Sunder the Beautiful Elephant is a children’s picture book by Seema Vaid, inspired by the true story of Sunder, a baby elephant born in the jungles of Assam, India. Written for children ages 5-9, the book teaches the importance of kindness toward animals, the power of collective compassion, and the belief that every voice – no matter how small – can make a difference.
Why I wrote this book
Sunder came into my life one sunny Sunday morning more than a decade ago. I was browsing through the local newspaper with my 5-year-old son; it had an article about how the famous singer, Sir Paul McCartney, joined the freedom campaign for a temple elephant named Sundar in India. The story had a picture of Sunder, tied up in thick chains. That upset my son; he could not stop thinking about the baby elephant’s suffering, and he started asking questions, to which I had no answers.
I grew up in North India and had never seen an elephant in a temple; it’s a practice found mainly in parts of South India. As a Hindu who was raised worshipping Ganesha, I found this shocking. I wondered how we could treat the living embodiment of Ganesha —elephants — with such cruelty!
I felt something needed to be done to ensure these living Ganeshas are treated with the compassion and respect they deserve. The documentary “Gods in Shackles” by Sangita Iyer strengthened my resolve.
We launched a petition
With my son, I launched a petition for Sunder’s freedom and began collecting signatures. I explored social media to try to connect with people involved with the Free Sunder campaign. Making these connections gave us hope; we realized many more people were speaking up for Sunder. They were writing letters, signing petitions, and reaching out to celebrities, many of whom joined the campaign.
Animal rights organizations became involved as well, and filed a case in the Maharashtra High Court, which ruled that Sunder should be released to a sanctuary. However, Sundar’s owner refused to let him go and appealed to the Supreme Court, which, to the relief of people fighting for Sunder’s freedom, upheld the High Court’s decision. Sundar was ordered to be released to Bannerghatta National Park, Bengaluru.
I vividly remember watching a live video of Sunder stepping into the truck to start his new life – one of freedom from pain and fear. Watching Sunder walk free for the first time filled us with joy; that was the moment I decided that this story of hope and compassion needed to be told.
I became an animal rights advocate
This experience inspired me to advocate for animals and to raise awareness about how we can make mindful choices that are cruelty-free, sustainable, and healthier – all towards a kinder world.
With this vision in mind, I co-founded our non-profit, A Compassionate World (ACW), with Shivakshi Gupta and Suchitra Thapliyal in 2023. Since then, we have been on a journey to inform people on how to make healthier, kinder, and sustainable choices for a compassionate world. We also support animal welfare and rescues through global grassroots-level partner organizations, and empower artisans facing socio-economic challenges to sustain themselves and their families.
Sundar’s story
I started writing Sundar’s story in bits and pieces, but what pushed me to finally complete and publish this book was ACW’s plan to launch our Elephant Freedom Campaign, From Chains to Change, in 2026. This campaign focuses on raising awareness about the plight of captive elephants and inspires people to take action for their freedom.
Sunder’s story serves as an important segment of this campaign to foster compassion in young children. The community response has been wonderful — I look forward to the impact this story will have on future generations.
My son is the reason I believe every child has innate compassion in their heart. He prompted me to take action for Sunder. As president of ‘A Compassionate World’, I urge everyone to make choices that do not cause harm – whether it is the food we eat, the clothes we wear, or the products we buy.
Link to Sunder the Beautiful Elephant
- ASIN : B0H3C23BV8
- Publisher : Independently published
- Publication date : May 29, 2026
- Language : English
- Print length : 26 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8196928857
