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Travels on my Elephant
This book tells the story of one man's adventures with an elephant. There is no better way to see India than on the back of an elephant, which is exactly what Mark Shand discovered as he set out on a 1000 kilometre journey on Tara, a 30-year old female elephant. Their destination was the Sonepur Mela, the world's oldest elephant market. What began as an adventurous whim soon developed into an unlikely romance. Tara, a scrawny and ill-treated begging elephant which Shand had acquired, was transformed through tender loving care on the journey into a star attraction. This book provides an account of the trials and tribulations of their journey.
266 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 4, 2018
Mark Roland Shand (28 June 1951 – 23 April 2014) was a British travel writer and conservationist, and the brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla married Charles, the Prince of Wales in 2006. That is the first sentence of his Wikipedia entry. I am sure that being privileged meant that he could become a travel writer and go off to India for months and ride an elephant. That line is not in Wikipedia although he does allude to it in his afterword.
Anyway, I did enjoy the book. It’s not Theroux by any stretch as Theroux does not like gimmicks when travelling. What could be a bigger gimmick than riding an elephant for 750 miles in India? Shand makes the elephant, called Tara, the star of the show. She sounds like a wonderful elephant and damn intelligent as well. I found her intelligence fascinating. I’ll give you an example. She was walking very slowly and gingerly at one point and to show Shand why she picked up the small sharp stones from the path with her trunk and put them on her head so he could see the issue. He immediately understood why she was taking her time. Wow.
The journey meanders through forests, game parks with man-eating tigers (no joke), lakes, ancient run-down palaces, colonial dwellings, villagers where the inhabitants throw rocks at them and cities. Colourful characters are met on the way. You know what I mean by colourful? Extrovert or, in some cases, dangerous, religious, angry, sweet, respectful, crazy and a lot of times, drunk. Quite an adventure.
What comes through is Shand’s love of Tara the elephant. If he could have got married to her I actually think he would have. There was such a connection. Alright, maybe that’s going too far but he really loved her and you can see why. ‘She pulled me even closer and we rested against one another, like lovers in a long embrace’.
His obituary in The Telegraph reads ‘But while travelling in India in 1988, Shand come across an emaciated captive female elephant being used for begging purposes by her owners: “My mouth went dry,” he later wrote of the moment when he first saw her. “I knew then that I had to have her.” He bought the animal, named her Tara and rode her 750 miles from Konarak on the Bay of Bengal to the Sonepur Mela, the ancient elephant trading fair at Patna on the Ganges. Travels on My Elephant (1992), his account of the journey, was a bestseller and won him the Travel Writer of the Year Award.’
He would go on to campaign for the Asian elephants’ survival and would head up one of the most successful elephant conservation charities in the world. He details this is the Afterword that was penned in 2012. Can’t argue with that. Great stuff.
Anyway, I did enjoy the book. It’s not Theroux by any stretch as Theroux does not like gimmicks when travelling. What could be a bigger gimmick than riding an elephant for 750 miles in India? Shand makes the elephant, called Tara, the star of the show. She sounds like a wonderful elephant and damn intelligent as well. I found her intelligence fascinating. I’ll give you an example. She was walking very slowly and gingerly at one point and to show Shand why she picked up the small sharp stones from the path with her trunk and put them on her head so he could see the issue. He immediately understood why she was taking her time. Wow.
The journey meanders through forests, game parks with man-eating tigers (no joke), lakes, ancient run-down palaces, colonial dwellings, villagers where the inhabitants throw rocks at them and cities. Colourful characters are met on the way. You know what I mean by colourful? Extrovert or, in some cases, dangerous, religious, angry, sweet, respectful, crazy and a lot of times, drunk. Quite an adventure.
What comes through is Shand’s love of Tara the elephant. If he could have got married to her I actually think he would have. There was such a connection. Alright, maybe that’s going too far but he really loved her and you can see why. ‘She pulled me even closer and we rested against one another, like lovers in a long embrace’.
His obituary in The Telegraph reads ‘But while travelling in India in 1988, Shand come across an emaciated captive female elephant being used for begging purposes by her owners: “My mouth went dry,” he later wrote of the moment when he first saw her. “I knew then that I had to have her.” He bought the animal, named her Tara and rode her 750 miles from Konarak on the Bay of Bengal to the Sonepur Mela, the ancient elephant trading fair at Patna on the Ganges. Travels on My Elephant (1992), his account of the journey, was a bestseller and won him the Travel Writer of the Year Award.’
He would go on to campaign for the Asian elephants’ survival and would head up one of the most successful elephant conservation charities in the world. He details this is the Afterword that was penned in 2012. Can’t argue with that. Great stuff.
