Besundaa Haathi is a term that was derived from Medieval Indian folklore and has evolved with the times. This term has, however, become fairly redundant in its usage and is no longer as popular as it was several decades ago. In order to understand the beauty of this term, we need to go back in time in order to learn how it actually originated.
The royal family agreed to let the tale be told on conditions of anonymity, hence no specific names will be mentioned. Around 500 years ago, in one of the lesser known kingdoms of the country lived a modest king. The king had a son, who was destined to be the heir of the kingdom. On the Prince’s 21st birthday, he was asked to choose a pet, which would become the royal animal of the court and would appear on all royal decrees and form a part of the royal seal. Now, the Prince had been told that this was an important decision and that he should think long and hard about what the royal animal should be.
The prince was quite excited about making such an important decision which would form a part of the legacy of his family and spent considerable time in making up his mind. The prince decided that he needed a regal animal with a royal lineage, and he also wanted it to be new and different. The prince consulted his confidantes and got suggestions like Hawks, Lions, Stallions, and Leopards but, for the prince, uniqueness was paramount. The prince had always had a liking towards Elephants, which were the current royal animals of the court and had been in this position since the formation of the kingdom. He wanted to have something similar to an Elephant, yet different in order for it to be able to be associated with him.
After thinking long and hard, the prince finally decided that he wanted an Elephant that did not have a trunk. In other words, he wanted a “Besunda Haathi”. The royal advisors were taken aback when the prince announced his decision, and tried their level best to convince him to reconsider. They tried to make him understand that such an animal does not exist and it would be impossible to find one. The prince however, remained unimpressed and stood firm to his decision. The prince gave them one month to obtain a Besundaa Haathi, which would henceforth be the royal animal and symbolise everything that the prince stood for.
For a month, the citizens of the kingdom scoured the four corners of the kingdom to find such a beast, but inevitably failed. Some citizens even went to the adjacent kingdoms, but returned empty handed. As the days went by the Prince started to get impatient and angered. He extended the deadline five times while allowing more time with each extension. He even dispatched envoys and ships to distant far off lands hoping that a specimen would be found. Finally, after 30 months passed, the King fell ill and it was decided that the prince ascend to the throne. The prince was adamant and refused to accept the position till the royal animal was found. However, the deteriorating condition of his father forced him to take up the highest position in the land.
The Prince, on becoming the ruler, decided to conduct an experiment. He ordered his ministers to create a Besundaa Haathi as they were unable to find one. He asked them to cut off the trunk of one of the elephants, and then it would be made the court animal. Despite multiple protests and appeals, the Prince remained unmoved and eventually decided to take matters into his own hands. He cut off the trunk of one of the royal elephants and made it the royal court animal. Inevitably, after a short while the Besundaa Haathi died. The prince ordered successive creature to be created, all of which shared the same cruel fate. An artists rendition of the original “Besundaa Haathi” is given below.
Unable to accept failure, the prince issued a royal decree, which ensured that no elephants would exist in his kingdom, only Besundaa Haathis would be permitted to live. Thus, all the elephants would be caught and detrunked (or truncated). The Elephants which had been a part of the legacy of the kingdom were near sacred creatures and were present in abundance. They were a source of livelihood and occupation for a large chunk of the population. The mass genocide of these creatures led to unemployment on a mass scale which led to the economic ruin of the kingdom. Also, the disbanding of the feared War Elephants diminished the military strength to a great extent and slowly but surely the kingdom descended on the path of ruin.
The kingdom was eventually annexed by the neighboring kingdoms and the blame for the downfall was put squarely on the shoulders of the immature king, who without any rhyme or reason, and despite several suggestions and pleas, remained pigheaded and rash, and pursued an absolutely irrelevant and impossible goal which eventually shattered a peaceful and prosperous land. The king became synonymous with his actions and came to be referred as the “Besundaa Haathi”.
“Besundaa Haathi” therefore started to be used in order to signify a person who took an extremely rash and stubborn decision despite everyone warning them against it. The decision made was extremely irrelevant and was doomed to fail, and in case it succeeded by any stroke of luck would not benefit mankind in any way whatsoever. Also, as the trunk was considered as the identity and pride of the elephant, a Besundaa Haathi was considered to be an absolutely shameless person with nothing left to lose.
With time, as is human behaviour, the failure was forgotten and the term began to disappear from common usage. The term was no longer associated with the ridiculous actions of the king, but rather came to be more popular with its modern and somewhat more literal meaning. “Besundaa Haathis” became a moniker for obese people. After all, fat people are like human elephants, but they don't have a trunk now, do they. “Besundaa Haathi” is now an archaic term and is rarely used in common language.
The descendants of this now forgotten kingdom believe that this term is a reminder of their failure and is a part of the family legacy. As a result they wanted this story to be heard and remembered by the future generations. Although hardly anyone remembers these people now, they are still a proud family that is willing to accept their failure just like they embraced their glory. They believe that there is a lesson to be learnt from this story, and is imperative that it reaches as many people as possible. After all, there is a “Besundaa Haathi” in all of us.
Note: This term was commonly used by my Grandmother when she addressed her grandchildren, me being one of them of course.
fic·tion (fĭk'shən)
n.
- An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented.
- The act of inventing such a creation or pretense.
- A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
- The category of literature comprising works of this kind, including novels and short stories.
- A lie.
- A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
- The category of literature comprising works of this kind, including novels and short stories.
- Law Something untrue that is intentionally represented as true by the narrator.
2 comments:
Having descended from the royal family mentioned, I can vouch for the authenticity of the article. This has been passed down from generation to generation and kudos to the writer for now making it an important part of the Indian folklore.
The writer has captured the essence beautifully and the artist’s rendition of the Haathi is a master piece.
I would however like to correct the writer on one point.
The term “Besundaa Haathi” had come to signify a person who was shameless and brazen – after all an elephant with no truck would need to portray this image in order to survive the social stigma attached to the condition. A person unashamed of the consequences of rash actions and unwilling to change is a true ‘Besundaa Haathi’
I cant really argue with your superior wisdom. After all, being a direct descendant of the person who introduced this term to me, I bow to your knowledge about this term and I thank you for sharing it with the masses who would now have a better understanding of the same.
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