Look, who’s taking a stroll in the city!
Late last Sunday morning, driving along High Level Road, I noticed elephant dung on the side of the road and surmised that there was a tame elephant walking ahead.
Elephant walk: Wijeya Raja strolls along the busy High Level Road
From the quantity of dung, I guessed that this should be a large mature elephant. A few minutes later I spotted a crowd by the side of the road, and saw they were all watching an elephant which seemed to be in the front yard of a house by the roadside. Walking up to see the elephant, I was quite astonished to find that it was indeed a large mature male elephant with two of the most magnificent tusks I had seen. I realized immediately that this was no ordinary elephant since tuskers (even with regular small tasks) are quite rare among Sri Lankan elephants.
The elephant had stopped for a drink of water and the house owners had willingly allowed the mahout to bring the elephant inside, and given it a large barrel of water to drink from.
When I spoke to the mahout I realized, as expected, that this was none other than the famous Nadun Gamuwe Wijaya Raja, one of the few elephants who is ‘eligible’ to carry the Sacred Relics of the Lord Buddha in the Kandy Perahera. Only a chosen few, who have several specific physical and behavioural characteristics can aspire to carry the Sacred Relics in procession, and today there are only four such captive elephants available in Sri Lanka.
This explained the excitement and interest shown by the passers-by, since to Buddhists, this elephant could be considered sacred, by virtue of the fact that he is the bearer of the Lord Buddha’s relics at the pageant. People were rushing to buy watermelon and banana to feed the elephant, which some of them felt would be a very meritorious act.
After quenching his thirst, Raja moved out on to the High Level Road, causing traffic jams, because all the vehicles were slowing down to watch this magnificent sight.
I followed closely behind the mahout and the other helpers, who then decided to give Raja a rest and directed the elephant towards the car park of a large clothing store. Here in the shade, Raja rested, since the midday sun was extremely hot, and walking on the road tarmac would have been quite uncomfortable.
Water break: A warm welcome for their unexpected guest
Crowds continued to gather as Raja calmly broke off branches from the adjacent gardens and ate them. It was indeed an experience to be so close to such a magnificent animal. He must have been easily over 12 feet in height and emanated calm while at the same time a controlled and latent sense of power and majesty. There was no agitated swinging of the trunk or his head, as one sees tame elephants doing most of the time. He stayed silent, with just his ears flapping (to keep himself cool) while he patiently broke off branches and munched on them.
I watched him for about an hour and left, happy that I had this chance of interacting with such a magnificent specimen of an elephant.
