It was night when Goplu was quickly following his herd through the village named Nimatand, Jharkhand. One of the villagers noticed his herd and started shouting. Most of the villagers then came out of their hamlets and started chasing his herd. Goplu’s mother quickly pulled Goplu towards her and rumbled secretly ‘Run Goplu, we have to enter the forest as soon as possible’. Goplu nodded his head and started running behind his mother with all his energy. But then he stumbled over a stone and slipped into the dark tunnel full of water. He got anxious and started looking up, where Gaplu’s mother helplessly stared at him, running left and right to rescue him. Goplu too tried his best to climb up. He could not. It was a 9 meter deep well! Whole night, he struggled. Meanwhile, the villagers chased his mother and his aunts away. He was alone and frightened. He wanted to be with his mom. But he could still hear villagers in the distant. Goplu’s mother too was worried! But, she could not come back to help him! Goplu kept on splashing water with his trunk and paddling his legs to try his best to come out of this dungeon! He tried the whole night! He was tired but he did not give up. In the morning, one of the villagers spotted Goplu. He immediately informed the forest department. Those people came and started digging up the well to break it off. Goplu was scared. He did not know what is happening and why they are digging up. He could hear sounds of engine! The closer they came, more fear bursted in his head. After almost 8 hours, he realized that they were making a way out for him. They broke the dungeon! He tried to climb the open end. He slipped again. But again he climbed. He was full of mud and dust. He was out of the well. He was too weak to walk. With his tired eyes, he gazed at the people who helped him to pull him out. He thanked them from within. All he had in his mind was his mom. He wanted to be with her as early as possible. Meanwhile in the forest away from Jharkhand, Bhunte came to know about this rescue and could not stop but thanking forest staffs of Jharkhand, India. He hoped that Goplu must have met his mother…
Sanjeeta Hridayaninadini
I am an elephant biologist wandering in the wild to understand what elephants feel. I believe that empathy can cure any pain. I am on this path of finding myself. Besides research, I write poems (http://sanjeetapokharel.blogspot.com/) and draw cartoons (https://bhuntelephant.wordpress.com/).

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