fway up the b k he paused the

a n m The jungle screen lo g the river beca e alive , and drifting out of it and down the ban k came the

a nd i herd , more more , unt l we counted more than

fifty . l I was glad my lens was so fast . Sti l the light was

terribly flat . The young elephants and babies sported

an d in the water , their black heads bobbed up down

nk on the surface . The ba was steep and they climbed up on their kn ees and slid down on their haunches (by this time it was too dark to shoot any more so I just l watched them) , whi e three enormous cows stood

an guard on the b k , watching the children and throw

m s ing dust over the elves . The big tusker came wadin g alon g up river and A told them it was time to get back . youn ger tusker

i n d rema ned behind , lo g after the herd had isappeared —though his little sweetheart waited for him just at — the j ungle edge and though we dismounted our camera and packed up and made n o bones about

n noise , he was still there , keepi g watch , when we left

—a i But I forgot the bison magn ficent bull , bold in — the protection ofthe elephants drinking his fill from i the river , wh le his mate waited in the long grass

n where we could just see her horns . He dra k and

1 2 1 — Bison " drank without raisin g his head it must have been

ten minutes .

anuar rd The Da Be ore the Bi Dr v e j y 3 . y f g i .

1 0 a m .

All set up by the riverside , opposite the place

nk where the wild herd come to dri and bathe . Yes

ter da hi y at t s time Bob got feet ofthem . Crazy

t . o get some more Priceless stuff. Waited all yesterday f a ternoon . But they came half a mile up river across

f a . rom the stockade , where we had laid sugar c ne

a a a to L id sugar c ne there , because we w nt them come

r there fo the drive .

But they were wary ofthe bait , and by the time we

could move the cameras up they were gone , all except

on e t in him n il usker mun ch g away . We watched u t il he , too , turned up the bank . St l we waited and

o f the watched , aware by the agitation bamboo tops

an d occasional crashing that the herd was still there .

s m s an d Al o , by sudden alar from up river , clapping

on yelling and flaring offires , that they were pressing

that wing . ‘ ’ They ll have a devil of a time on that line to ’ f o . night , one the foresters opined

1 0 . m . o ut Visit Lines So when , about p , we were ready to set with Muthanna on his nightly round ofthe lines (this

was the as ni fo r e l t ght) , I thought we were in som

f was fun nl th e un . e It , if o y for sight of ours lves on 1 22

n f thi g to fear but man . Probably that is why so o ten one comes upon other game n ear an elephant herd

bison and sambhur . They are there for protection .

we to l As came back cross the river , a thin , mi ky

m ist was over it , making it look ghostly in the moon

light . The halfmoon m irrored in black pools between

an d the rushes , picked out in shining circles the slow i swirl of sluggish currents . L ke watchful , crouching

n eyes , the red gold fires along the ba k were doubled

a o f in the water . A s lvo clapping came from them as our big beasts stepped out into v iew

And the next day was the Day o f the Big Drive . ‘ ’ t 6 a . m n o Operations started at . The actual rush was

— — — h r to ar s a m . s a . due start a given ign l un til 3 p . 3 p Bordie had to be safe- conducted to his place in a

i un machan ins de the lines . Fremlin with his elephant g

F r n the was the safe escort . o when putti g up machan i the big tusker had appeared . There was a dist nctly

to nervous moment . The mahouts called to Fremlin

an d shoot . They clapped yelled and the tusker turned away . s As we came down the road , two hour later , the i mornin g m ist was still in the air like fine ra n . From

M asti ud the g y, elephant camp , the seven cows picked

d a o ff for the rive were just st rting to cross the river, where the beaters were waiting their coming to begin ’ a n to the day s m noeuvres . First the eastern wi g was be 1 24

' "fa cing THE BOY WE IMAGINED

u wn the shore , raking it p and do , not to miss the

a T . a " first rush bre king cover Then b ng , bang here

nl fo r they came . But o y a moment , half a moment .

out o si ht out o si ht They turned down stream f g , f g they crossed the river below us , and before we could even k h change our lenses , before we could thin , there t ey

a came pounding along directly under our mach n , a i bellowing , lurch ng sea ofrushing backs , pouring into

s. the stockade . A complete rout , alas , for our camera

Behind them came the yelling beaters , brandishing their torches .

h S aturda anuar t . y, j y 4

a The drive is over and eighty eleph nts , as near as

un . two we can co t , are in the stockade And enormous

an d tuskers . The most spectacular herd ever driven , M a . driven exactly to schedule , a triumph for uth nna

t ni li But what a pi iful sight to see them , their pa cjust ke

a o f o f the p nic a crowd of people , all regardless each other in their on e idea of safety fo r themselves at the

n n centre of the milli g circle , butting , pushi g , jabbing

an each other , and making terrible noises , gro ing and

M o f sobbing like the tortures ofhell . any them show

be buckshot woun ds . The big tusker has a raw hole ’ hin d his eye ; a big cow s eye is blind with blood .

on e o n e There are several babies , tiny ; probably the baby to W hose birth we were almost witn ess when we Visited the herd where they stayed in cover so

1 26 long . For it is the same herd we saw . The big tusker is

l A n al the one that gave me such a thri l . other tusker ,

h be most as big , they say , is one t at has been caught ‘ ar n fore ; there e old rope marks o his legs . He is a bad ’ B ut m l one , therefore . the tusker Fre in had to shoot

n evide tly did not belong to the herd .