October 11, 2020
3.75
This is a love story between man and elephant. Mark Shand, sitting in London, one day suddenly fancies buying an elephant and riding on it!
This book presents details on how he went about buying an elphant in India, what it takes to ride one, spend days during the journey, ending up falling in love with this beautiful creature!
This is a love story between man and elephant. Mark Shand, sitting in London, one day suddenly fancies buying an elephant and riding on it!
This book presents details on how he went about buying an elphant in India, what it takes to ride one, spend days during the journey, ending up falling in love with this beautiful creature!
July 21, 2009
Occasionally I write to authors to tell them when I've enjoyed their books. Mark Shand is the only author ever to send a viciously obnoxious response. This ruined his books for me permanently, hence the low rating. I threw away my copy and I have never again read anything he has written. I have nothing but contempt for this vile little toad, who obviously writes in the hope that no-one will read his books.
May 22, 2013
Shand dives straight into the story, with a phone call to a friend in Delhi to help him procure an elephant and a few paragraphs of introduction to the reason of his elephant-riding urge. But soon, like any proud Englishman, he starts using long complacent sentences when describing himself. However, the book itself moves fast (its just 200 pages) and goes from one mini-adventure to the next in just a short paragraph.
He stays with erstwhile kings and is protected by the police wherever he goes. This made me Google him mid-way the book and it turns out that he is the younger brother to Camilla Parker Bowles. But the royal connection doesn't pump any blue blood into the book. Case in point, Shand is photographed naked from waist up (and deliciously tanned) in three picture spreads in the book.
The author has interspersed the travelogue with interesting excerpts about behavior of elephants from late 19th century and early 20th century texts which otherwise I would have no chance of reading. Shand travels across Orissa and Bihar, describing vividly the geographic and demographic terrain. Most travel writing on India seems to be centered around the much too familiar golden triangle and this was the first time I read about the two states. I hope I can some day visit the Jalan family's collection at Quila Mahal described in the book. (B/w they have a website too. Some of their collection was recently damaged and consequently, much of it has been removed to storage)
Lastly, Tara continues to live and be loved at Camp Kipling. There website has pictures of her, looking a little older but as docile as in the book.
He stays with erstwhile kings and is protected by the police wherever he goes. This made me Google him mid-way the book and it turns out that he is the younger brother to Camilla Parker Bowles. But the royal connection doesn't pump any blue blood into the book. Case in point, Shand is photographed naked from waist up (and deliciously tanned) in three picture spreads in the book.
The author has interspersed the travelogue with interesting excerpts about behavior of elephants from late 19th century and early 20th century texts which otherwise I would have no chance of reading. Shand travels across Orissa and Bihar, describing vividly the geographic and demographic terrain. Most travel writing on India seems to be centered around the much too familiar golden triangle and this was the first time I read about the two states. I hope I can some day visit the Jalan family's collection at Quila Mahal described in the book. (B/w they have a website too. Some of their collection was recently damaged and consequently, much of it has been removed to storage)
Lastly, Tara continues to live and be loved at Camp Kipling. There website has pictures of her, looking a little older but as docile as in the book.
August 23, 2016
dopo aver letto i due libri di mark shand ambientati in india posso dire che doveva essere un vero eccentrico (ma anche così ricco da potersi permettere la stranezza)- qui il suo rapporto con tara, elefantessa capricciosa e a volte imprevedibile, dà luogo ad avventure spassose, irritanti e a momenti di grande commozione (come il finale strappalacrime). a volte l'autore è irritante nel suo essere incosciente o prepotente e mi sarebbe piaciuto conoscere meglio alcuni personaggi che appaiono brevemente, ma la lettura scorre e fa venire voglia di visitare molti dei luoghi di cui parla.
March 18, 2013
I bought this book from a second-hand books sale based on the reviews on the back cover. But I was disappointed. The story about Mark Shand and his elephant Tara just did not have the excitement or intrigue I thought it would given that he was traveling miles across India on an elephant. There are some interesting stories here and there like the one in an Anglo-India community he crosses during the journey. Overall, the events are quite dull and it has very little to keep you interested.
November 12, 2017
The writer seems kind of pompous, but it's an interesting story and I'm glad I read it.
September 10, 2019
Da leggere per conoscere un animale dato per scontato ma poco conosciuto: l'elefante. Traspare tutto il comprensibilissimo amore dell'autore per la sua Tara.
Personalmente mi è capitato di vedere un elefante che dipingeva il proprio autoritratto. Sarà stata ripetizione automatica di un gesto imparato a memoria, non so, ma mi è rimasta la sensazione che un animale che abbia coscienza di sé non sia di molto inferiore a tanti umani che conosco.
