Guwahati: Parbati Baruah, affectionately known as Hastir Kanya (daughter of elephant) has been conferred with Padma Shri Award for Social Welfare (Animal Welfare).
Starting her journey at the age of 14, Parbati inherited the skills of capturing and taming wild elephants from her father late Prakritish Chandra Barua of the Royal Family of Gauripur. The royal family had 40 elephants.
Her determination and significant contributions in elephant conservation has earned her the prestigious Padma Shri Award at the age of 67.
Parbati Barua came to the limelight after the BBC produced a documentary Queen of the Elephants based on her life, along with the companion book by Mark Shand.
She is a member of IUCN’s Asian Elephant Specialist Group, and played an important role in elephant conservation in India and abroad.
Parbati Barua is the younger sister of sister of famous Goalpariya singer Pratima Barua Pandey and niece of filmmaker Pramathesh Barua of Devdas fame.
Over the years, she has been called by the Forest Departments in the jungles and rural areas of West Bengal, Odisha and Assam to capture rouge wild elephants.
