Author Jayasri on Balarama's Story

How the book came to be: 

It has been a couple of years in the making. Good friend Bhaskar,  a nature photographer  and now a documentary film-maker with the award-winning “Elephants In The Coffee”, and passionate about the elephant, ... caught up with me in America . He then proceeded to nag me, bug me and coax me  into  writing this story for children. ....suddenly, there he was, Baby Balarama, naughty, adorable, and  full of dreams about a beautiful life in the forest,  playing and growing up in Nagarahole forest.  It was agonizing to have to write about his  capture, the shattering of his dreams, and his journey to  Mysore where he became the lead elephant, carrying the Ambari in the Vijayadashami procession.

For Bhaskar, this book is “a small way to preserve the cultural relevance of elephants and our understanding of these gentle giants.  For  me,  it was a a ramble through the world of elephants, learning how they live , love and even mourn the death of a loved one. A celebration of the elephant’s place in our culture, mythology,  religion, and at the same time the sombre realization that  the future of the elephant, and its home, and by extension, this planet which is our home is not as grand as its past.