Mankind has been closely associated with elephants since ancient times. The stories of ‘Nalagiri’ which was tamed by Lord Buddha, ‘Kandula’ which accompanied King Dutugamunu, to more recent history, ‘Raja’ which carried the casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Esala Perahera in Kandy from 1950 to 1987 have been told and retold.
However the story of ‘Gamini’ the tusker which participated in the Kandy Esala Perahera for 60 years merits retelling.
D. S. Senanayake who served as the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1947 to 1952 was a great animal lover. His favourite pastime was to spend time with his pets. Whenever he had the time to spare from his busy life he would spend it feeding them. Don Spater Senanayake, father of D. S. was an animal lover himself and the family home Botale Walauwa at Meeriyagama was also home to many elephants and tuskers, which had pride of place.
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| Strong bond: Devinda Senanayake with Gamini at Botale |
In 1943 a plague decimated the elephants at Botale Walauwa. Deeply saddened D. S. Senanayake obtained four licence permits to capture elephants (these were then issued by the British) and obtained four baby elephants, two of them tuskers from the jungles in the Puttalam district. It took more than a month to walk the baby jumbos to Botale Walauwa from Puttalam. The task of taking them safely to their detination was given to the mahout, Aaron Baas of Meeriyagama.
On August 2, 1947 the new arrivals walked into the Botale Walauwa where D. S. Senanayake was waiting to greet them with much joy and anticipation. He named the tuskers ‘Gamini’ and ‘Kandula’ and the elephants ‘Gajaba’ and ‘Nalagiri’. On the same day, he handed the elephants and tuskers over to his grandchildren through a notary. Gamini was to be in Devinda’s charge.
Among the four new arrivals it was soon noted that Gamini possessed many sterling qualities. The tusker lived for nearly 72 years and participated in many religious, cultural and national activities. The majestic animal, passed away last month.
It possessed all the qualities of a great tusker. Known for its good nature, knowledge, patience, it had a noble walk, showed a lot of love and respect to its owner Devinda Senanayake and was humble towards the mahout who looked after it.
Gamini never hurt anyone nor destroyed any property, says Devinda adding that the great tusker participated in Peraheras at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Aluthnuwara Dedimunda Dewalaya, Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Dewalaya, Hunupitiya Gangarama Viharaya, Rajamaha Viharaya at Kotte, Kelani Rajamaha Viharaya and many other Dewala and Vihara pageants for more than 60 years.
Since it came to Botale Waluwa in 1947, Gamini was looked after by the mahout Aaron Baas for more than 20 years. After the demise of Aaron, other mahouts including Aranoris, Kalagama Herath, Hinchiappuhami and Vipulasena looked after Gamini.
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| Mahout Aaron Baas |
All these mahouts were answerable to Devinda who had particular requirements on how they should care for the tusker. One of those was to bring the fruits, jaggery and sugar cane Devinda would bring from Woodlands in Colombo to Botale Waluwa every weekend and to arrange for the tusker to see the veterinarian Prof. Ashoka Pradeep regularly.
Gamini which had participated in the Kandy Sri Dalada Perahera for nearly 60 years was ailing when it participated for the last time in the pageant in 2010. The tusker which had trouble eating because its teeth were weak stood in front of the Dalada Maligawa with tear-filled eyes as if it knew it was the last time it would serve the sacred temple.
Devinda frequently visited Gamini as the animal lay sick and did everything he could on behalf of the great tusker. Yet on December 20, 2011 Gamini breathed its last at the age of 72.
Gamini was buried at Botale Waluwa. Devinda who was deeply saddened by the loss of his most loved Tusker said he was certain that Gamini would not be born again as an animal. |
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