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Viaggiatore amante dell'avventura, Mark Shand decide di ripercorrere le strade tracciate dai suoi avi al tempo dell'Impero britannico in groppa a un'elefantessa di trent'anni, Tara, impulsivamente acquistata da un gruppo di mendicanti. Così hanno inizio le sue peregrinazioni nel subcontinente indiano e le argute descrizioni di templi, villaggi, usanze che fanno di questo libro un racconto d'avventura e, al tempo stesso, un tenero romanzo d'amore. L'amore di un inglese per il suo elefante, un animale dalla personalità dolce, femminile e seducente.
1991 - British Book Awards Travel Writer of the Year
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A few years ago, British writer Mark Shand cut an 800-mile swath across southern and central India atop a 30-year-old elephant named Tara. What he saw along the way makes up the heart of this entertaining memoir. His reminiscences of the good food and warmly hospitable people of the nation make you want to head out the door and find the nearest mahout, but the real star of the show is Tara, who has a sweet personality and a penchant for mischief, such as shoplifting fruit from vendors' stalls and lifting prostitutes' saris. However, Shand sadly notes, "The Indian elephant is running out of living space." His sort of adventure may thus be harder to come by in the future--so find that mahout now. If you can't, as vicarious experiences go, following Shand across the subcontinent is tough to beat
From Publishers Weekly
This tale of a recent 800-mile journey across India on an elephant is at once entertaining and exasperating. Shand ( Skulduggery ), who has also head-hunted in Indonesia and motor-raced from London to Sydney, impulsively buys a 30-year-old elephant to ride from Konarak on the Bay of Bengal to Sonepur across the Ganges to the great elephant bazaar. In addition to Tara, the elephant, Shand gathers Indian helpers and advisers as quirky as himself, and together they travel across the country--Shand on Tara, his party in a jeep--astounding, amusing and puzzling those they encounter. Along the way, Shand learns about the care and feeding of elephants; and about rural India, which still worships the elephant God Ganesh and which leaps to life in this book. The group attends village festivals, receives the hospitality of princes and policemen, and Shand becomes so enamored of Tara that they share a slug of whisky and mingle their tears at his leave-taking. Overly coy in the telling, The characters (including the elephant) are difficult to identify with, but the local color is delightful, despite the overly coy prose. Photos not seen by PW.
From Library Journal
Traveling by elephant is difficult, but reading about someone else's journey can be thoroughly entertaining. Shard, an English travel writer, first had to acquire an elephant, along with a competent staff. Then he had to maneuver this entourage through 800 miles of the Orissa and Bihar states in India. In addition to the descriptions of the ride, he provides a colorful slice of modern-day India and considerable elephant lore. While the account is somewhat melodramatically told, the book is lively and should prove popular with public library users. A number of books can take us through India, but this is the only one that describes the country from the top of an elephant. Recommended for travel collections.
- Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
From AudioFile
If you are an armchair traveler, you may have "visited" exotic places by train, automobile or kayak. But have you ever experienced India by elephant? British actor Paul Shelley takes you on a cheerfully chaotic journey through the cities and jungles of India by jeep and elephant. Shelley's pacing is relaxed, and his characterizations are convincing. As the story's narrator, he projects himself as a dashing quixotic adventurer eager to master the art of elephant riding. As a philosophical Indian mahout, he reflects long-suffering patience. This book offers a unique and funny travel experience--guaranteed to change your feelings about the English, Indians and their elephants. J.B. |
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Mark Shand è nato nel 1951 e ha trascorso la maggior parte della sua vita viaggiando. Ha percorso le Ande a cavallo, ha completato la gara motociclistica Londra-Sidney, è naufragato nel Pacifico occidentale nel tentativo di circumnavigare il globo, ha compiuto innumerevoli spedizioni nelle più remote regioni del Sud-Est asiatico. È autore di parecchi libri, tra cui il best-seller Travels on my Elephant, che nel 1991 gli valse il British Book Awards Travel Writer of the Year, e Queen of the Elephants, nominato per il Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award del 1996.
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Viaggio in India col mio elefante
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