Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin felicitated Bomman and Balli, the elephant caretakers of the Oscar-winning Indian documentary ‘The Elephant’s Whispers‘. After receiving the honour, the couple who took care of it met the Chief Minister. Stalin gave one lakh rupees to both of them.
Indian documentary film ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ has created history by winning the Oscar Award in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category at the 95th Academy Awards.
Bomman and Balli, who belong to the Kattunayakan community, look after elephants while living in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Bomman and Balli had found a baby elephant in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve a few years ago, whose condition was very bad.
Other people working in the reserve believed that it was very difficult to save the baby elephant and give it a new life. But Bomman saved this baby elephant and took it to his home where he and his wife started taking care of it.
Bomman and Balli named it Raghu. Shortly after this, Balli got the responsibility of another baby elephant which was a female elephant. In this documentary, Bomman and Balli are seen talking to Raghu like their children.
This emotional connect between wildlife and human life won the minds of Oscar Jury. And, this is the first time in Indian history to get an Academy award for a short film. Also, this documentary received critics applause for the excellent show of bonding between Raghu and it’s care takers.
