MONSOON SEASON IN PINNAWALA
It was raining hard and the place was muddy, but we couldn’t care less. We were inside a large Elephant herd and felt as if we were part of a family of giants. Better watch out not to get trampled by the great beasts.
Some one back home told us about this place, Pinnawala. He said it was worthwhile the visit. “Just go there. You can thank me later”, he said. And so we did. In the middle of the road between Colombo and Kandi, our driver stopped the car in front of a small entrance sign and a ticket booth. We paid a small fee in Local Rupees and entered the largest elephant sanctuary in the world.
The Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation established Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage back in 1975. The purpose of what was then a very innovative concept was to provide care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild. Pinnawala started out with five baby Asian Elephants and grew out to a pack of close to 80 today. The place is funded partly by the Sri Lankan authorities and partly by tourist income – a good enough reason (if you needed any) to come and visit the place.
Walking with elephants
I first arrived at Pinnawala at the turn of the Millennium. Armed with an analog Minolta camera and with no prior elephant experience I was taken by the sheer sight. Guarded by a couple dozen keepers with long hooked sticks the herd was going about their business, taking a dive in the nearby river and hanging out in the large coconut grove. Few of the keepers were feeding milk to the youngest members using gigantic milk bottles.
The skies were heavy and gray, and soon enough the Monsoon was pouring down on us. Everyone ran for cover, elephants too. I guess I should have done the same. But the instead I pulled out the camera and started shooting. One of my friends said I was crazy to ruin the camera in such a way. Truth be told – it really didn’t work for the following few hours. With no idea how the pictures came out (these were the pre-digital days, a bygone time of processing labs and wait) it looked as if my friend was right. Well, at least until the camera came back to life the following morning, and even more so after we developed the film!
Seeing the pictures, I decided then and there that I will come back to the Pinnawala with my future children – which I did. 13 years later. So should you.
