"Give her a good scrub," shouts the mahout. A bunch of children obey gladly, scrubbing the elephant nearly submerged in the Yamuna River.
It is a happy symbiotic relationship. The children take turns to use her back as a springboard, executing backflips with ease to frolic in the river. Chandni, the elephant, meanwhile, relishes the calming rub.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 07, 2018, with the headline Freedom in sight for Delhi's elephants. Subscribe