Life style

Time to end Santa’s ‘naughty list’?

Published

4 years ago

2022/12/25

Many of us have magical memories of Santa secretly bringing gifts and joy to our childhood homes – but is there a darker side to the beloved Christmas tradition?

“You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.”

And don’t I know it! This is the first year that my three-year-old daughter has fully immersed herself in the mythology of Santa. As she tells me just how Old Saint Nick is going to fit down our chimney, I can see a glint of pure wonder in her eyes that immediately transports me back to my own childhood Christmases.

I was – and I’m happy to admit it – a full-blown believer. I absolutely loved the magic of Christmas, especially Santa Claus, and my parents went, let’s say, above and beyond to encourage it. On Christmas morning I would tiptoe downstairs to find the fireguard ajar, the remnants of a hurriedly-eaten mince pie on a plate, a reindeer-chewed carrot and a tissue with a red smudge where Santa had clearly polished Rudolph’s nose (definitely not my Mum’s lipstick). The evidence was, as far as I was concerned, insurmountable.

However, as I begin to construct my own Santa Claus myth for my daughter I can’t help but feel pangs of guilt. Could fuelling her belief in all this festive magic in some way undermine her trust? In moments of exasperation, I can hear myself invoke the threat of the “naughty list” and I see a sudden flash of fear across her face. It’s made me wonder what kind of Santa I want to create for my daughter and, to be honest, whether I should be doing it at all.

Fascinatingly, although the modern world feels like it has been stripped of so much of its magic, belief in Santa Claus has remained remarkably consistent. Back in 1978, a study published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that 85% of four-year-olds said they believed in Santa. More than a quarter of a century later, in 2011, research published in the Journal of Cognition and Development found that a very similar 83% of 5-year-olds claimed to be true believers. And that is despite Google Trends showing that the search term “is Santa real” spikes every December.

I guess it’s not all that surprising. The cultural evidence we create as a society for the existence of Santa certainly stacks up. He features in every Christmas TV show and movie, he’s camped out in strange little sheds in every shopping centre we visit. Each year the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) allows you to track Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve. To reassure children during the pandemic in 2020, the World Health Organisation issued a tongue-in-cheek statement declaring that Santa was “immune” from Covid 19. To be honest, there’s more evidence for Santa’s existence out there than my own, which is almost enough to trigger a mild existential crisis.

And it’s precisely this effort on behalf of parents, and society in general, to create such seemingly overwhelming evidence for the existence of Santa Claus that David Kyle Johnson, a professor of philosophy at King’s College in Pennsylvania, describes as “The Santa Lie” in his book The Myths That Stole Christmas.

“When I say ‘The Santa Lie’, I am not referring to the entire mythos of Santa Claus, I am referring to a particular practice within that myth: Parents tricking their children into believing that Santa Claus is literally real,” says Johnson. He highlights how we don’t simply ask children to imagine Santa, but rather to actually believe in him. It’s this emphasis on belief over imagination that Johnson sees as harmful.

“I definitely think it can erode trust between a parent and a child, but I think the biggest danger is the anti-critical thinking lessons that they are teaching,” says Johnson. “Parents who are especially dedicated to ‘The Santa Lie’ will perform feats of insanity to ensure their children keep believing.”

This brings a flash back to my childhood, where at eight-years-old I wrote a letter to Santa probing the logistics of his yearly mission, only for my Dad to write back in his best “olden times” handwriting, covering the reply in sooty fingerprints (probably whilst gnawing on a raw carrot). My colleague Rob shared that his Mum apparently found the carrot a particularly disgusting part of the Christmas Eve ritual.

For Johnson, it is this creation of false evidence and convincing kids that bad evidence is in fact good evidence that undermines the kind of critical thinking we should be encouraging in children in this era of fake news, conspiracy theories and science denial. “The ‘Santa lie’ is part of a parenting practice that encourages people to believe what they want to believe, simply because of the psychological reward,” says Johnson. “That’s really bad for society in general.”

When magic is no longer the answer, children start to gather evidence – Cyndy Scheibe

Interestingly, there are some experts, however, who argue that believing in Santa Claus can actually encourage critical thinking in children. It hinges on how parents support them in the process of eventually discovering and accepting the truth. Cyndy Scheibe, professor of psychology at Ithaca College in New York, and an expert in media literacy, has been researching children’s belief in Santa Claus since the 1980s. She has conducted research in three different time periods and found surprisingly consistent results each time.