E poi gli elefanti piangono mentre alcuni uomini non sanno farlo...
Personalmente mi è capitato di vedere un elefante che dipingeva il proprio autoritratto. Sarà stata ripetizione automatica di un gesto imparato a memoria, non so, ma mi è rimasta la sensazione che un animale che abbia coscienza di sé non sia di molto inferiore a tanti umani che conosco.
E poi gli elefanti piangono mentre alcuni uomini non sanno farlo...
November 20, 2024
Wonderful book. Tears in my eyes when I read the last sentence: “I did not save Tara. She saved me.” Highly recommend to read it when you’re on a travel like me, seeing elephants almost every day.
May 1, 2012
A Love Story with a Difference
A few years ago, I travelled to India with a friend who was a photographer to photograph the Bengal tiger in its natural habitat. We spent several weeks in the jungle tracking the elusive Bengal tiger, every day aloft in a howdah (a wooden cradle) abreast an elephant. I always had a love of animals, but spending several weeks with elephants I became more aware of this love. Part of my role was to record and write an account of our travels. I decided to seek out more information about rural India, I wanted a different perspective and by chance a found a book by Mark Shand called ‘Travels on my Elephant.’
At night avoiding the mosquitoes I started to read Mark’s book and found myself falling in love. The book is about Mark’s trek across 1600 kms of India with a female elephant called Tara. Mark’s book is a documentary of the real India and how he ended up falling in love with Tara. As I turned each page I got know Tara and could not stop myself from feeling the same as Mark. Each day I spent with the elephants in the jungle tracking tigers my understanding of their plight became more pronounced.
I won’t tell you what happened to Tara because I think it’s up to you to find out. All I can say is that love is a many flavoured spring, it can appear and sprout from anywhere, just as it did for me each day with beautiful glimpses into the lives of these amazing animals.
A few years ago, I travelled to India with a friend who was a photographer to photograph the Bengal tiger in its natural habitat. We spent several weeks in the jungle tracking the elusive Bengal tiger, every day aloft in a howdah (a wooden cradle) abreast an elephant. I always had a love of animals, but spending several weeks with elephants I became more aware of this love. Part of my role was to record and write an account of our travels. I decided to seek out more information about rural India, I wanted a different perspective and by chance a found a book by Mark Shand called ‘Travels on my Elephant.’
At night avoiding the mosquitoes I started to read Mark’s book and found myself falling in love. The book is about Mark’s trek across 1600 kms of India with a female elephant called Tara. Mark’s book is a documentary of the real India and how he ended up falling in love with Tara. As I turned each page I got know Tara and could not stop myself from feeling the same as Mark. Each day I spent with the elephants in the jungle tracking tigers my understanding of their plight became more pronounced.
I won’t tell you what happened to Tara because I think it’s up to you to find out. All I can say is that love is a many flavoured spring, it can appear and sprout from anywhere, just as it did for me each day with beautiful glimpses into the lives of these amazing animals.
May 31, 2022
This was a delightful book that I read at the same meandering pace as the author's trip aboard Tara, his faithful elephant. It gives a good behind-the-scenes look at what elephants are like, what it is like living among Indians, and some of the different cultures are that make up this vast and diverse nation.
September 1, 2024
Lo que comienza siendo un capricho de un inglés, quien de un día para otro decide nada más ni nada menos que comprarse un elefante, acaba convirtiéndose en una auténtica historia de amor.
Mark Shand se compra un elefante y decide recorrer sobre él los estados indios de Orissa y Bihar comenzando en Konorat, en la costa bengalí, con el propósito de llegar al mercado de elefantes más antiguo del mundo, el Sonepur Mela.
Acompañado por Bhim, un "cuidador" de elefantes (un mahout) y Aditya, quien le aconsejaba sobre las costumbres indias, comenzó un viaje por las empolvadas aldeas de la india profunda, creando un fuerte vínculo de unión con Tara, su elefante, quien le dio varias lecciones de vida y de quien se encariñó profundamente.
Un libro interesante sobre las costumbres de esas tierras, rico en descripciones de paisajes y personas.
Mark Shand se compra un elefante y decide recorrer sobre él los estados indios de Orissa y Bihar comenzando en Konorat, en la costa bengalí, con el propósito de llegar al mercado de elefantes más antiguo del mundo, el Sonepur Mela.
Acompañado por Bhim, un "cuidador" de elefantes (un mahout) y Aditya, quien le aconsejaba sobre las costumbres indias, comenzó un viaje por las empolvadas aldeas de la india profunda, creando un fuerte vínculo de unión con Tara, su elefante, quien le dio varias lecciones de vida y de quien se encariñó profundamente.
