Elephant Parade comes to India

The Elephant parade comes to India. Thank God they decided to have artists and fashion designers and a few corporate houses like Good Earth because the choice of India's artists shows that they have no idea of what do to when it comes to painting a pachyderm. Going by the success of the Elephant Parade in London it is the fashion designers who will set the bells ringing when it is finally auctioned in Mumbai.

On the occasion of World Elephant Day 2017, Elephant Parade will take place in India from November 2017 to March 2018. As part of the 2017 UK India Year of Culture, Elephant Parade India aims to generate vital funds to secure 101 elephant corridors across India, for the endangered Asian elephants who face the risk of displacement through fragmentation of habitat and human disturbances.

Following 21 successful Elephant Parades worldwide, Elephant Parade India has engaged leading Indian artists, fashion designers, design institutes, tribal painters, and celebrities to turn 101 elephant sculptures into unique masterpieces, creating a striking spectacle of color to celebrate one of India's most beloved and endangered animals. The painted elephants will be displayed in herds at prominent cities in India to be photographed, hugged and kissed by admiring audiences as part of what has become recognized as the world's biggest public art event.

After the public displays across the cities, the elephants will then be sold at two high profile auctions in Mumbai and London to raise funds for their endangered wild cousins and their forest homes.

A closer look shows that it is Anita Dongre, