Travels on my Elephant - Hardcover

Shand, Mark

4.04

589 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 087951454X ISBN 13: 9780879514549

Publisher: Overlook Books, 1992

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Started on a whim and pursued with a passion, modern-day adventurer Mark Shand's remarkable journey through India on the back of a 30-year-old elephant named Tara covered 800 miles, from the Bay of Bengal to the world's largest elephant bazaar at Sonepur on the Ganges.
Rescued from a life of begging, Tara, scrawny and mistreated, was transformed through Shand's tender attention and care on their journey into a star attraction. Blessed by priests, entertained by princes, they shuffled happily through towns and villages, Tara sucking up rice and bananas from roadside stands and Shand scattering rupees in compensation. Everywhere they went, the adventurer, his unusual steed, and his five eccentric Indian companions drew an inquisitive crowd of admirers.
Rivaling Kipling, this story of man and elephant is by turns exciting, terrifying and moving. Merely arriving at Sonepur on the Ganges was not the end of the story, and finding a good home for Tara was to present the greatest challenge of all for a man who had just traveled 800 miles through heat, hardship and danger.
With an ear for the comic, an eye for the exotic and a taste for the bizarre, Shand informs as he entertains, painting a vivid picture of Indian life, customs and locale as he takes us through his daily adventures with Tara in this transporting memoir.

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Review:

A few years ago, British writer Mark Shand cut an 800-mile swath across southern and central India atop a 30-year-old elephant named Tara. What he saw along the way makes up the heart of this entertaining memoir. His reminiscences of the good food and warmly hospitable people of the nation make you want to head out the door and find the nearest mahout, but the real star of the show is Tara, who has a sweet personality and a penchant for mischief, such as shoplifting fruit from vendors' stalls and lifting prostitutes' saris. However, Shand sadly notes, "The Indian elephant is running out of living space." His sort of adventure may thus be harder to come by in the future--so find that mahout now. If you can't, as vicarious experiences go, following Shand across the subcontinent is tough to beat.

About the Author:

Mark Shand is a travel writer with a playboy past which has been exchanged for the life of a fund-raising conservationist. His travel books include River Dog: A journey down the Brahmaputra, Queen of the Elephants, Skullduggery and Travels on my Elephant for which he received the Travel Writer of the Year award. The latter journey directed led to his foundation of Elephant Family - a charity specifically established to protect the environment of the Asian elephant, tiger and orang-utan, and is currently engaged in the creation and acquisition of half kilometre wide jungle corridors that connect together the various different forest reserves.

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