“Kids start to ask questions around four or five, and then really start to have doubts around the age of six,” says Scheibe. Each time she conducted her research Schiebe found the same thing, that the average age children stop believing in Santa was between seven and eight. However, it is very rarely a sudden thing. “I found that that process seemed to take about two years for kids to navigate through.”

Scheibe explains that this transition period, of between seven and nine years old, makes sense because it aligns with the ages when children go from being so-called “pre-operational thinkers” to “concrete operational thinkers”. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget developed these terms to explain how children gradually build up their understanding and knowledge of the world. At the pre-operational stage, a child’s idea of the world is mainly shaped by how things appear, rather than by deeper logical reasoning. But that changes as children begin to probe and question the things they see or hear. “A concrete operational thinker wants evidence,” Scheibe says. “They begin to mature cognitively, where the story doesn’t make logical sense and magic is no longer the answer. Then they start to gather evidence.”

And it is at this stage that Scheibe says parents need to be led by their children, in order to help them develop their critical thinking skills. “They function as little scientists, testing out hypotheses and gathering data to figure out what’s true and what’s not,” Schiebe says. This is something parents can encourage through asking careful questions. “In media literacy it’s all about asking questions. What do you think? How could we really find out? Why do you think people do that?” Scheibe explains.

My colleague Amy told me about the evidence that triggered the end of her belief in Santa Claus when she was around seven: “I recognised my mum’s handwriting on the label and was totally shocked!”. However, Amy said she doesn’t remember feeling hurt or betrayed by the discovery. Rather, “it made me feel like a grown-up and that I understood something about the world”.

Amy’s experience tallies with research published in Child Psychology and Human Development that found children generally discovered the truth about Santa on their own at the age of seven and reported “predominantly positive” reactions to discovering this. However, the study showed parents, on the other hand, fared less well, describing themselves as “predominantly sad” in reaction to their child’s discovery.

And herein lies the major issue for both Johnson and Schiebe: It’s not so much children but rather their parents who refuse to let go of Santa Claus.

Schiebe describes how throughout her decades of research the only times she saw belief in Santa become “problematic” was when parents continued to perpetuate the belief beyond the time the child was ready for the truth. “I think that one problem is kids are ready to hear the truth, but you’re not ready to let go of the truth, and you’ve got to let go of the truth,” Scheibe says.

As a father I can understand the draw of keeping hold of the Santa mythology for as long as possible. On the one hand it feels like it’s a way of stopping them growing up too fast, of protecting an element of their innocence somehow. On the other hand, Santa has, for many parents – and I include myself in this – become a quick-fix for managing behaviour with his infamous “naughty list”.

The idea that Santa is watching all of the time can be quite a frightening concept for children – Rachel Andrew

It’s always been the part of the Santa Claus myth that I have found the most uncomfortable. His presence as a sort of festive Big Brother, an all-seeing eye constantly judging your behaviour as either “naughty” or “nice”. And recently this element of the mythos has gained a whole new lease of life, with Elf on the Shelf – described on its own website as “Santa’s scout elf” – supposedly reporting behaviour back to Santa, and even fake CCTV “Santa cams” that parents can install to hammer home the message that you are never not being watched. In many ways it feels Santa has become a working model for Foucault’s panopticism – a form of internalised surveillance and self-monitoring that no longer requires external enforcement.

“For a lot of children Santa can be quite a scary figure. That idea that he is watching all of the time can be quite a frightening concept,” says Rachel Andrew, a clinical psychologist specialising in child and family psychology. Andrew believes using Santa’s “naughty list” as a behaviour management tool is flawed in numerous ways. “Having children believe they are on an imaginary naughty list for behaviour they have done over, what, an entire year? Three or four months? It’s so far against what we know is likely to encourage positive behaviour in our children,” Andrew says.

For Andrew, the way parents use Santa for discipline is too vague for children to really understand what we are asking of them, and the time frames are often so broad it is unattainable.

