Tamers given tips on money management
The mahouts of kumki elephants in Masinagudi earn Rs 13,000 a month, but hardly know how to save their money
Coimbatore: They handle the largest animals on the land, but find it hard to handle their lives, their loneliness in the jungles and separation from their families.
The mahouts of kumki elephants in Masinagudi earn Rs 13,000 a month, but hardly know how to save their money. Far removed from the urban mainstream, they spend their lives communicating with elephants. So, for the first time, life skills coach Charles Moses held a counselling camp for mahouts in Masinagudi in Nilgiris district.
"They live almost all their lives in the jungles away from their families, and hence, are forced to communicate only with the giant jumbos with whom they spend the maximum number of hours a day. Vested with a responsibility to train kumkis to help drive the wild ones back into the forest, the mahouts are engaged in working with the mammals for long hours," Mr Moses said.
They cook and eat in the jungles and are completely cut off from urban life. "It was a challenge to make them understand the need to save money so that it could be of use to them when times were hard.
They had to be enlightened on the fact that the pay that they earned in the jungle was equal to Rs 50,000 that a blue-collar officer in the city was earning," said Mr Moses. Through stories and games, the mahouts and watchers were motivated to fight their stress and perpetual fear for life.
The coach who has trained students in Dubai, Singapore and Tanzania motivated the mahouts and the anti-poaching watchers on the need to improve their quality of life and stay contented.
Most mahouts want their children to take up training elephants despite the fact that they lived in a constant state of fear for their lives. "The fear of death among the mahouts and anti-poaching watchers is immense as they live in jungles and are vulnerable to animal attack or bites of poisonous insects," he added.
Devaraj, who comes from a generation of mahouts, said he had dedicated his life to elephants and his life revolved around ensuring the welfare of the animals. His day starts with feeding the animal, giving a bath and training and giving another bath in the evening before it was fed and retired for the day.
Forest ranger of Masinagudi, L. Sunderrajan, told DC that the officers were also trained on the need to love their job and set a goal in order to achieve success in their careers.
( Source : dc )
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