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Brown in America

Leo v/s Kalaripayat: Advantage Leo

By: Santosh :+: Under: Brown in America, Uber Malarial Videos
On: ⋅ March 21, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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Check out what happens to this desi lady during a photo shoot with a lion at a zoo in Canada. [link]

Gitanjali Kolanad, 54, is a teacher of the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayat. For a recent issue of Desi Life magazine someone came up with the brilliant idea of having her pose with a lion.

“I thought, ‘Sure – Photoshop,’” Kolanad recalled. When she understood better, she was excited, she said, and an appointment was made with “Leo” for Feb. 20.

I guess someone at Desi Life or the zoo forgot to check the lion’s Google Calendar because the lion thought it was a play date.

But from the beginning, the 180 kilogram beast proved playful and not entirely under the control of its two minders.
A video of the session shows the beast first knocking over editor Sonia Verma. She picks herself up and smiles. It next paws the legs of photographer Richard Lautens. Off-camera, it also took a swipe at the legs of art director Spencer Wynn.

The crew still proceeded with the shoot and as Gitanjali Kolanad started her photo session, the lion lunged for her.

The 3-year-old lion was lying nearby when Kolanad began her movements. Apparently still wanting to frolic, the animal jumped up and fell on her, knocking the wind out of her, bruising her left lung and breaking four left ribs.

Mind you, even at this stage, the lion was playing, not attacking her.

It was not an attack, the witnesses said. The lion’s mouth was not open and Kolanad was not scratched.

The crew and zoo staff tried to rescue her but the lion would not let go of his new playmate without putting up a fight.

In the video, one minder kicks the beast in the neck while the other pulls on a leash. The lion takes a second, unsuccessful lunge at Kolanad as she lies gasping, before it is escorted out the door.

Despite a bloodied lung and broken ribs, Gitanjali Kolanad feels lucky to be alive today. We concur with her and announce an early nominee for the newly instituted Über Desi Darwin Awards.

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