As soon as we stepped out of the regal Mysore palace, the majestic elephant standing leisurely on the grass patch strewn with coconut leaves caught my eye. It was an adult male elephant, admirably placid. Absorbing the long beams of the silver sun sifting through the rain clouds and reflecting nothing. Like a black hole, one shade grey.

I thought aloud, “I’ve never had an elephant ride.” Anil couldn’t believe it. Growing up in Kerala, the land of festivals and caparisoned elephants, I had ne...