Under an elephant’s foot – IV

                                                                                            It’s our guide.’

‘Our guide. He is making this sound to call us.’ Silvia spoke in anticipation

We stood in silence and heard it again but could not pinpoint the direction

Neither I nor Aakash knew much about birds but there was nothing to lose

So, we rushed back to the edge with no other option from which to choose

 

No one knew any bird call and shouting in our voice seemed outright risky

‘But if we do not reply, he might just go away.' Silvia was getting panicky

 

I clenched my fists, took a deep breath and summoned all my fears to shout

‘HELPPPPP … PPP’, out came a call that reached everyone beyond doubt

We heard a faint voice, ‘Madam, where are you?’ tailed by a nervous encore

‘We are here.’ We shouted back, with a joy that we had never known before

 

What seemed to be just a dream a few minutes ago was in front of our eyes

Our guide was alive and walking straight towards us like an angel in disguise

‘Don’t worry. They do not come to this side.’ Prakash now led, with us in tow

‘But where were you? How did you escape?’ We were all impatient to know

 

‘When I saw that the elephant was about to crush you, I rushed to the pool

Taking off my ruck sack, I waved at them hastily so that they lose their cool

 

‘Distracted and irritated, he decided to let go of you and chase me instead

His companion also joined him in this.’ We hung on to each word with dread

Prakash continued, ‘I ran in the opposite direction for almost a kilometer.

And finally was out of their territory so they gave up the chase for the better

 

Then I took a circuitous route to come back to the spot where it had started'

He was smiling feebly, knowing well, how close an escape we had charted

Under an elephant’s foot – III

A few seconds passed…

 

Sunk till waist, eyes shut, I was still lying in a pool of mud all chickened

I should have been trampled by now, but nothing like that had happened

 

‘Get up. Get up fast. We have to move out of here before they come back’

were the first words I heard to realize that I had been spared in the attack

 

Aakash pulled me up on my feet, all bones intact and that was a vital part

I opened my eyes in sheer disbelief, ‘Did I just witness a change of heart?

 

‘Where are those elephants? Are there more out there? Where’s our guide?

Have they knocked him off? Or did anyone see him rush to the other side?

 

Oh, my God! There is no signal at all. We cannot even call anyone for help

Elephants can be anywhere. Which path do we take?’ I strained not to yelp

 

I stood there frozen with terror muttering how good are a pachyderm’s ears

Our trail-mate Silvia was speaking in hushed tones, joining me in my fears

 

Aakash decided to tread along the reservoir first as the water level was low

Trying to keep to the sides, clutching few open roots, our march was slow

 

‘Elephants are peaceful creatures’, said Animal Planet, ‘gentle and kind’

But that day we were all praying that they don’t come after us from behind

 

After treading some 50 meters we climbed up back to the plantation ground

Crouching near coffee stems we surveyed the area for any activities around

 

It was unnaturally quiet and somber with no sign of our experienced ranger

Even a slight movement got the dry leaves under our feet snapping in anger

 

The plan was to find the tracks so we could run fast should a danger befall

But a couple of leaf crunching steps later we heard an unexpected birdcall

                                                                                            ‘It’s our guide.’

Under an elephant’s foot – II

Suddenly all hell broke loose!

 

‘RUN!’ I heard someone scream from behind. ‘The elephants are here!’

For a split-second I was rooted to the spot not keen to look back there

 

I turned around to see what would be stamped in my mind for a lifetime

Two enraged wild elephants were charging towards us, covered in grime

 

Their trumpets drowned every little sound I could hear a few seconds ago

Blindsided, we broke off in all directions not knowing really where to go

 

I was far too much in the open without any skill to outlast such ambushes

Searching frantically for our guide, I saw him hiding behind some bushes

 

To avoid the fate of plants getting trampled under their heavy feet, I ran

Heading straight towards the water I wondered, ‘Aditi! Is this your plan?’

 

But even before I could take two steps, it looked like I had lost the race

An elephant trunk lightly touched my back jolting me down on my face

 

I rolled to face up, only to see an elephant foot coming right at my nose

Luckily my lizard brain got me rolling again, ‘Gosh! that was so close’

 

All the tragic elephant stories I had heard were now playing in my mind

While I rolled again in my desperate efforts to escape the 2000 kg grind

 

This time I saw the other pachyderm terrifying the rest towards the ditch

The dry mud pool in Coorg was destined to be our grave without a hitch

 

I rolled for the third time plunging six feet down into a soft mud puddle

Already picturing a massive round foot crushing my ribcage or my skull

 

Knowing that end was just a matter of time, I ceded to the inevitability

Praying fervently to God to make it as quick and painless as it could be

 

        A few seconds passed…