India per olifant

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A few years ago, British writer Mark Shand cut an 800-mile swath across southern and central India atop a 30-year-old elephant named Tara. What he saw along the way makes up the heart of this entertaining memoir. His reminiscences of the good food and warmly hospitable people of the nation make you want to head out the door and find the nearest mahout, but the real star of the show is Tara, who has a sweet personality and a penchant for mischief, such as shoplifting fruit from vendors' stalls and lifting prostitutes' saris. However, Shand sadly notes, "The Indian elephant is running out of living space." His sort of adventure may thus be harder to come by in the future--so find that mahout now. If you can't, as vicarious experiences go, following Shand across the subcontinent is tough to beat.