It was fifteen past ten o'clock in the night, there was a huge thunderstorm and it was raining incessantly. Chinnan was sitting in the front of his hut on the veranda. He didn’t mind getting wet. His weather hardened body has also learnt to withstand the cold winds which would have chilled any one to death. But his mind was with Kannan, the elephant who had been with him for a whole lifetime and who was now tied to a peepal tree near the river. He was afraid whether something might happen to him. His mud hut and the roof which was thatched with palmyra leaves might also fall in, in this heavy storm. Each time a lightening came and thunder clapped, it went straight to Chinnan’s heart. These rains always had brought tragedy to Chinnan every year.
Chinnan had been sitting all alone in front of his hut since the night fell. Suddenly another lightening came. It blinded his eyes for a moment and Chinnan could feel its warmth. He knew, it came from a close location. So as to confirm his belief, a loud thunder clap sounded immediately after that followed by Kannan’s loud cry. Chinnan’s heart was split. He rushed straight to Kannan’s side. (He was wearing only a lungi and no shirt). It was pitch black. Fear and anxiety filled his mind as he saw the peepal tree burning partially. In another flash of lightening, Chinnan could clearly see what had happened, and this made him cry out loud. He rushed to hug his dear Kannan’s body was lying down. In the previous lightening, the peepal tree under which Kannan was tied had been struck and half of it was burned. The chain with which Kannan was tied was melted and poor Kannan, his legs were burnt and a few branches of the burnt tree had fallen on top of him. He lay there helpless, bleating.
The rain was still falling and it drowned Chinnan and Kannan’’s cries for help. Kannan died by the next morning and Chinnan was found lying unconscious and heartbroken the next day hugging the elephant’s dead body.
Chinnan had been just four, when his mother died in a similar stormy night like this of severe malaria. At that time his father had gone out to work for a week and Chinnan was helpless. The kind neighbors took care of him till his father returned. His father came home with little Kannan who was also very sad. In fact his father had found Kannan stranded all alone in the forest, weeping near his mother’s corpse and Chinnan’s father had took pity on the poor baby elephant and brought it home with him and took great care of both the orphans- Chinnan and Kannan. Chinnan’s only good friend was Kannan and both understood each other perfectly well. They both grew up without their mothers and that made them closer than ever. Chinnan’s father was a bonded labourer working in a tea estate in Wayanad, a district of Kerala. His income was meager and it was just enough to sustain Chinnan and him. Some time’s they had to go to bed starving, without having a single square meal a day. But Chinnan didn’t mind this a bit. He was happy as long as he could play with Kannan. He also could not go to a school as his father could not afford it. So he went along with his father and Kannan to the log company where Kannan shifted heavy logs and worked very hard. Kannan was a very tame elephant and used to follow each and every instruction of Chinnan and his father.
One day while working, Chinnan’s father fell down from a great height and was paralyzed and lay totally helpless in their hut. Now the responsibility of looking after his diseased father fell on little Chinnan’s shoulders. He had to earn a living and fend for himself at such a young age of ten. But he was able to do so successfully with Kannan’s help who worked hard for them and helped them earn a living. All was fine as long as his father was alive. But on one stormy night his father too went away leaving Chinnan all alone in this world with Kannan. He was an orphan now.
The land lord began exploiting him, now that he knew Chinnan was an orphan. He tried to take away Kannan from him. Poor Chinnan, he was sad and afraid and ran away, one night into the forests. There they stayed for about a month, wandering here and there, and eating wild fruits and roots. They did not have a proper roof above their heads. Finally one fine morning, they reached a village. The people there were kind and took pity on the boy and he was allowed to stay in a hut, once owned by an old woman in their village who had passed away.
Kannan also had work now in the log company there, shifting heavy logs. But Chinnan took care that he did not over work. Kannan was also hired for village festivals.
Chinnan grew up to be a strong, hard working and kind young man. He and Kannan could never be seen apart. He used to allow the village children ride Kannan when they were free. The elephant was very gentle with children.
Once, when the village children were playing near the river, a tree fell on one of them and they all screamed for help. Soon all the village people gathered around and tried to shift the tree. But it would not budge an inch. Chinnan was called for and both he and Kannan promptly came to the rescue. The tree was heavy. But Kannan seemed to understand the demanding situation well, and used all his strength and pulled at the tree for about half an hour. Finally the tree moved and the child was able to wriggle out safe. The village people cheered and celebrated. It was then that the noticed that Kannan was badly injured in the attempt to rescue the child. The people were really touched. The wise elephant had silently bore the pain and blood was flowing in the places where the rope had cut him too hard. But he healed within a week and they became the heroes in their village. Kannan was duly honored. The village was too happy to adopt them as their own. And life went on happily for both of them…
As time passed, both of them grew old. There was only very little work for Kannan especially in the rainy season festivals were less. Moreover machines began replacing man and animal power. On most days Chinnan went hungry. He too became weak with old age. The village people also began forgetting them. The new generation did not care for them. They were neglected. Still their friendship lasted and grew stronger day by day and it was that which sustained them. It was then that this happened.
Kannan was cremated with full ceremony and Chinnan was rushed to a hospital in the nearby town. He was falling in and out of consciousness and was in a delirious state. Whenever he fell into consciousness, he was seen to be crying and calling Kannan’s name. His pulse was weak and he was suffering from severe fever and depression. In the evening, he too was gone forever to be reunited with Kannan. They could not stay apart from each other for long and one could not live without the other.
May their souls rest in peace and may they reunite with each other in heaven and live together happily in each others company for a long long time….