Un libro interesante sobre las costumbres de esas tierras, rico en descripciones de paisajes y personas.
June 13, 2017
The late - and widely lamented - Mark Shand conceived the idea of buying an elephant and riding it on a journey through India. The result is an enchanting tale of adventures and misadventures, alive to the wonders of the country, its people and customs but never turning aside from povery and hardship, nor from danger and cruelty.
As the author first buys Tara, then learns to ride her until by the end he is accepted as an equal by the professional mahouts, he develops a relationship with the animal which is close to a love affair. Loyal, cantankerous, mischievous and obstinate. Tara will live in the reader's memort long after the book has been closed.
Travel writing dies nt get much better than this.
As the author first buys Tara, then learns to ride her until by the end he is accepted as an equal by the professional mahouts, he develops a relationship with the animal which is close to a love affair. Loyal, cantankerous, mischievous and obstinate. Tara will live in the reader's memort long after the book has been closed.
Travel writing dies nt get much better than this.
August 1, 2019
A great and unusual travel story that I read while traveling, which surely added to my enjoyment. This is a well written book that even made me dream of traveling across Asia on an elephant myself. The author is clearly an eccentric and the enormous practical difficulties of learning to ride and care for an animal as large and intelligent (but apparently mischievous) as an elephant are told with humour. The relationship between Mark and Tara the elephant is moving. I even had the pleasure of seeing Tara in the flesh myself when I visited India. This is a book for armchair adventures, elephant enthusiasts, and dreamers.
February 11, 2021
Mark Shand brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, a member of the British royal family. One days plans to buy a elephant in India and plans a trip on elephant as a mahout . He started looking for an elephant and this enquiry leads him to Tara an Elephant used as beger. He buys Tara and starts his journey from Konark to Sonepur elephant Mela where he plans to sell Tara. But he gets intimate with Tara and From soampur he hand over Tara to Kipling camp of kanha which was started by his friend. Tara is one of main attraction in Kipling camp now.
Book deals on adventure of Mark and Tara in Orissa.
Book deals on adventure of Mark and Tara in Orissa.
August 19, 2024
The book that is written by Mark Shand is a love story between a man and an elephant, a man and a country, a man and his quest for adventure. I travelled through the journey with Mark and Tara and their companions. Every day of the journey and every place is so vividly described by the author, and I am always curious to know how things would have been in India in another time. This is my small note of thanks to Mark for documenting his journey and that too in such a humorous and interesting fashion.
August 11, 2020
What began as a rich man's lark, a ride on an elephant across part of India, turns into a love story as Mark Shand falls in love with his elephant Tara. The book is a delightful and engaging account of the adventures they had during their trek of over six hundred miles. He eventually founds an elephant conservancy giving meaning to the life of a posh socialite and reprobate. Easy to read. Recommended to lovers of travel books and India.
February 19, 2021
The book was a pleasure to read, it was very interesting and informative. For me, the best part of his travel was through the state of Bihar, the state where I was born and lived, for a considerable part of my life. I was surprised to discover that an outsider could tell me so much more about my home. My longing to go back increased manifold. For now, I can only go back as a tourist, on Tara's Trail!
October 27, 2022
Mark Shand writes about his travels across the Eastern states on an elephant. Tara is the star of the book, her moods and her intelligence are deftly represented. Mark writes in a comedic and wry style prone to exaggeration, echoing travel writers of yore. It’s irreverent and extremely funny, and I laughed out loud several times.
Mark’s love for Tara is evident and it was heartening to learn that this journey led him to founding a very successful elephant charity.
Mark’s love for Tara is evident and it was heartening to learn that this journey led him to founding a very successful elephant charity.
March 25, 2024
What a delightful story this is! Mark Shand is a wonderful adventurer and describer of his time in north-eastern India possessing over, acquiring, loving and trying to tame an elephant. Anyone who loves these gentle grey giants as much as Mark does will be enamoured by his observations, antics and encounters as he proceeds to train as a mahoot and master his wily beast. A thoroughly enjoyable tale told with tongue-in-cheek humour.
Mark di Frangia
Mark di Frangia
January 12, 2026
An Unforgettable Story
Mark Shane has written one of the finest stories about his love of and ownership of his elephant, Tara. I could not put this wonderful book down. Filled with the charming English man's experience in India and his trip on his elephant with his helpers the book is many things but particularly his love of Tara.
Treat yourself to this book about an adventure you will never forget.
Mark Shane has written one of the finest stories about his love of and ownership of his elephant, Tara. I could not put this wonderful book down. Filled with the charming English man's experience in India and his trip on his elephant with his helpers the book is many things but particularly his love of Tara.
