KOCHI: Every now and then, when the clamour of the city gets too deafening and when my soul yearns for a respite, I find myself on the long road home. To the hills. Where the crisp, cool breeze and the serene landscape both soothe the mind and reinvigorate the body.
One such trip earlier this month brought me to Gudalur, a hill station nestled in the verdant beauty of the Nilgiris. From here, I navigated my way to Mudumalai National Park, where I hoped to put my photography skills to the test.
Unlike my previous visits, this time, the park was surprisingly busy, and for good reason. The 2022 documentary The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, catapulted the region to global fame when it won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards in March 2023. As luck would have it, Bomman and Bellie, on whom the documentary was based, were there. They were among the crowd offering their prayers before a Lord Ganesha idol.
The duo, as the film documents, had devoted their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, who was entrusted in their care. In the process, the two, a couple, had formed a family-like bond with the animal. I was delighted to see them. However, by the time I reached the place, they were gone. In that spot remained four westerners, a telltale sign that the region had become a tourist hotspot now. Striking up a conversation with them, I learned that they were researchers from Romania and were in Mudumalai for wildlife photography and research.
The sun set early that day. Keen to click a few snaps of Bomman and Bellie, I returned the following day. Not long after I arrived, I glimpsed the two. Bomman was performing a puja, and Bellie was beside him.
It is likely that they saw the glint of happiness in my eyes. They were eager to share their stories, their experiences. After a hearty chat, they introduced me to their darling Raghu and Ammukutty — the two elephant calves featured in the documentary.
The tangling of Bomman and Bellie’s joy and sorrow on seeing the elephants — their ‘little ones’ — was very palpable. They get to spend limited time with the calves, who are being trained by mahouts.
Despite the laurels the documentary won, Bomman and Bellie continue to be the ordinary people that they always were. “The awards have not changed our lives. We are still the same,” Bomman says.
Indeed. The two, who come from a long line of elephant carers, are content with what they are and what they do. As they retraced their steps along the old, dilapidated bridge across the Mayar River, it dawned on me that joy is to be found in the simple things too.