S n w They are puttin g on a wretched how o . Every l h t once in a whi e a maddened mot er , wi h a high , piercing trumpet , will charge the stockade . But not the tuskers ; they are not at all brave and use all their tusks and weight to hold the centre place and jab the

so wil lesser ones away . I am afraid the babies l get crushed . They are sweet little fellows . I heard Cap ‘ ’ tain Fremlin say : Shall I shoot the poor creature? A

- half grown tusker was down in the mud on his side . l By this time the whole stockade was a s imy , slippery

i i to mass ofblack mud l ke a stye , and smell ng heaven just like a stye .

S unda Mornin y g .

A baby goes down in the slippery mud of the R etrieve ll ill e . stockade , under those huge mi ing bodi s It w be ’ in trampled . The jemadar won t allow it ; goes to the

stockade , ropes the baby and pulls it to the barrier and ’ they get it through . The little fellow isn t hurt , full of h w hi ’ o . beans , and oh , t rsty It can t drink with its ’ trunk , too young , but there s water on the ground

an d al an d l t n water in a sh low dish , its silly ittle ru k 1 27 ‘ an d to . wobbles splashes and tries find its mouth Oh , how I ’ d like a good drink "’ We catch its trunk up and open its mouth and near ly choke the little creature pouring water down its l throat . But sti l with its funny little trunk pressed

wi n to do n wrinkles into the mud , it tries get the rim

of . the bowl in its mouth It is to o funny . The brown

o i faces watching are a study . They d love the l ttle

. n . thing They start leadi g him, protesting , to the river ‘ ’ ’ A t n : o . n o the river bri k No , I won t g in I wo t g in M t without mother . other said not o go in without ’

. oh . her But once in , boy , what a long , happy drink ‘ ’ ’ ’

o to . Now I ve had enough . Let s g back mother The l poor mother , as it passed the stockade , had fo lowed it around .

Tuesda anuar th. y, j y 7

to It is all over . The elephants are gone back their lovelyjungle , the beloved beasts . I hated to come down to the stockade to face hear ing again their un ceasing moaning and groaning from

to the depths o f their agony and torture . It seemed me

i n the sounds were worse , more despa ri g . The sudden

n n screams seemed like the last extreme of e dura ce .

They were human cries . They were like the boar whose dyin g agon y has rung in my ears all these

n . years . It was u bearable . We all broke down Three ’ o clock was set for the open in g of the gates to let

1 2 8

A N AVALANCHE OF BODIES IN A ROLLING CLOUD OF DUST

f h . n t em go , set them free Such a relie ; I had to tur

n away in to the bushes to hide that I was c ryi g . are setfree O K A t The baby is . . first I thought he was dead , B ut stretched out on his side , asleep it was just as

an d the t n sweet peppy as ever , cen re of an admiri g ,

n B ut loving crowd , bri ging it milk and water . what ? to do with it The herd , even the mother , now that it

n n o t smelled of huma s , would take it back , would

n probably kill it . It might be raised by ha d , it might

be fostered by our tame mother cow elephant , sent up

A an d to her to the palace stables . woman came i i poured water over it from her sh n ng brass pot . The baby wallowed delightedly in a puddle of water and mud . Throwing bundles of straw and rice into the stock ade and watching eager trunks reac h out was some

con solation . They crowded to the barriers to pick

n them up , eve the big tusker became a hungry baby . Everyon e was having a guess as to what the ele

han ts — p would do , once the gate was open whether

in they would come a rush or come slowly, whether

n they would stop at the water and dri k , whether they would take the deep water crossing straight ahead or

o n e shepherd the babies to the shallows at side .

n And there was our baby , bei g brought down and

let loose right under our machan . Perhaps , we

n thought , the herd in its exciteme t would take it

along , perhaps the mother would find it . The little I thing instinctively wan dered up into the en closure and alon g to the stockade to fin d mother where he ul co d hear her voice , I suppose , among the others . If ’ It stands there by the stockade gate , I thought , it s the ’ n fir - e d . He ll surely be crushed in the st out rush . The ten sion durin g the final clearance of the r un

n c an A fif way under our macha s I hardly describe .

m i l A r e teen nute ca l before the gate was opened . you

? n Y a d o n . ready es. Frannie I were a low machan I was warned to draw my dangling feet up for fear the big cow might spot me and try to mount our tree . She had trie d to climb the stockade ; she had learn ed to reach up with her trunk to the stockade machans . Our m a chan was fir m ly built into the branches ofthe

M s n tree . I was glad ofthat . o t ofthem ha g dizzily out

r u f fi f om the bare tr nk , slung rom iron stays xed to

the tree by spike s .

