Quick review and tribute to a railway engine

-

 

“These Indians in India are getting too big for their boots lately. Something needs to be done, and soon!”


“I know! Let’s make a movie about remote forests, elephants, tigers, poor people, and throw in the usual binaries?”


“Good idea, I know just the book, and just the right people.”


“Great, thanks, would be wonderful if you could throw in some awards too? Will help ticket sales at those award functions.”


And thus was - probably - born THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS.


The yellow food-grade plastic tank on top of the cement platform at the side of the elephant’s night shelter sets the trend for much of the rest of the movie. Even the Foreign Correspondents Club in Delhi, tasked mostly with taking photos of the naked mendicants sort, could not have done this better.


Brilliant wildlife shots, it’s the selective choice of human habitats selected for their poverty, which make this documentary a dual play. Get the Euro-Atlantic crowd in for the exotica and the perception building of India as that strange country where elephants are still used for public transport, and get the Indian rich to buy the award ceremony tickets, whilst the flick itself is pretty much free online.


Add stock shots of tigers and monkeys, throw in some honey harvesting from cliffs, mix with landscape of the sort that brings out the best of our monsoon skies. Cinematographically, been done many, many times.

For me - the real India has also to do with those perfect stainless steel bars shown securing the elephant for the night.



Blink, and you miss them.


Note - Gajraj was and is the name given to the WDM-3A series of diesel engines made in India, under licence from the American Locomotive Company. This locomotive and its derivatives, changed the complete character of the Indian Railways, in more than a manner of speaking.


Gajraj


Certainly not whispering, India, the WDM-3A class of elephants.


ps: Elephant Whisperers Bomman and Bellie sue filmmakers for exploitation, demand Rs 2 crore


And another point of view Elephant in the Room?










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hotels in India and the Art of Breakfast Buffets

-
  Breakfast buffets at Indian hotels are probably the best means of sorting out what the F&B experience will be like at their other restaurants. Unlike with hotels in many countries abroad, the Indian breakfast buffet is usually largely vegetarian, with an egg and dosa counter, as well as a token display of cold cuts and sausages. Marked, usually, with an absence of pork. What are the points to look out for with a breakfast buffet in India? 1) Go for the pre-boiled eggs. Crack one open. The rest of the egg adventures will depend on the colour of the yolk inside and how fresh the egg tastes. If the boiled eggs served are lousy, then the rest of the breakfast is also, probably, a collection of lowest bids. 2) Check out the idlis. If they are fresh-steamed, plus points, but if they are lying sadly neglected in some sort of serving apparatus, then once again you realise that the typical Indian star hotel truly has not learnt anything from the many Indian vegetarian restaurants on the h
Read more

India at less than 5000/- per day including travel

-
As the description says, this one will be about documenting and writing about domestic India travel by surface, aimed at a not higher than 5000/- rupees per couple per day all in effort - which is a reasonable number in this post-COVID world. Travel, board and lodging, with sight-seeing. We actually managed that last month, May 2022, Goa - Udupi - Coorg - Bengaluru. 5 days, 4 nights, driving a 9 year old WagonR.  And we've done it in the past too, though COVID put a bit of a gap in the proceedings. Both of us are in our mid-60s and so we also aim at a similar profile of readers, not in a very big hurry, and where the journey is also the best part. If you feel tired - stay another night! Every which way, if you are no longer fascinated by paying vast sums of money for doubtful holiday experiences abroad, then India awaits. The Indian tourist in India is the big focus for the smarter tourism industry - especially outside the larger cities, where real estate is still affordable. Our p
Read more