সাদা হাতি

15 Mar, 25
06:30 PM - 08:30 PM
Academy of Fine Arts: Kolkata

In the mid-twentieth century, in a village in Bengal, a zamindar named Shri Dibakar Roy Chowdhury was still running his zamindari. After the untimely death of his father, Dibakar ascended to the position of zamindar at a relatively young age. Just as planets revolve around the sun, powerful individuals also attract certain types of people. Dibakar had two, Mangal and Bhudhar, who flattered him, leading him to consider himself superior despite being irresponsible and licentious. One day, his council members suggested that the distinction between people and wealthy individuals could be determined by their unique hobbies, and it is those unique hobbies that make a person unparalleled. Upon hearing this, Dibakar ordered them to find something that had never been discovered and would never be found again. They searched for several items, but none pleased the zamindar.
Eventually, one member, albeit in a tone of irritation, “সাদা হাতি নিয়ে আসবো নাকি!.” Despite the annoyance in his voice, the idea struck a chord with Dibakar, and he ordered everyone to proceed. News was sent far and wide, looking for a white elephant at any cost. Soon, they succeeded in procuring such an elephant. Enchanted by its wealth and heritage, the zamindar organized a grand ceremony and worship for the white elephant. With great care and expense, this elephant was venerated.
One day, however, the elephant escaped from the temple and was found in a pond. Seeing that the pond was turning to milk due to the elephant’s divine presence, the zamindar himself entered the pond to appease his revered deity. But the offended deity grabbed his ear. After much struggle, the zamindar managed to emerge, but one of his ears was lost to the deity’s grip. Shortly thereafter, when the white elephant emerged from the pond, it was revealed that only its face was white, while its body resembled that of a wild, gray elephant.
Heartbroken and despondent, the zamindar sought advice from his guru, who suggested meditating at the Tarapith crematorium to beseech the gods for the return of his ear. Following this advice, his council members accompanied him to a friend of his father’s in Rampurhat. At the request of that uncle, Dibakar took a ride on his horse, suddenly found himself in a perilous situation again. His council members, running after him, eventually found him in an open field. There, he sat down to meditate. However, within a short time, he was driven away by a swarm of mosquitoes and took off running. On his way back, he encountered the horse again. Despite his exhaustion, he felt compelled to mount the horse to return home.
This time, however, the horse began to go backward. In a desperate attempt to save his life, he leaped off the horse. Overwhelmed with the sorrow of losing his ear, the shame of being deceived, the weight of impending bankruptcy, alongside fatigue and terror, the distraught zamindar had an epiphany. He decided to face the back of the horse and pulled on its tail. Although the horse continued to move backward, the zamindar was heading in the forward direction.

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