Hyderabad: The Padma Shri award was given to Parbati Baruah, the first female elephant mahout in India, for her devoted work in resolving conflicts between humans and elephants by using scientific methods. The Padma Shri Award, the country's fourth civilian honour, for the year 2024 was announced on the event of Republic Day.
Barua, known globally as the "Queen of the Elephants", and the "Hasti Kanya", she hails from Assam and hunts elephants to train them. She caught the first elephant at the age of 14 in Kachugaon forest way back 1967. Since then, more than 400 elephants have been trained under the supervision and guidance of Baruah.
She was awarded the 'Honorary Chief Elephant Warden of Assam' award by the Government of Assam in 2003 for his lifetime achievement. In 1989, Barua was awarded the "Global 500-Roll of Honor" award by the United Nations Environment Programs (UNEP) for her studies in the United Nations Environment Programs (UNEP).
Barua was introduced to the world by British writer Mark Shand. In 1995, he met her at an elephant camp in North Bengal and wrote a book on her terming her as "Queen of the Elephants".
The 67-year-old was raised in the forests by her father, a hunter who had a remarkable knowledge of elephants. Her father was the last Rajah of Gauripur, Prakritish Barua, and had nine children total. Their royal stables held roughly forty elephants.
She has also helped three state governments combat and apprehend wild tuskers in recent years. Around fifty elephants veered off course and headed in a destructive direction during an event in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. Authorities went to Parbati Baruah when they were unable to contain the situation. She led the tuskers back to their trail using her squad and four elephants.
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