New Delhi [India], May 5 (ANI): Japan marks May 5 as Children’s Day, and the Indian Embassy in Japan recalled the ‘jumbo’ reward that youngsters from India despatched to their counterparts greater than seven a long time in the past.
‘It is Children’s Day right this moment. We are reminded of the Indian Elephant who lived in Ueno Zoo from 1949 to 1983. She was a present from the kids of India to the kids of Japan,’ the Embassy of India in Japan and Republic of Marshall Islands mentioned in a publish on X.
https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/2051494133278425245?s=20
On Japan’s Children’s Day, the story from the aftermath of World War 2 has returned to mild, recalling how India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gifted a child elephant named ‘Indira’ to the kids of Japan.
The gesture got here in response to letters from Japanese faculty youngsters and introduced pleasure to a rustic nonetheless recovering from warfare.
The elephant went on to develop into greater than a zoo attraction. For many youngsters in Tokyo, she got here to symbolise hope.
She was named Indira after PM Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, who later grew to become India’s first and solely girl Prime Minister.
The story traces again to the late Nineteen Forties, when Nehru acquired a whole bunch of letters from Japanese faculty youngsters with a easy request: they wished an elephant for his or her zoo.
In a letter written on the time, Nehru mentioned, ‘You have seen the a whole bunch of letters I’ve acquired from Japanese youngsters asking me to provide them with an elephant for his or her zoo in Tokyo.’
He added, ‘I believe, it’s fascinating for us to ship an elephant to Japan. The issue is about transport.’
That resolution led to the journey of a 15-year-old feminine elephant from Mysore to Ueno Zoo. An previous report by The New York Times described her as a ‘magnificent elephant of exemplary conduct,’ noting that she ‘possesses uncommon auspicious marks–has eighteen toenails as a substitute of typical sixteen or seventeen, carries trailing trunk, walks head aloft and swings lengthy tufted tail’.
Indira arrived in Japan at a time when the nation had only a few elephants left. Many had died through the warfare as a result of meals shortages and navy selections. Her arrival drew massive crowds. For youngsters who had grown up amid destruction, it was a uncommon second of happiness.
According to KY Yonetani’s ‘Captive Elephants in Japan: Census and History’, Indira arrived on September 25, 1949, and lived on the zoo till August 11, 1983, when she died on the age of 49. The research notes that she was among the many oldest elephants in Japan on the time of her dying.
Her dying was extensively mourned in Japan, owing to the bond she had shaped with generations of holiday makers. Scholarly accounts later described her as a ‘messenger of peace’ despatched by India.
The legacy continued after her dying. In 1984, India despatched two extra elephants, Asha and Daya, to Japan, persevering with what got here to be seen as a logo of friendship between the 2 nations.
The identical research additionally data that earlier than the warfare, about 20 elephants lived in Japanese zoos, however by the top of the battle, solely three remained alive. Indira was among the many first elephants to reach within the post-war interval.
Images from the time, together with these displaying youngsters using on Indira’s again, point out that the gesture was acquired with pleasure.
In India, Children’s Day is noticed on November 14, Nehru’s delivery anniversary. He was fondly referred to as ‘Chacha Nehru’ and was recognized for his emphasis on youngsters’s welfare and training. After his dying, it was determined to mark his birthday as ‘Bal Diwas.’ (ANI)