Queen of the Elephants

Parbati Barua, also known as ‘Hasti Kanya’, is India’s first female mahout who was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri on Republic Day, 2024. In a country where elephants are seen as an avatar of Lord Ganesha, Parbati Barua made us revisit the fact that even Lord Ganesha, in its elephant avatar, needs a mother. She is an Indian animal conservation activist and a mahout, an Indian term for an elephant tamer and caretaker. She came to the limelight after the BBC created the documentary “Queen of the Elephants” based on her life, along with the companion book by Mark Shand. She resided in Guwahati and was also a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN Baruah has gained valuable expertise as an elephant mahout and has dedicated herself to mitigating human-elephant conflict.