n s o ut in i The elepha t came three sections , ushing , n o t e i stopping at the wat r edge , right out nto the

a ni n deep crossing . Fr n e and I , while snapping fra ’ an n tically, watched xiously for the baby . He was t i with the first section . There was a t ny one with the ’

an n o . second section , but Fr nie said , it wasn t ours I hi m i l watched it , wee t ng , bravely swim ng , its ittle fu head a black , bobbing dot in the water getting rther

an d fiar the r . left behind by the big ones Oh , baby , " baby But just then , as though at last the dam had

fm al burst , the section , the main herd with the big 1 30

E PIL O G UE

M sore C it y y,

ul M atriarchal I wish I co d tell you how beautiful ysore is , P an d n what a sere e , lovely atmosphere broods over a t ravishing landscape and over the lovely ci y itself, like

n c . a spiritual be edi tion For me (perhaps I imagine it , t n n hough others ack owledge it , too) it ema ates from the glowing ruby light on the highest and noblest of

- the flood lit palace domes . It is the very heart ofa man , M the ruler , the aharajah ; the glowing beacon means his n in prese ce here his city watching over his people . — I never thought to live in patriarchal times to go so — far back in history to experien ce a patriarchal

in Utopia . But everyth g here has something of the

an d magic poetry oflegend in it . — r e n . We have been writing our story , writi g it For

in a three weeks we have done noth g else . It has been — hard task has torn our combined brain s to tatters I 33 — — and drain ed them white such an effort really terri

fi c . But we are pleased with the result . The mould is

finally cast; now to give it life .

w - fi ll in If edo it well , the lm wi have someth g in it

al of this qu ity of legend and deep natural mystery .

na r You see , the great tural spectacle in our sto y was to be a wild elephant drive into a ‘keddah’ stockade regular whoopee .

o ff Our drive came splendidly , our captured herd i was a magn ficent one . We let them go again and took pictures of them coming an d going . When we saw our ‘ rushes ’ a miracle appeared on the screen—no semblance of a drive , but instead these most extra

if o f m ster i ordinary creatures , as in the heart their y ‘ ’ ? o us u . j ngle , going places Where were they going

a as Why, to the Eleph nt Dance , of course , just it is in ’ t - Kipling s story . So we e wove our story all round

a a this eleph nt d nce . All we need to complete the

c a o f illusion is their feet in action . All our mp twenty fi v e tame elephants has gone into trainin g like a ballet — ’ ? chorus to learn to dance . Isn t it a quaint life So n o w that our script is beyond the peradv enture

a o ur as of further change , we can go ahe d with work ‘ ’ - u fast as possible . Our Kala Nag has gone m sth

a Ma again . But still we t lk of going back in y, on the — Italian Line the only on e on which we can hope to

get passage at short notice .

The whole Indian adventure has been a fairy story . I 34

‘ ’ a cin EA R s t "f g PFUI , KALA NAG , WHAT DIRTY

in an d There is magic the very air , the beauty of it

— o n e n ac ts like a drug a timeless dream . No has pai ted

in ex or sung it adequately , because it seems to be pressible .

’ ’

Postscr i t L ondon F ob 1 th . p , , y 4 , 3 7

n So many people ask me what has happe ed to Sabu .

A s in n n an d his I write he is here Lo do , he older bro

an d n n in n ther a Hi du tutor , livi g a hotel ear the

British Museum . He is very happy . Every time I see ‘ ’ ’ him A n ? I ask him, re t you homesick , Sabu Aren t ’ you tired of London ? But he answers with always i m o n h s . the same s ile lips , the same light in his eyes ‘ him People stop in the streets and ask , Is this the ’ Elephant B o y? They know him from his pictures in the papers . He does not speak English readily because he does l not speak much anyway . He ikes to come to our

e an d hous turn on the radio . In our compound in

M an ns a l ysore he played i trument , like a h rp , cal ed a

thar an an d ni bulbul g ; he would play it day ght , him passionately , until someone stopped . He and Sul tan t f c , another li tle boy rom the Pala e stables , gave concerts together ; Sultan did sin ging and pantomime l and never fai ed to bring down the house . Sabu has

his thar an sent to India for bulbul g . We brought him to London because there was i d work for him st ll to o on the pictur e in the studio . 1 3 5 A n d There was dialogue . for six weeks through the

ni n c m i t i whole ght , in the pe etrating old s y n ghts on

in the banks of the Colne , he worked in noth g but

t - ff n n o . his dho i (loin cloth) , evidently su eri g cold Not

f i n a sni fle has he had all th s winter so far in Lo don .

wi n The studio went ld about him . His acti g him amazed them ; they called a genius . They insured his life for f: and set their best writer to work

Wr f r n iting for him the story o a other film . But in the meantime our own picture through months o f work in the studio has steadily been moun — — ‘ ’ ting and mounting soarin g into the realm of big

A n d . productions . Sabu must carry it all Either we have been led by o ur enthusiasm for the boy into a great mistake , or we shall have judged rightly and

Sabuwill carry the film to success .

ni r em iér e ll . The first ght , the London p , wi come

A n d nu (Yes , Sabu will be there . ) then , as the film n— folds , the miracle must happe Sabu must capture

—o r it?— his audience , and the audience must will take

n to the little India boy its heart .

1 36