That came to pass once upon a time in this country. There lived a king whose queen was saddened all the time. That was simply because they did not have children. The kingdom had no heir. In the meanwhile, the countrymen were getting ready to celebrate the fifth wedding anniversary of the royal couple. Preparations were ready to celebrate the event on a grand scale.

 

One dancing troupe was journeying across a forest, with its drunken chief. This drunken chief stirred the wrath of the wild elephants, who in turn assaulted the whole troupe. While everyone ran amok, one mother fainted with her child trapped in a basket. While the wild elephants were retreating, the child gave a cry. One female elephant grew fond of the child. So she carried the basket with the child on her shoulder and made way into the forest.

 

That forest was home to an ascetic and a Veddah family too. The female elephant had a calf too. The human child grew up with the elephant calf. The ascetic taught him the letters and martial arts, while the Veddah family observed all this from afar.

 

Ascetic named the elephant calf as Raju and the child as Bhanu.

 

Since they both get to grow up in an isolated environment, they develop a mutual understanding. In the meanwhile, the childless queen is getting ready to leave the palace. The ministers advise her to adopt a child. The queen approaches Alimandava Kovil, a sacred site reserved for ladies, as a last resort. What would the queen, flanked by her assistants, get to see on her way to the kovil located in the forest? Bhanu who takes a bath in the river with his elephant sibling. But suddenly they disappear. The queen develops affection for Bhanu at the very first sight. She goes back to the palace, and cries for Bhanu.

 

The king seeks assistance from the Veddah family to locate Bhanu. The ascetic smells what the Veddah family and the royal courtiers are up to, and tries to rescue Bhanu and Raju from them.

 

Will the courtiers be able to abduct Bhanu?

 

Will the friendship between Bhanu and Raju come to a halt?

 

Will the other elephants let Bhanu and Raju alone?

 

You will come to know the rest of the story, as Professor Sunil Ariyaratne will release his latest film Ali Kathava in the near future. The script based on a story by Leticia Botheju of Ganga Addara fame, the film will encourage the younger generation to admire the wildlife.