Mahouts' tale in Nepal

Elephant safari is a lucrative business in Nepal, especially in Sauraha, a tourism hub located in the southwestern Chitwan district, some 170 km from the capital.

Also rich in natural beauty and biodiversity, Sauraha is currently synonymous to elephant safaris, a favorite pastime of foreign tourists.

But there is also a negative side to the elephant safari as the elephant riders or mahouts have poignant stories to tell.

Bishal Chaudharty, 26, a mahout since he was 15, must wake up at 4 every morning in his little but cozy room near the elephant shelter.

His 24-hour-duty begins with feeding his elephant, named Janaki- kali, with wheat and rice straws.

"I have been working as a mahout for the last 11 years. I spend more time with my elephant than with my wife and family. I have to be with my elephant all the time, day and night. My work as a mahout is really hard," Bishal told Xinhua.

At 6 a.m., Bishal would ride his elephant to the Chitwan National Park where he will pick up tourists for the jungle safari.

The elephant safari begins at 6 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. with a short break at noontime since the elephants cannot walk under the burning heat of the sun for long time.

Bishal said he and the other mahouts make at least six trips a day from Chitwan National Park depending on the flow of tourists.

But even during the break period, they remain occupied with works like bathing the elephants and feeding them.

Another caretaker of Janaki-kali, 17-year-old Arman Khan said riding the elephant is no big deal.

"It is preparing food and feeding the animal that is difficult, " he said.

Khan left his family in Bihar, India five years ago because of his love for the elephant and to earn money from tourists who would ride with them.

There are around 60 elephants for hire in the area and 120 mahouts. There are two caretakers for one elephant. These caretakers live with the elephant itself. They work for 365 days.

But it is distressing to know about the low salaries of mahouts despite their skills in taming the elephant that needs a lot of patience.

Though the safari business is highly profitable, the living condition of mahouts is still among the lowest in Nepal.

"We cannot eat before feeding the elephant. We cannot sleep before the animal sleeps. This job is really difficult. We don't have any day off or time to relax. But even with low salary, we have to continue with our job because we love the elephant and it has become a part of my life," said Mangan Bote, a 55-year-old mahout.

Suman Ghimire, an elephant owner, said mahouts are the best friends of elephants. They understand each other. He said he treats his mahouts and elephants well and they are like family to him.

"We give them proper food and care," Ghimire said.

Time and again, different animal rights activists have accused mahouts of mistreating elephants by beating them with sticks or iron rods.

But such claims have been denied by the mahouts who said the activists do not know the true relationship between a mahout and his elephant.

"Elephants are the strongest creatures, so it's difficult for us to understand and control them. Sometimes, we need to be strict but it is just to control them. The truth is they are our best companions," Bote said.

The bonding between mahouts and elephants is the best example of how man and animal can relate to each other, a relationship nurtured by love and understanding. And this is what Sauraha is known for, the elephant safari capital in Nepal.