The Princess Who Chose Elephants Over a Life of Privilege

At 14, Parbati Barua brought her first elephant home from the Kachugaon forests of Assam’s Kokrajhar district. Over the following decades, she would become India’s first female elephant mahout, earning names like ‘Hasti Kanya’ – the daughter of elephants – and shattering expectations in a field long dominated by men. Her story, which recently went viral after actor R Madhavan shared it on Instagram, is one of quiet rebellion: born into the royal family of Gauripur on 14 March 1953, she grew up surrounded by 40 elephants in the family stables, but chose the forest over the palace.

While her lineage pointed toward a conventional life, Parbati instead followed her father, Prakritish Chandra Barua, the last ruling Rajah of Gauripur, into the jungle. He possessed what observers described as a supernatural understanding of elephants, and he passed that wisdom to his daughter. Though she would later graduate in political science, her true calling remained with the animals. Using Mela Shikar – a traditional Assamese method of capturing wild elephants with a lasso – she tamed 14 wild elephants between 1975 and 1978, operating in Assam and North Bengal, and has since trained over 500.

One tale from West Bengal’s Midnapore district captures the depth of her skill. When a herd of 50 rogue elephants lost their way and began endangering villages, trained officers could not intervene safely. Parbati arrived with four of her own elephants and a trusted team, guiding all 50 elephants back to the forest without a single casualty. Now in her seventies, she still bathes, rides, and trains her three elephants – Lakshmimala, Aloka, and Kanchanmala – and prepares them a rice-based treat called hadiya.

What Parbati Barua’s Bond with Elephants Means for Conservation and Gender Roles

Breaking Gender Barriers in a 2,000‑Year‑Old Tradition

Elephant handling in India has historically been a male preserve, rooted in communities that passed skills from father to son. Barua not only entered that world but excelled in it, becoming the first woman to hold the unofficial title of mahout at a professional level. Her success challenges the notion that physical strength and cultural norms are insurmountable obstacles. The fact that states such as Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam regularly seek her help with rogue or injured elephants signals that her expertise is valued above her gender.

The Survival of Traditional Knowledge

Mela Shikar, the technique Barua used to capture and train wild elephants, is a fading art. It relies on a deep reading of elephant behaviour rather than force, and its preservation matters not just for heritage but for practical wildlife management. As habitat loss brings elephants into more conflict with humans, handlers who can de‑escalate without violence or casualties are an increasingly scarce resource. Barua represents one of the last living repositories of this knowledge, and her training of over 500 elephants suggests the method can be taught and scaled.

Recognition and the Next Generation

Her awards – the Padma Shri, the UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honour, the Asom Gaurav, and a lifetime achievement award from the Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival – confirm that her contribution is seen as exceptional. Yet the question remains whether such recognition will translate into institutional support for the next generation of mahouts, particularly women. Royal patronage may have given Barua her start, but replicating her pathway for others will require structured training programmes and a cultural shift in how forest‑dependent communities view gender roles.