Sridhar, Chaitanya. Elephant Wings to Freedom: Mother Nature’s Dream. Clever Fox Publishing. 2025. Pp XX +171. Hbk. Rs.1,702. Pbk. Rs.1,134.

Elephant Wings to Freedom takes us on a warm and thought-provoking journey of what it means to be respectful, mindful, and sensitive to the natural balance of our planet.Dr. Chaitanya Sridhar is uniquely positioned to write this book based on her years of experience of working with elephants who have suffered through captivity when removed from their natural environment and used in temples or work camps.She sensitively explores not only the nature of these majestic animals, but contextualizes their psychological and ecological meaning within their mythical status in Indian culture.The story comes to life through the author's deeply moving personal history, showing her love and connection with these magical animals.In full disclosure, I am Dr. Sridhar's colleague and friend.I have had the privilege to witness her heartwarming journey of becoming an ally of and advocate for elephants, especially through her work in rehabilitating captive elephants.This book feels like a tribute to what the elephants have meant to her, both in her outer and inner worlds.She interweaves the personal, through her touching and inspiring real-life experiences with elephants, and the archetypal, through the exploration of divine symbols, folklore, and Indian myths.In this way, the sacred symbolism of elephants is tied to her relational connection to elephants that are rescued and rehabilitated.The book opens with a chapter on Airavata, a celestial white elephant in Hindu mythology, who is often depicted as the vahana (vehicle) to Indra, the king of the Gods.The reader is introduced to some of the stories and meanings associated with Airavata.We see how Airavata's emergence from the churning of the ocean is an expression of the alchemical process of transformation.The churning of the ocean for eons by the Devas (Gods) and the Asuras (demons) is held symbolically as the inner work of integrating the light and shadow parts in us as we move towards integration and wholeness.Similarly, we encounter the divine symbol of Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, whose birth story is significant in Hindu mythology.The book explores how Ganesha is slayed and then brought back to life by Lord Shiva (by All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial intelligence technologies or similar technologies.