Travels on my elephant

by Mark Shand

Spurred by a whim, the author buys Tara, a female elephant and travels 750 miles from Konarak, on the Bay of Bengal, to Sonepur, on the Ganges and relates his experiences along the way. The author brings view of the oldest partnership between man and animal and reflects on the 4,000-year history of the culture in which the elephant has such a special place.