“One of the issues might be that the discipline is not coming from you as a parent. You’re giving it away to somebody who is outside of your own family home,” says Andrew. This can open up the potential that your child doesn’t see you as the person they need to change or monitor their behaviour for. Also, Andrew sees the age-old threat of Santa not delivering toys to naughty children as realistically unenforceable. “It’s not proportionate to any behaviour that a child is going to do, that they might lose all their Christmas gifts. And I haven’t met a child yet who’s not had any gifts due to their behaviour. It’s unlikely any parent is going to follow it through, so it is also an empty threat.”

There’s another uncomfortable by-product of Santa making a list and checking it twice to find out who’s been naughty or nice: it builds an idea that gifts are a measurement of their moral worth.

“We have so many ways that we perpetuate the idea that people get what they deserve,” says Philip N Cohen, professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. “You’re telling [children] that the presents they get are a function of the quality of their goodness, which just seems a harsh lesson in a world with so much inequality.”

Cohen wonders what happens when children’s belief in Santa intersects with their increasing awareness of the inequality around them, especially at an age when they may be looking for explanations for that inequality. “Do you have seven-year-old kids who can see inequality all around them who still believe that Santa gives you presents based on your moral worth?” Cohen asks. “That would be teaching well-off children that they’re getting what they deserve, because they’re good, and the poor children are getting what they deserve, because they’re not good. That just seems like a corrosive lesson for them.”

As the cost of living crisis bites this Christmas, this feels a more relevant issue than ever. Scheibe believes that one way to combat this is to share out Santa’s gift giving responsibilities. “There are some families in which all the gifts come from Santa. Personally I think that’s a mistake,” Scheibe says. She argues that children should be more involved in the process of gift giving at Christmas. “Have Santa Claus be a piece, but also it’s about more than that, it’s about giving and receiving and you can get kids involved in that pretty early.”

So, as my daughter sits down to watch another episode of The Santa Clauses, what kind of Santa is it that I want to create for her?

I think I definitely want to be careful that I don’t try to stray too far from playful imagination into literal belief. I certainly want to burn the “naughty list” – I’d like her Santa to be more Gandalf, less all-seeing Eye of Sauron. And as she gets older I hope I am prepared to let go of the truth when she is ready for me to, and to encourage her in that journey of discovery. Although I don’t believe that means letting Santa go, but rather just initiating a new Santa to the club.

A perfect example of this is what Schiebe told me happened when her own daughter stopped believing: “I said: ‘So now that you know the truth, you get to be Santa Claus, and you know what that means? You can get up in the middle of the night put things in people’s stockings, but you’ve got to make sure nobody sees you, and it’s got to be something you know they want. So then, the next Christmas morning, when I woke up, there were things in my stocking that I hadn’t gotten. The look on her face of how excited she was that she had been able to be Santa Claus, that was just spectacular.”

(Guardian)

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Life style

Enduring charm of June weddings

Published

5 days ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

In white,every bride becomes a vision of timess elegance

June has long been celebrated as the month of brides, a season synonymous with romance, elegance and new beginnings . In Sri Lanka, where wedding are cherished as family occasions, every bride dreams of looking her absolute best on her special day. Few names in Sri Lanka are so closely associated with bridal beauty as Ramani Fernando, a pionear of Sri Lanka’s hair and beauty industry whose expertise has transferred countless brides over the decades. She has become a trusted authority on bridal styling, beauty trends and the act of creating timeless wedding looks. In this interview, Ramani Fernando shares her insights on the enduring appeal of June weddings, evolving bridal trends, and how today’s bride can achieve confidence and elegance on their big day!

(Q) Why is June traditionally known as the month of brides?

(A) June has long been associated with weddings because, historically, it was considered a month of prosperity, happiness, and new beginnings. In many cultures, it was believed to be an auspicious time to start married life. Over the years, this tradition has continued, making June one of the most popular wedding months around the world.

(Q) What makes June bridal unique in Sri Lanka?

(A) In Sri Lanka, June weddings often combine elegance with the beauty of the season. Brides tend to choose softer, lighter looks that complement the warm weather, while still embracing our rich cultural traditions. It’s a beautiful balance of timeless bridal glamour and modern sophistication.

(Q) What are the biggest beauty trends you are seeing this year in terms of dressing, hair, and makeup?

(A) This year, we are seeing a move towards effortless elegance. Brides are choosing natural, radiant makeup that enhances their features rather than masking them. Hairstyles are softer, with textured buns, romantic waves, and elegant ponytails. In fashion, classic silhouettes with modern details such as delicate embellishments and clean lines are very popular.

