In a forest
land there were folks who never dared to dream. Dream was a taboo, a sin.
One just
ordinary day, a young elephant started dreaming. As he started dreaming he got
a pair of wings. He flew away, nobody knows exactly when and where…..
 |
| Art: Vishnu Madhav |
Once upon a
time a winged elephant
Came down to
earth from the sky.
Some thought
he was a holy prophet,
Some other
thought he was just a spy.
In the
jungle there was a group of elephants for hay
They were
roaming around the fields of paddy.
The winged
one joined them and asked for a play
But to
accept him, the leader elephant was not ready.
"Hey,
you cannot be a part of us, since you are a winged one"
They
rejected him. He became isolated and lonely.
He was
desolated and sad. Then he saw flying a wild swan.
He asked for
company, but swan said "I'm sorry, but, I'm a bird only".
Now he was
very sad. Because whatever happened, it was very bad.
Then he went
out of the jungle and met an ant.
The ant was
very tiny but it was shiny. That's why he noticed that.
They became
friends, good wishes were there abundant.
The ant was
so small, he could only see the elephant's trunk.
Looking it
as a serpent, the ant said to him
You should
join the snakes. You do not belong to us either, to be frank.
Goodbye then,
the elephant's face lit with a beam.
 |
| Art: Vishnu Madhav |
In the
kingdom of snakes, the king snake came forward, and said,
"What's
funny! You do not belong to us at all.
You look
like a upside down bowl as just like a tortoise laid.
Be off now
you stupid upside down bowl!"
Now where to
go other than the tortoise, the elephant thought!
He went to
see the tortoise, but the tortoise said the same.
"You do
not belong to us, to be a part of us, you'll be only a fraud",
Again the Winged
Elephant became lonely, without knowing whom to blame.
The Winged Elephant
decided, I should fly away from here
Since this
land is not mine
He started
flying, without knowing, to somewhere,
Searching a
place where he would be fine.
A wildfire occurred
very soon in the forest.
Causing
trouble to all.
Elephant,
ant, tortoise, snake and the rest
What a
misfortune, a Distressing scrawl.
 |
| Art: Vishnu Madhav |
All were in
despair, suddenly an ant said, "we need a winged one
Who can help
us showing a new way of living".
Let me tell
you, as you can guess, all of them remembered just only one
But there
was no way left, as earlier, all of them were rejecting.
On the other
hand, while flying on the sky
The winged
elephant saw a smoke in the wood.
He realized
this was the moment that is why
I were born.
Why didn't I do things what I could?
The winged
elephant started flapping his wings.
The flapping
wings caused turmoil of winds.
That turmoil
of winds caused the fire stop
And resettles
not only the woods but also the resident's minds.
Flapping the
wings for so long, the winged elephant was tired.
He fell down
on the ground full of fire.
He, then, were
burnt totally, and on the spot he was expired.
Anyway now
the wood is revived, it is again full of life.
Today all
are happy
All are on
their own ways again once.
No one
remembers really
The
Elephant, the Winged One.
 |
| Art: Vishnu Madhav |
“Aag
lagi is Vriksh ko jalne lagi sab paat
Tum kyun
jwalo pankhruwo, pankh hain tumharein paas
Phal
phool khayein is vriksh ke, bheet bhari hain paat
Urna
hamara dharam nahin, jalna vriksh ke saath”
(This
tree has caught fire, all the leaves are burning
You have
a pair of wings, why are you burning with it?
I’ve
eaten the fruits of the tree and got a shelter with it’s’ leaves
Flying
away is not a way-out for me; rather I’d die with the tree)
An Oral saying, attributed to Kabir Das
 |
| Art: Vishnu Madhav |
Text: Samudra Kajal Saikia
Art: Vishnu Madhav
First Performance: Satphool "Hoosori" Theatre, Behali
seond Performance: Puppet Making workshop, Nine Schools of Art, Delhi
