It’s mind-boggling to see how much we humans and animals have in common. There is no denying that humans are capable of many things that other creatures just cannot manage to do. But in most cases, animals prove us wrong by doing activities we thought were impossible for them. Lam Duan, a blind elephant who is 62 years old, is a great example of this. This story proves that music’s power stretches beyond the boundaries of humankind.
This adorable blind elephant enjoys dancing to classical music.
ElephantsWorld, an animal protection organization situated in Wang Dong, Thailand, is where this blind elephant spends her days.
Paul Barton is a British musician. As a way to amuse this blind elephant, he brought a piano inside the sanctuary and started playing classical music on it.
What was the response of the female elephant?
She began to move her trunk from side to side, swaying from one side to the other. She, too, was moving her feet as if she were about to dance to the music.
In a video posted on YouTube by Barton, he explains that this old female elephant, Duan, has been blind for most of her life.
After that, he starts to play some soothing classical music by composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, and Erik Satie.
This pianist carried his piano to a Thai elephant sanctuary to perform for the elderly.
One of the most heart-touching parts of this story is how a generous pianist gave his time and talent to a blind elephant who could only enjoy the beauty of sound. It’s kind of like reading out loud to blind people, but with music instead of words.
It all started when Barton was filming a video on the River Kwai bridge for his channel. While he was there, he learned of an elephant sanctuary that takes care of logging and street elephants who are ill, injured and disabled.
Since he had a deep affection for elephants, he went down there and inquired about the possibility of bringing in a piano and playing it for the elephants. They did not raise any objections to the idea at any point.
The calming melodies of Bach, Chopin, and Schubert aren’t just for Lam Duan.
This musical gift was not only enjoyed by Lam Duan, but also by the other elephants in the herd. The performance of Barton gathered a big crowd of elephants. Even if they were not perfect, several of them gave it their best go and sang to the best of their ability. Another video shows him playing the Saiyok, a traditional Thai flute, for an elephant called Plara.
According to Barton, the majority of elephants do respond to music. He shared this information with Coconuts Bangkok. The moment the music begins to play in the background, they start moving in response to it. Some elephants walk up to the piano and begin touching it with their trunks and some others listen to it while keeping their trunks in their mouth. Some elephants, like Lam Duan, rock from side to side when they the music. The piano’s tone attracts everyone, so they start to pay attention.
Watch Lam Duan swaying in rhythm to the sound of classical music in this full video.
The following are some of the responses that people on the internet had to Barton and his performance for the elephants:
If you want to keep up with Paul Barton’s incredible musical performances for elephants, you may follow him on YouTube.