: Timeless elegance, unforgettable beginnings

Radiating grace, beauty and joy

(Q) How have bridal hairstyles and makeup evolved over the years?

(A) When I first started, bridal looks were much more structured, with heavier makeup and very intricate hairstyles. Today, brides prefer a more natural and personalised approach. The focus is on enhancing individuality while ensuring the bride looks timeless, both in person and in photographs.

(Q) How can brides balance tradition and contemporary beauty trends?

Radiant bride in yellow

Where elegance meets expertise – Ramani’s signature touch for modern brides

(A) The key is to stay true to who you are. I always encourage brides to respect traditions that are meaningful to them while incorporating modern elements that reflect their personality. A bride should feel authentic, comfortable, and confident rather than simply following trends.

(Q) Beyond makeup and hair, what helps a bride feel confident on her wedding day?

(A) Confidence comes from preparation, self-belief, and being surrounded by people who genuinely support you. When a bride feels comfortable in her own skin, is well-rested, and knows she is loved, that confidence shines through far more than any beauty treatment ever could.

(Q) How has the bridal industry changed since you first started your career?

(A) The bridal industry has evolved tremendously. Brides today have access to global inspiration, through social media, and are much more informed about beauty, fashion, and styling. There is also greater emphasis on personalisation, allowing every bride to create a look that reflects their unique story and personality.

(Q) What has been your most memorable bridal transformation?

(A) It is difficult to choose just one because every bride is special. However, the most memorable transformations are often those where a bride sees herself in the mirror and becomes emotional—not because she looks different, but because she feels like the very best version of herself. Those moments stay with me forever.

(Q) What continues to inspire you after decades in the bridal industry?

(A) The joy of being part of one of the most important days in a person’s life continues to inspire me. Every bride brings a new story, a new dream, and a new vision. Seeing the happiness, confidence, and excitement on a bride’s face is what keeps my passion alive even after all these years.

Life style

Silver jubilee of grace and elegance

Published

5 days ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

From Moscow to Colombo

The Russian Classical Ballet concert “Once upon a silver stage, conducted by the Russian School of Ballet and dancing, will be presented on June 27, 2026,at Sri Lanka’s iconic Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapakse theatre Colombo with grandeur, This significant event will provide students with the opportunity to showcase their talent to thier proud parents. The School, which started with four little girls wanting to be prima ballerinas, celebrates its success and achievements of 25 years in its Silver Jubilee celebrations at this remarkable event.

(Q) What can audiences expect from this year’s ballet concert?

(A)We are expecting Russian Classical Ballet enthusiasts, parents, Diplomats and Ballet critics.

(Q) How does this performances differ from previous productions?

(A) The Russian School is celebrating its 25th anniversary in Sri Lanka, and the teachers have prepared a mesmerizing performance of Russian Classical Ballet to celebrate and to make the occasion memorable

(Q) What are the highlights of the programme?

(A) Over 700 students from age 4 to 45 years will be on one stage showcasing their talents on Russian Classical Ballet who are currently taking lessons at The Russian School of Ballet & Dancing

(Q) What challenges were involved in bringing such a large scale production to the stage?

(A) Training such a large number of students with variation of age is a challenge. We also face a challenge when it comes to accommodate the students in a Theatre in Sri Lanka. We have to perform the same show twice to make amends for that challenge

(Q) The school is celebrating a significant milestones. How has the journey evolved are the past 25 years?

(A) It is a wonderful progress, for a school which initiated with four little girls and standing tall and strong with 700 students maintaining it’s standards by the management, teacher, students and parents support.

(Q) How has interest in ballet grown among Sri Lankan students over the years?

(A) It’s an amazing interest. We are conducting classes from Monday to Saturday, weekdays from 2.00pm to 6.00pm and Saturdays from 8.00am to 6.00pm, with 12 teachers working through the week. We also maintain a waiting list with at least 500 students annually. We have a huge demand for the art of Russian Classical Ballet in Sri Lanka, not only in Colombo, but outstation, too. We can only accommodate the students for Russian Classical Examination annually with the Vaganova syllabus

(Q) What role does Russian ballet training play in shaping young dancers?

(A) The training does not only shape them in dancing and techniques. They also shape the qualities, discipline and talentsof students from their childhood, especially for little girls to become ladies.

