The Only Female Mahaut in the World | Fusion - WeRIndia

Mahauts are a common tradition in India. It is however a male profession. It is dominated by males so much that there is only one female mahaut in the world. Meet Parbati, the woman who tames wild elephants, brushes teeth with ash, and who sleeps in a tent on a threadbare matress without a pillow.

Even since her childhood, she hated playing with dolls and enjoyed playing outside with elephants and horses instead. Her father was also very experienced with elephants. Parbati was drawn towards these animals and enjoyed exploring their nature. She spent her life working with elephant families and today she can be considered as the only female mahaut in the world.

Parbati’s life in jungle is not an easy one. One can see how hard it is to live in the jungle without have any basic comforts that people in cities and villages enjoy. She experienced extreme cold weathers, extreme hot weathers, harsh rains. As if that was not enough to make her a legend, she was born into a zamindar family. Even after being born into a rich family she choose a life of this wildness and became the only female mahaut in the world.