The central government on Thursday announced the Padma Awards and Assam’s Parbati Barua is one of the several recipients. She will be awarded Padma Shri for her effort in controlling the man-elephant conflict in Assam.
Born in a royal family, Parbati Barua had chosen a life full of challenges. She is said to be the ‘Lady Mahout of India’ (Elephant tamer and caretaker). Daughter of Prakritish Chandra Barua who was the last king of Gauripur and is known for her art of taming elephants.
Just at the age of 14, Barua caught her first wild elephant experience for which her father congratulated her. Since then, she has mastered the art of rounding up elephants and capturing them to be domesticated. Over the years, she has been called multiple times in the jungles, tea plantations, and rural areas of West Bengal, Odisha, and her native Assam to capture or take care of wild elephants.
Speaking to News18 Parbati Barua said “Since my childhood I have seen elephants. We had elephants in our house, so I am very much familiar with the behaviour of the elephants. We had palaces for capturing wild elephants; many people came to my house to help my father in capturing elephants. I saw how the elephants are tamed.”
It is to be mentioned here that initially, she accompanied her father to help his team, while she cooked for them in the jungle.
“Slowly I was interested in the works of Mahout-elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. I thought no woman was involved in this work (taming/ taking care of elephants etc.) in India; so I decided I’ll learn this art.”
Being a girl of a royal family she hesitated at first, but later her father helped her to get the skill. “I approached my father and asked whether I could become a Mahout or learn how to take care of, tame and an elephant brought from the jungle. He replied positively and asked me to join him when he went to capture a wild elephant. Later I become a team member of the elephant capturer’s team. I stayed in the camps and went in search of wild elephants at night. My father Prakritish Ch. Barua is my GURU.”
Remembering what her father said on the very first day she said, ” My father said that this is a very tough job. Both concentration and energy are needed for this.”
Parbati Barua continued and said, she learned from the grassroots level; right from making rope from jute, followed by accompanying her father to the jungle and then capturing the elephant.
The 67-year-old woman was involved in training Mahouts. In 2000 she was invited by the West Bengal government for a training camp for Mahouts and staff in the forest departments for elephant census.
Apart from the Assam Government’s Assam Gaurav award, she received the Global 500-Roll of Honour from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
With inputs from Bhaskarjyoti Saikia
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