(Q) What makes Russian classical ballet unique compared to other dance forms?

(A) Russian Classical Ballet is an old form of dance and which is highly athletic, expressive and strictly disciplined style of Ballet that originated in the 18th century in Russia which is also the most prominent dance form in the world today. We are privileged to be able to learn and share the art form in Sri Lanka through the Cultural Section of The Embassy of Russian Federation in Sri Lanka to the Ballet lovers.

(Q) How does the school contribute to cultural ties between Sri Lanka and Russia?

(A) The school constantly shares it’s knowledge with Sri Lankan ballet lovers and enthusiastic though examinations, concerts, dance recitals, performances and universities. The Russian Cultural Centre in Colombo has brought down Bolshoi Dancers, Russian Classical Ballets. Younust Dancers. Classical Music Performers many times to Sri Lanka since late the1990s.

Over 1500 students annually examined for Russian Classical Ballet graded exams in Sril Lanka under the guidance of Dr Oxana Karnovich.

(Q) How does ballet help bridge cultural boundaries?

(A) Ballet is an universal art which speaks its own language. Ballet connect different cultures, facilitate cross-cultural communication, and foster mutual understanding.

(Q) Are there plans for international collaborations or performances abroad?

(A) Yes. We are already collaborated with the National Ballet Academy in Moscow under the patronage of Dr Oxana Karnovich -Oxana Karnovich of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. Holding the position of Senior Lecturer at the Department of Choreography and the History of Ballet at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, Dr Oxana Karnovich chaired the examinations, while imparting invaluable knowledge and expertise to aspiring dancers as well as our brilliant and growing staff of teachers. Oxana is also an Associate Professor at the Department of Vocal Art and Opera in the Moscow State Institute of Music. With a Ph.D. in Art History and Criticism, her extensive academic background enriches the knowledge and expertise of both our students and teachers, highlighting the dedication to preserve the artistic heritage of ballet.

By Zanita Careem

Life style

Sando: The missing warrior tusker of Ruhuna

Published

5 days ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

In the vast wilderness of southern Sri Lanka, where ancient forests merge with open grasslands and seasonal waterholes sustain an abundance of wildlife, few elephants have captured the imagination of nature lovers quite like Sando (T011).

A giant among giants, Sando is not merely another tusker roaming the forests of Ruhuna. He is a symbol of strength, dominance, resilience and mystery.

For years, his annual movements through the forests, bordering the Yala National Park, were eagerly anticipated by wildlife enthusiasts, safari operators, photographers and conservationists.

His arrival often signalled the beginning of a period of heightened excitement, within the park, where visitors hoped to catch a glimpse of one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic wild elephants.

Today, however, Sando’s whereabouts remain unknown.

His disappearance for nearly three years has sparked concern, speculation and heartbreak among those who have followed his remarkable journey through the wilderness. Yet despite the uncertainty, many refuse to abandon hope that the giant tusker still roams the forests of Ruhuna, hidden deep within landscapes rarely visited by humans.

According to wildlife enthusiast Chamdika Lakmal of Wild Tuskers of Sri Lanka, Sando represents one of the finest examples of Sri Lanka’s remaining wild tuskers.

He told The SundayIsland: “Sando is unlike most elephants we see in the southern region. His physical appearance, stature and confidence make him truly exceptional. Whenever he appeared, people knew they were witnessing a remarkable animal.’’

Sando primarily inhabited Blocks 3 and 4 of the Ruhuna National Park. During his annual musth period, usually between January and March, he undertook a well-documented journey through Buttala, Gonagan Ara and Galge before entering Yala National Park’s Block 1. These movements became familiar to many wildlife observers who followed his seasonal travels, year after year.

The annual migration was more than just a movement from one location to another. It was a dramatic display of nature’s hierarchy. Musth is a period of heightened testosterone levels in bull elephants, making them more aggressive and dominant. During this time, Sando transformed into an even more imposing figure.

Estimated to be between 35 and 45 years old, he was widely regarded as one of the most powerful bulls in the region. His immense size and fearless demeanour ensured that few rivals challenged him directly.

One of the most famous episodes, associated with Sando, involved a confrontation with Gamunu, another legendary tusker of Yala. The encounter reportedly resulted in Gamunu losing one of his tusks, further cementing Sando’s reputation as a dominant force among Sri Lanka’s wild elephants.

