Just a quickie....
A few days ago, I was riding the bus home from work, just as I usually do, when we passed an elephant in the road. Yup, an elephant. I don't think that this city will ever cease to amaze me! It seems like almost every day I see something even more bazaar than the last, stretching my perceptions of what it is like to live in Dhaka. I will, of course blog lots more about all the other stuff that amazes me, but for now, I think seeing an elephant in the road is amazing enough, isn't it? So, anyway, there was this elephant. Unfortunately, we had passed it and gone before I had time to get my phone out of my pocket and snap a picture, so a description will have to suffice. I will do my best.
The elephant was standing by the roadside, mounted by a bearded man with a large stick, which he presumably used to control, punish or direct his elephant. Gathered around the elphant were many men, talking to each other, but none seemed as excited by the presence of the elephant as I was. To them it was obviously commonplace, which in itself seemed strange to me. There were no Police around, and nobody seemed to be in any way put out by the fact that there was an elephant standing at the side of the road. One might have even expected a gathering of curious children, but no. It would seem that I was the only person who found the whole sight in any way remarkable.
The following day at work I just happened to mention it to a few people, in as casual a manner as one might possible be able to when actually rather flabberghasted by the whole affair. And it seems that many of them had heard about the man with the elephant, and a few even seen him before. So it would seem that actually I am the odd one out here, and it really is quite commonplace to see an elephant on the streets of Dhaka. However, it seems that the elephant is quite unique, and furthermore, that the elephant in question was previously a circus animal and is quite tame. The elephant is apparently still a working animal, in that the bearded man makes his money using the huge animal to perform quiet a simple but lucrative task. He rides the elephant out into the road, thereby stopping the traffic and charges what is termed by the locals as "Elephant Tax" for him to move the animal back out of the way and let the traffic move once more! Now I really am flabberghasted!
A few days ago, I was riding the bus home from work, just as I usually do, when we passed an elephant in the road. Yup, an elephant. I don't think that this city will ever cease to amaze me! It seems like almost every day I see something even more bazaar than the last, stretching my perceptions of what it is like to live in Dhaka. I will, of course blog lots more about all the other stuff that amazes me, but for now, I think seeing an elephant in the road is amazing enough, isn't it? So, anyway, there was this elephant. Unfortunately, we had passed it and gone before I had time to get my phone out of my pocket and snap a picture, so a description will have to suffice. I will do my best.
The elephant was standing by the roadside, mounted by a bearded man with a large stick, which he presumably used to control, punish or direct his elephant. Gathered around the elphant were many men, talking to each other, but none seemed as excited by the presence of the elephant as I was. To them it was obviously commonplace, which in itself seemed strange to me. There were no Police around, and nobody seemed to be in any way put out by the fact that there was an elephant standing at the side of the road. One might have even expected a gathering of curious children, but no. It would seem that I was the only person who found the whole sight in any way remarkable.
The following day at work I just happened to mention it to a few people, in as casual a manner as one might possible be able to when actually rather flabberghasted by the whole affair. And it seems that many of them had heard about the man with the elephant, and a few even seen him before. So it would seem that actually I am the odd one out here, and it really is quite commonplace to see an elephant on the streets of Dhaka. However, it seems that the elephant is quite unique, and furthermore, that the elephant in question was previously a circus animal and is quite tame. The elephant is apparently still a working animal, in that the bearded man makes his money using the huge animal to perform quiet a simple but lucrative task. He rides the elephant out into the road, thereby stopping the traffic and charges what is termed by the locals as "Elephant Tax" for him to move the animal back out of the way and let the traffic move once more! Now I really am flabberghasted!
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