In today’s times, elephants are much maligned for destroying crops. Such misconceptions about the animal hurts photographer Anand Shinde (35) who has been working with them extensively. The Mumbai photographer, who works for a national newspaper, has been working in Kerala for the last two years.

Anand Shinde speaks to elephants and understands their problems. Pic courtesy/Anand Shinde

Being unfamiliar with the language, he initially decided to work on a photo story on the state’s elephants. He visited the Thrissur Pooram festival which sees a huge turnout of male elephants. That’s where he experienced their capacity to shower love.

Trunk factor
“It was a sunny day and the elephants had been standing for hours. The mahouts were sitting under the elephants, enjoying the shade and the elephants didn’t seem to mind. Though the mahout beats the elephant at times, they remain kind towards them. It struck me that this animal is different.”