Video of elephant seemingly vibing along with woman sparks an important conversation

People might have seen dancing elephants in a circus but rarely out in the wild or in captivity. The Instagram page of @soulgrow_impactcoaches, which is operated by Niranjan and his wife Sanchari, shared a video where they showed an elephant seemingly vibing along with Sanchari from a distance. "I have lived in Kerala all my life but this is the first time I saw a dancing elephant," the caption read. The video, which is only a few seconds long ended up gaining more than six million views.

"I'm not surprised though. If you met my wife you would know how her energy is infectious. She told me on our first date that she was an elephant in her last lifetime. I think I believe her now. We went to this elephant camp near Guruvayur. It was raining cats and dogs but amidst all of this, we met some 17-18 temple elephants and Sanchari made some new friends," the caption added. Niranjan further wrote how she went on to ask for the names of all the elephants.

These were elephants at a temple. Sanchari apologized to them for having to go through grueling days during festivals at the temple. However, the couple were relieved that the elephants were taken good care of at the temple stables. "Most of them were very friendly with humans and well cared for," the caption further read. "Most elephants don't get this good treatment and care! They spend life in captivity and hardship. It was good to see them taken care of. It was one of the most wholesome experiences and a core memory for all of us!"

Then the caption revealed that they did not know much about the elephant's backstory while filming the video. "It's neither dance nor distress. It's more of a twitch. They are not in distress or trauma right now as many believe. These are very friendly. What they display as this dancing is a response to years of stress and hard work. They are safe now but still traumatized for years. Domestic and trained elephants are often taught to sway to the music and the body develops muscle memory. This doesn't hurt them. It's common for elephants in musth to feel oversimulated. Be kind to animals as much as you can! They feel everything," the caption concluded.

The post's comment section was turned off as the caption clarified at the bottom that they had no idea that the video would go viral. "This is not a happy elephant. This is an elephant that has seen a lot of stress and is hence having these moments. It's trauma and not dance. Keeping it here so that there's more awareness about animal cruelty. And we don't support animal cruelty," the edit in the caption added. In a second video, Sanchari was filmed writing a greeting card and visiting the elephants kept captive in the temple complex for the Poornathrayeesa Utsavam. She repeatedly bows down and apologizes to the gentle giants for all the hardships they endure while the festival goes on each year. 

"Once a year hordes of elephants come to this grand temple. She loved coming here until one article she read said that they are mistreated. She went into a state of despair and cried for an hour. The next day she went and apologised to each one. At one point, I swear she was doing the ho'ponopono chant and the elephants looked at her and raised their trunks in acknowledgment. This is not a post advocating or dissing cultures and traditions. It's a post to appreciate kind people who empathize with the pain of animals," Niranjan wrote in the caption of the post about his wife.