The Elephant and the Piano

Sometimes stories are make-believe, other times they are true. This is one of the latter even though it might well appear to be imagined.

In an elephant sanctuary on the banks of the River Kwai lived a very large elephant named Bonti. Unlike the other elephants, Bonti was not happy despite being well cared for. He avoided the others and was volatile, so he in turn was avoided by other elephants as well as humans.

Then one day, Paul visited the sanctuary and watched Bonti from a distance. Rather than thinking the creature was dangerous, this human thought Bonti must be lonely and so he decided to try and help him and let him know he was loved. Off he went to speak to the sanctuary director to talk about his idea of playing the piano for Bonti and it was agreed Paul should take the risk.

Excited but rather nervous, Paul found the ideal place that night – beautiful and gentle yet powerful too, rather like the elephant. The following morning off drove Paul in an old van containing his piano and on arriving he was able to unload and set up without being seen.

As he began playing Bonti came up close and then stood absolutely still, for a short while at least. He then began moving in time to the music. Before long Paul and Bonti were joined by a much smaller elephant and what started as a piano solo became a trio and thereafter, Paul Barton achieved something almost impossible to believe.

Illustrator Nabila Adani manages to convey in her illustrations the changing feelings of Bonti as the story progresses and her final portrayal of Paul and Bonti is especially moving.