For many observers, however, Sando’s appeal extended beyond his strength.

Unlike the typical “Ruhunu Getaw” elephants commonly seen in the southern dry zone, Sando possessed a distinctive physique. His body proportions and overall appearance gave him the look of an ancient war elephant, the kind depicted in historical chronicles carrying kings and warriors into battle.

“Whenever you looked at him, you felt as if you were seeing a living relic from Sri Lanka’s ancient past,” Chamidika said. “He had an extraordinary presence that photographs could never fully capture.”

Sri Lanka’s tuskers are themselves a rarity. Wildlife experts estimate that only a small percentage of the country’s male elephants possess tusks. This makes animals such as Sando particularly valuable from both ecological and cultural perspectives.

Historically, tuskers occupied a special place in Sri Lankan society. They featured prominently in religious ceremonies, royal processions and folklore. Even today, they remain powerful symbols of national heritage.

Their rarity, however, also makes them vulnerable.

Throughout Sri Lanka, wild elephants continue to face numerous threats, including habitat fragmentation, human-elephant conflict, poaching and accidental deaths. Expanding agricultural activities, infrastructure development and increasing human settlements have placed growing pressure on elephant habitats.

For tuskers, the risks can be even greater.

Their ivory makes them attractive targets for poachers, despite strict wildlife protection laws. Across Asia and Africa, ivory poaching has devastated elephant populations, and conservationists remain vigilant against similar threats in Sri Lanka.

These concerns intensified earlier this year when wildlife officials discovered the carcass of a tusker in the Kotiyagala area. The animal’s tusks had reportedly been removed by poachers. News of the discovery spread rapidly among wildlife enthusiasts.

Because Sando had not been seen for such a long period, many feared the worst. Could the carcass belong to the missing giant?

The possibility sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka’s wildlife community.

For many photographers and safari operators who had spent years documenting Sando, the prospect was devastating. Social media platforms were flooded with expressions of concern and calls for further investigations.

Yet the mystery deepened.

A year earlier, skeletal remains, believed to belong to a tusker, had also been discovered near Buttala. Once again, fears emerged that Sando’s fate had finally been uncovered.

However, officials from the Department of Wildlife Conservation later determined that the skull was significantly smaller than what would be expected from an elephant of Sando’s size. The remains, therefore, could not be conclusively linked to the missing tusker.

For conservationists, this finding offered a glimmer of hope.

Despite the absence of confirmed sightings, there have been occasional reports from remote sections of Yala and surrounding forests describing a large tusker bearing a striking resemblance to Sando. None of these observations have been verified, but they continue to fuel optimism among wildlife enthusiasts.

According to Chamidika, history provides reasons to remain hopeful.

“There have been several instances where dominant bulls disappeared from their known ranges for many years before returning unexpectedly. Until there is definitive evidence, we should not assume the worst.”

Indeed, wildlife records contain numerous examples of mature bulls vanishing from familiar territories only to reappear years later.

Such behaviour may be linked to changes in habitat use, competition, food availability or breeding opportunities. Elephants are highly intelligent and adaptable animals capable of travelling vast distances through landscapes that remain inaccessible to people.

As August approaches, anticipation once again builds among those who know Sando’s traditional routes. Reports from Athiliwewa, Pelwatta, Gonagan Ara and Buttala will be monitored closely for any sign of the missing giant.

For now, Sando’s story remains one of Sri Lanka’s most compelling wildlife mysteries.

His disappearance has highlighted not only the challenges facing elephant conservation but also the deep emotional connection many Sri Lankans share with their wildlife.

In an era when biodiversity is under increasing pressure, the fate of a single tusker has become symbolic of a much larger struggle to protect the nation’s natural heritage.

Whether Sando eventually emerges from the forests of Ruhuna or remains forever a mystery, his legacy is already secure. He represents the wild spirit of Sri Lanka’s elephants—powerful, resilient and endlessly captivating.

Until definitive evidence proves otherwise, conservationists, safari guides, photographers and elephant lovers across the country will continue to hope that somewhere in the vast wilderness of the south, the warrior tusker of Ruhuna still walks unseen, carrying with him one of the greatest untold stories of Sri Lanka’s wild places.

By Ifham Nizam