The elephant funda...

I was just going through a video which Sreeja forwarded me early in the morning. It’s about an elephant running to a jeep to crash it down when the driver switches on the head lights bright enough to scare the poor animal!!!
Elephant stories are very interesting to read and I being from Kerala have a natural affection towards these gigantic species. Watching an elephant standing tall with its majestic posture adorned with all its jewels is something so royal that stays in your memories. A festival, what more to say, even a visit to Guruvayoor is not complete if you don’t spot an elephant nearby.
They are the heroes of all the festivals. They are kid's favorites. They will make your heads turn just by walking on the road.
Well, the reason why I started to write about elephants is that I remembered a similar incident which my dad’s friend - Yusuf Uncle mentioned once when he came to our house.
He was a Loco Pilot and was in duty once in the Coimbatore to Palakkad road. In this route is the dense forest of Walayar which is home for quite a number of wild elephants.
It was night time when the Goods train with 65 bogies was crossing Walayar. From a long distance Uncle could see our hero watching the bright lights of the engine. Either it was scared or it had enough courage to face the brightly lit enemy that it didn’t budge from the centre of the track. Uncle tried in vain all the possible methods to move the animal – he put the headlights into high beam and also started blowing the horn. He tried applying brakes but the air brake system in trains will take quite some time before it comes to a halt. Now it was too much for our hero to tolerate and it started attacking back. Nothing was in uncle's hands now and he had to witness the train pushing the elephant forward and it in turn relentlessly resisting it. After some while the train came to a halt and by this time our poor elephant had already developed some wounds in its legs.
He didn’t block the way for a long time and lifted himself and started moving on accepting the defeat as a hero. Uncle was left with a mixed emotion of terror and guilt.
I have heard from many other railway staff that it pains the most when you have to witness the train running down an animal than any humans for the animals like cattle who aimlessly wander through the railway tracks will be amused to see the lights being flashed on them and will keep looking at it with great excitement lest will they be aware of the impending danger. Humans on the other hand would be completely conscious and would have gathered enough mental vigor to end their life – the very act which demands no compassion.