Elephant Polo is truely the most appalling of all “sports”. One would expect that your readers are sensitive enough to help expose this misguided hype (which now pollutes India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand tourism) for what it really is : the last hurrah of a most noble species destined for extinction, chased over a dusty field, saddled and applauded by Asia’s neo-colonial socialites drenched in gin and tonic.The truth is that these wonderful creatures are degraded to the role of cash cows to enrich promoters and misguided sponsors under the disguise to promoting tourism to Sri Lanka. The opposite is true: the torture and stress revealed by one of the elephants in Galle should be a wakeup call for all animal lovers to demand a permanant stop to such an outrage and violation of nature conservation. Even the claim to history is a blatant lie. No decent polo playing Moghul would ever have lowered himself to such ridicule.
Hans Hoefer,
Singapore and Apa Villas Thalpe
Mr. Hoefer seems very passionate on this subject. Let's just get a better understanding of where he's coming from. He has a German sounding name, but lists two residences in Southeast Asia, one of them being Apa Villas Thalpe:
Apa Villa Thalpe shines as one of the best beach villas on the island. Located 8 Km. south of historic Galle Fort in southern Sri Lanka, it is often described as stylish, elegant, peaceful, private and a haven. Three distinctive villas offer a total of seven large suites. The mood is leisurely as you ease into swimwear or sarong and enjoy the garden, the stunning infinity pool overlooking the Indian Ocean and the sandy beach.
So, by my best guess, Mr Hoefer is a limo-liberal and one of the neo-colonial socialites that he refers to, although he might not be drenched in gin and tonic; but, possibly drenched in some more exotic type beach drink.
Who were the moghuls: The Mogul (also spelled as Moghul and Mughal) empire was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the first battle of Panipat. Successive progenies of the family went on to rule the empire, sometimes shrinking, but mostly expanding it.
The Moguls were a powerful dynasty and impacted the thoughts and arts of India a great deal. This is a a collection of articles and pictures documenting the time in India when the Moguls ruled.
So Mr Hoefer evidently has a thing for elephants, and feels bad that they're being mistreated. As far as it being "the most appalling of all sports," I imagine that would be a debateable point. My main objection to his comment is from the statement: " The truth is that these wonderful creatures are degraded to the role of cash cows to enrich promoters and misguided sponsors under the disguise to promoting tourism to Sri Lanka."
And this differs how from promoters who have degraded and created cash cows out of fellow human beings, as well as just about every other species of animal, for oh, lets say the last 7000 years of human civilization. What about the sex slave industry that is flourishing today all around the world, and especially in Southeast Asia. What about the slave factories all around the world that exploit humans, and in particular children.
The people who perpetuate this type of dehumanization and reap the profits from this type of degradation are the kind of people who have multiple residences around Southeast Asia and live the life of luxury in rented villas off the best beaches in the world.
The rest of us who bust our butts every day to keep a roof over our heads and feed our families and live basic, contented lives, don't really have much to say or can control the actions of neo-colonials in Southeast Asia; but we can laugh about a run-amok elephant that attacked a bus.
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