The Elephant Journey was originally released in 2008. But the translated version in English hit the stands only this year. Jose Saramago, the author of The Elephant Journey, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1998. You may find his style of writing unusual. He writes in long sentences. Paragraphs and chapters are a rarity. Most of the times when a new sentence starts you would need to figure out on your own the change in speaker as Saramago doesn’t press “Enter” after finishing one sentence to start another. Still, even when you want to, you cannot dismiss his work as trivial and The Elephant Journey does come across as an enjoyable work of fiction.
Inspired from a true incident in the past when the King of Portugal actually gifted an elephant to the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian, the story takes you through Portugal, Spain, Italy and Austria. Solomon (the elephant) lived in obscurity till the time the king decides it to be the most appropriate gift that can be given on the wedding of the Archduke. Suddenly, both Solomon and his mahout, Subhro, who had arrived from India, become the most prominent figures in the kingdom. Solomon is given a wash and Subhro, new clothes as part of the preparation for the big event.
The challenge lies in transporting Solomon to Austria as the whole journey has to happen on foot. Since, Solomon and Subhro cannot do it alone, a whole caravan which includes the commanding officer, his sergeant, cavalry men and oxen (for carrying food for Solomon), set out on this journey with him. And, this is where human idiosyncrasy, fallacy, whims and fancies come into play.
Archduke Maximilian decides to change the name of Subhro simply because it was hard to pronounce. The ease with which Maximilian overrides Subhro’s concern over the change in his name reflects how the monarchy considered absolute power a birthright.
The book is a satire on human behaviour and you have to smile. There are many such incidents — the queen desperately wanting the letter from the Archduke (whether he accepts Solomon as a gift) to be written in German as she is the only one in the King of Portugal’s court who knows the language; the King passing on the same letter to his secretary as he does not want to be caught stammering by his people while reading it; the priest of a village wanting to absolve the pachyderm of his sins and after being kicked by an irritated Solomon deciding that he understands Latin and can differentiate between holy and normal water.
Saramago depicts the unassuming elephant whose only interest is eating and sleeping as an object of desire, fascination and an unwitting ally in creating a miracle to make Maximilian the epicentre of power in Austria.
Through him he portrays the various aspects of wasteful human conduct which result in extravagant attempts at realising exotic dreams of the powerful and inspiring awe in the common man, driving him to do things such as equating Solomon to God.
The Elephant Journey is a delightful attempt at humorously looking at the imperfections of mankind — a fitting tribute to the late Nobel Laureate.
Neeraj Chhibba is the author of Zero Percentile