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Delhi's Last Working Elephants

11 images Created 7 Nov 2014

A year+ reportage of the day-to-day lives of Delhi's last few working elephants and their handlers. A wider edit from this story is available in the Archive section of my site.
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  • 12th September 2014, New Delhi, India. An elephant loaded with fodder pillaged from the city's trees is ridden by a mahout on a busy road in New Delhi, India on the 12th September 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    Yamuna Elephants 120914_034.jpg
  • 13th August 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. An elephant handler yawns in the early morning as he guards an elephant near a bridge over the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India on the 13th August 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants_130814_023_1.jpg
  • 9th May 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. A handler leads female elephant Ganchal by pulling her ear on an island in the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India on the 9th May 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants090514192.jpg
  • 28th August 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. A male elephant tethered by a rope and a shackle with spikes inside under a bridge crossing the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India on the 28th August 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants_280814_013_1.jpg
  • 25th May 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. A mahout interacts with an elephant as it bathes under a bridge in the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India on the 25th May 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants250514_069_2.jpg
  • 28th May 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. Mahouts stand on bathing elephants in the Yamuna river  in New Delhi, India on the 28th May 2014<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants280514_106_3.jpg
  • 30th August 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. An elephant fills its trunk with water from a tap in New Delhi, India on the 30th August 2014. One of the biggest challenges the elephant keepers face is providing enough fresh water for the animals who each need up to 200 litres per day<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants_300814_052_1.jpg
  • 29th August 2014, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi, India. Ecstatic devotees welcome female elephant Gulabo for Gaja (elephant) pooja at the Sree Vinayaka Mandir in New Delhi, India on the 29th August 2014. <br />
<br />
Ganesh Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the god Ganesha, the elephant-headed, remover of obstacles and the god of beginnings and wisdom.<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants_290814_001.jpg
  • 2nd September 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. An elephant ridden by handlers and a Hindu devotee carrying a Ganesh idol for immersion walks near the Yamuna River on the 5th day of the Ganesh Chaturthi religious festival at the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India on the 2nd September 2014. Devotees pay for the elephant to carry the idol into the river as its seen to be auspicious<br />
<br />
Ganesh Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the god Ganesha, the elephant-headed, remover of obstacles and the god of beginnings and wisdom.<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants_010914_025.jpg
  • 1st May 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. A mahout throws a bundle of grass towards a tethered elephant in the late afternoon while another relaxes on a bench near a bridge over the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India on the 1st May 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants010514_005_3.jpg
  • 25th May 2014, Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. An elephant ridden by a handler walks on the Yamuna Bank near a bridge at dusk in New Delhi, India on the 25th May 2014<br />
<br />
Elephant handlers (Mahouts) eke out a living in makeshift camps on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. They survive on a small retainer paid by the elephant owners and by giving rides to passers by. The owners keep all the money from hiring the animals out for religious festivals, events and weddings, they also are involved in the illegal trade of captive elephants. The living conditions and treatment of elephants kept in cities in North India is extremely harsh, the handlers use the banned 'ankush' or bullhook to control the animals through daily beatings, the animals have no proper shelters are forced to walk on burning hot tarmac and stand for hours with their feet chained together. <br />
<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE<br />
+ 91 98103 99809<br />
email: simon@simondetreywhite.com photographer in delhi
    YamunaElephants250514_270_1.jpg
View: 100 | All