Treat yourself to this book about an adventure you will never forget.
May 11, 2022
Wonderful description on locating the elephant,Tara, at Daspalla and the way Tara received the author on their first encounter. The book also mentions about Baramul Gorge where the Marhattas dispelled the British force to establish their rule in some parts of Odisha.The gorge on the river Mahanadi , popularly known as "Satkoshia" is a most scenic place on the earth like the Grand Canyon.
April 6, 2024
A travelogue with a difference! The story of a lifetime, Mark Shand decided to ride an elephant from Bhubaneswar to Sonepur near Patna...a journey in which the key star is Tara, the elephant. The fascinating journey apart, it is also about Mark looking to gain Tara's respect & become her mahout. A moving account. Most enjoyable
May 26, 2024
I enjoyed 20% of the book,rest could not comprehend.May be due to the english author or the tone and examples given by the author were so foreign to me.But the plot was so hilarious like someone come from london and buys an elephant to travel and inbetween the threads fall in love with the elephant.
June 20, 2024
I started this book without any great expectations. I ended this book enchanted and emotional.
Huge respect for Mark Shand.
I started the book with a slight aloof stand of, it'll be the typical account of an entitled foreigner's adventures in India BUT after travelling with Tara, Mark Shand and gang, by book end I had a huge respect for the man.
Elephant Family, https://elephant-family.org/ the charity, he founded has using his reach, helped the cause of the Asian Elephant tremendously. Improved the lives of captive elephants everywhere. Improving the lives of all Asian elephants in captivity and in the wild. With them improving the lives of countless animals and birds and the entire bio-diversity of forests, the organisation has helped protect.
In the final few pages he writes about falling in love with India. In love with the smell of India.
Mark Shard describes it as "...the smell of incense, cow dung, smoke, shit, sweat, burning fires, Chamoli and Champa blossoms, sandlewood, disinfectant, frying curry leaves, chilli, chai and moth balls.. He continues, that it is a fragrance so heady, that if a parfumier could bottle it, the scent would be the most intoxicating in the world.
I know I would love to have a big bottle of it with me always.
Huge respect for Mark Shand.
I started the book with a slight aloof stand of, it'll be the typical account of an entitled foreigner's adventures in India BUT after travelling with Tara, Mark Shand and gang, by book end I had a huge respect for the man.
Elephant Family, https://elephant-family.org/ the charity, he founded has using his reach, helped the cause of the Asian Elephant tremendously. Improved the lives of captive elephants everywhere. Improving the lives of all Asian elephants in captivity and in the wild. With them improving the lives of countless animals and birds and the entire bio-diversity of forests, the organisation has helped protect.
In the final few pages he writes about falling in love with India. In love with the smell of India.
Mark Shard describes it as "...the smell of incense, cow dung, smoke, shit, sweat, burning fires, Chamoli and Champa blossoms, sandlewood, disinfectant, frying curry leaves, chilli, chai and moth balls.. He continues, that it is a fragrance so heady, that if a parfumier could bottle it, the scent would be the most intoxicating in the world.
I know I would love to have a big bottle of it with me always.
September 26, 2022
Haathi mere Saathi
Enjoyed reading this book. Wonderfully written. Very informative and at the same time very hilarious and also emotional. Will be reading Mark Shand's other narratives. Ganpati Bappa morya.
Enjoyed reading this book. Wonderfully written. Very informative and at the same time very hilarious and also emotional. Will be reading Mark Shand's other narratives. Ganpati Bappa morya.
March 1, 2024
It was easy to read and follow along even though I have never been to India. I learned more about human interaction between Asian elephants. I am glad the author decided to start a charity to preserve the natural Asian elephant herds routes to help prevent their extinction.
June 10, 2024
Did not really like this book. It just felt like several drunken men rampaging through India on their destructive elephant, and by the end, the author liked the elephant because it had been a grand adventure. Meh.
June 16, 2024
Vlot geschreven reisverslag van een Engelsman die drie maanden lang op een olifant door India reist. Onderweg gebeurt er natuurlijk van alles.
Ik wou het boek 4 sterren geven, maar het einde raakte me zo dat ik er toch een sterretje bovenop doe.
Ik wou het boek 4 sterren geven, maar het einde raakte me zo dat ik er toch een sterretje bovenop doe.
December 8, 2024
Dangerously compelling... I've not told my wife that I've read it in case she makes me buy her an elephand next time we're in India! A 1£ purchase in a National Trust second hand bookshop in Wales, and it was an immersive read for a day or two in a tent.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews