For thousands of years, people in India have captured elephants to serve as war machines, beasts of burden, and part of religious festivals. And while they’re revered like gods, and adorned with embroidered garments and jewelry in parades, National Geographic Explorers Sangita Iyer and Jyothy Karat say these endangered Asian elephants are often living in distress and are mistreated by their handlers. Iyer and Karat tell us what life for India’s temple elephants are like and we’ll hear about a possible way for Indians to celebrate elephants with new robotics technology. Credit: HRISSUR, KERALA, INDIA: An elephant attends a temple ceremony at Thrissur, Kerala, India. Elephants have become increasingly popular at religious festivals in Kerala, for centuries they have been used by the Hindu faithful because of their role in Hinduism and also as a symbol of power. In recent years both Christian and Islamic factions have introduced elephants into their festival. As a result, these elephants have become heavily overused during the festival period. They have little rest, are surrounded by a roaring crowd, loud music, and concussive fireworks. Elephants that are in musth have also been used, despite their increased aggression in this period. Accidents and killings have been commonplace, panicked and aggressive elephants have killed a number of spectators, as recently as January 2013 an elephant killed 3 woman spectators yet was allowed to continue performing. The elephant owners charge large fees for appearances and there are devout, fanatical followings for individual elephants. Despite the danger, people continue to flock to these events. Elephants are typically wild animals who have been caught and broken, then trained to obey commands. Elephants in Kerala spend their whole lives chained, living in small spaces like open air prisons and performing manual labor or appearing at these festivals. Photo by Brent Stirton, National Geographic ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe ➡ Get more of Overheard at National Geographic here: https://bit.ly/OverheardPodcast ➡ Catch up on all episodes of Overheard at National Geographic: https://on.natgeo.com/3n9D3cF You can also listen to the Overheard at National Geographic podcast on these platforms: ➡ Apple: https://bit.ly/OverheardOnApple ➡ Spotify: https://bit.ly/OverheardOnSpotify ➡ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/OverheardOnStitcher ➡ Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/OverheardOnGoogle ➡ iHeart Radio: https://bit.ly/OverheardOniHeart ➡ Castbox: https://bit.ly/OverheardOnCastbox #NationalGeographic #Overheard #Podcast About Overheard at National Geographic: Documenting democracy, Untwisting the world’s largest tornado. Searching for wrecks of lost slave ships. Dinosaur hunting in Morocco. Accidentally inventing a new color. Come dive into one of the curiously delightful conversations overheard at National Geographic’s headquarters, as we follow explorers, photographers, and scientists to the edges of our big, weird, beautiful world. Hosted by Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs. About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible. Get More National Geographic: Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSite Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeo Twitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitter Instagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInsta TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@natgeo Tenor: http://on.natgeo.com/31b3Koc The Dark Reality Behind India’s Festival Elephants | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic https://youtu.be/vyec-LYaeq8 National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/natgeo

This is a video documenting a screening of a documentary at Museum of Photographic Arts. A feature length documentary film, Gods in Shackles reveals the exploitation and torture of the Asian elephants in the state of kerala, India in the name of religion and god. Directed by Sangita Iyer, a biologist, a journalist and a filmmaker, the documentary is an expose about the hidden truths behind the abuse of these majestic animals and appeals to the citizens of India to take action against the cruelty suffered by the elephants. Gods in Shackles strives to bring hope to thousands of endangered captive and wild elephants in India by inspiring key stake holders and policy makers to enhance the living conditions of these highly social animals. Gods in shackles has won a plethora of awards. Few of its achievements are: a) finalist at the international elephant film festival which is presented by the United Nations b) Winner of the Los Angeles Cinefest c) Nominated for the prestigious International Film Festival of India, the only officially run film festival by the government of India. Big shout out to my team, Fran Del Santo, Sangita Iyer, Devvie Deanny, Coe Lewis, Evan Penhasi and everybody else. Music: Kevin MacLeod - Mesmerize, Lost Time, Dark Fog, Plaint, On the Shore, Bensound India, Serene, Dream Culture. Professor Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu - Thanam-Kalyani License: Creative Commons.

""Gods in Shackles" is a multi-award winning documentary that hopes to do for elephants what the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" did for killer whales. Prodcuer and director Sangita Iyer tells us more about her film. WARNING: some images may be disturbing to viewers.

Captive elephants are exploited for profit in the name of culture and religion. Their abhorrent treatment and poor welfare conditions are decimating Kerala's captive elephants with their numbers declined substantially from 702 in 2010 to 360 as of 2013. India's heritage animal - the embodiment Lord Ganesh - needs to be treated with so much more reverence, honor and respect.

It was a 'trunk' call for Kerala legislators. 'Gods in Shackles', directed by Canada-based Keralite Sangita Iyer, is an award winning documentary on how elephants are abused in the name of temple festivals in Kerala. On Wednesday, it was screened in India for the first time in the Kerala Legislative Assembly complex, on the suggestion of the Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan.

Through my sojourns during my recent visit to Kerala, Lakshmi -- the most gorgeous 25-year-old female Asian elephant -- left an indelible impression. It was love at first sight the moment I stepped into her sphere of captivity. Lakshmi captured my heart and soul with her intense brown eyes, grace, and pious, but most importantly by opening her heart and showering me with unconditional love.

Sangita Iyer gives voice to the temple elephants on ROGERS TV's most popular show "Daytime Toronto" The Film Director was recently interviewed about her film For the Love of Elephants on the community show that draws tens of thousands of people. Our deepest gratitude to ROGERS TV for their support of our work and providing us with a copy of the interview.

Dr. Raman Sukumar, a world-renowned elephant scientist explains why captive elephants deserve proper foot care. During festivities these brilliant animals are made to walk on melting tar roads in the scorching sun, which is not conducive for elephants. Besides, since the four legs carry their massive body weight having them tethered in captivity 24/7 doesn't provide the opportunity to exercise. In the wild elephants wander around freely for 16-18 hours and get proper exercise.