In Kerala the elephant is not simply an animal. It has celebrity and fans, and it is also the subject of a hard public argument. You learn the connoisseur's vocabulary, from കൊമ്പൻ (tusker) and പാപ്പാൻ (mahout) to തലയെടുപ്പ്, the carriage of the head that people judge, plus the question that gets any older Malayali man talking. Then the wild elephants of the Western Ghats, human-elephant conflict in the hill districts and the safety sentences you need there. Last, the debate over captive elephants: three sincere positions, and why you should know the argument without taking a side. Words and phrases in this class: ആന (aana) – elephant കൊമ്പൻ (komban) – tusker, a male with tusks പിടിയാന (pidiyaana) – female elephant കുട്ടിയാന (kuttiyaana) – elephant calf തുമ്പിക്കൈ (thumbikkai) – trunk പാപ്പാൻ (paappaan) – mahout, the handler തലയെടുപ്പ് (thalayeduppu) – the carriage of the head ഏറ്റവും നല്ല ആന ഏതാണ്? (ettavum nalla aana ethaanu?) – which is the best elephant? കാട്ടാന (kaattaana) – wild elephant ഇവിടെ കാട്ടാന ഇറങ്ങാറുണ്ടോ? (ivide kaattaana irangaarundo?) – do wild elephants come down here? രാത്രി പുറത്ത് പോകാമോ? (raathri purathu pokaamo?) – is it safe to go out at night? കൃഷി നശിപ്പിച്ചു (krishi nashippichu) – the crops were destroyed ആന ഇറങ്ങിയിട്ടുണ്ട്, ശ്രദ്ധിക്കണം (aana irangiyittundu, shraddhikkanam) – an elephant has come down, be careful In this class: • Tusker, mahout, trunk and the art of judging an elephant • Famous elephants with names, fans and front-page news • Wild elephants, the hill districts and the safety sentences • The captive-elephant debate: know it, do not adjudicate it Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.