As massive herds of hungry wild elephants go in search of food, trampling all that comes in their way, we imagine a besieged species at loggerheads with human existence. We imagine a man-animal conflict that is inevitable. 

Bhanjan, a farmer with a small paddy farm and Boro (Biren), a forest officer charged with taking care of reserved forests, are determined to disrupt this facile formulation that imagines this conflict to be between equal forces. 

The sweep of human centred “development” has wreaked havoc on the reserved forests in the eastern state of Assam. These forests are the natural habitat of the Asian Elephant and are fast shrinking, encroached upon by human settlements, industries, highways and massive development projects. Bhanjan’s village and farm is at the edge of one of these forests and are vulnerable to the trail of destruction left behind by the terrified and enraged elephant herds, desperate for food. Bhanjan’s farm barely manages to feed his large family.  He lies in fear that the elephant herds will trample his crops, destroying his livelihood. He knows that along with his farm, his home and the bodies of every family member are at risk as the powerful animals flatten all that is in their path. 

This is a battleground, forced upon the elephant. Bhanjan and Boro (Biren), in very different ways, understand this as they make connections between the plight of the elephants, rivers that run dry, frequent extreme climate events like flash floods and drought, and a devastated fragile eco-system that impacts the small farmer as well. The cycle of life, destruction and death as experienced by the herds of elephants, by Bhanjan, and by Boro (Biren), is propelled by development motivated solely by insatiable human consumption, economic growth that privileges humans and an extractionist approach to nature.