[QUOTE=Anaamika]
But I can add a little. Elephants are a huge part of Indian culture. Let’s face it, until the day you can carry around a blue whale, there just isn’t that much more impressive than elephants.
[/QUOTE]
This gives me two thoughts
a) I want my damn cloned mammoth!
b) Carry around a blue whale, you say? Hmmmmmm. whips out dictaphone “Note to self…”
[QUOTE=Anaamika]
I can’t think of an analogous animal in other cultures. Who else keeps a creature like this, in their temples, decorates them, and even reveres them a little?
[/quote]
I suppose it’s a bit different, but there are plenty of people here in the United States who consider their dog or cat to be a part of the family. We even have monuments to various dogs here in the states and in parts of Europe I think. Anyway, I had read somewhere that in India there are less problems with elephants going rogue, and one of the theories behind it was that the elephant handlers there were much better at what they did.
Marc
[QUOTE=Anaamika]
I can’t think of an analogous animal in other cultures. Who else keeps a creature like this, in their temples, decorates them, and even reveres them a little? Don’t forget, Ganesh is an elephant-headed god, and so when we treat the elephants with love and respect, we are also paying respect to the creature that partially created Shri Ganesh.
[/QUOTE]
[Apu] Please do not offer my god a peanut.[/Apu]
I couldn’t help but be reminded of this essay by George Orwell while I was reading the article.
When I worked in the recieving deparment at one company, we opened a trailer and it was obvious that it had been loaded with the help of an elephant. The boxes had been crushed with elephant head shaped dents, and later on we found boxes with elephant footprints and dung on them.
[QUOTE=Anaamika]
It’s saffron for decoration.
[/QUOTE]
Maybe the elephant was just upset at the decoration… He’s just mad about saffron!
Maybe, but he’s not very mellow…
Is there a difference between a tusker and a jumbo? The article uses both terms.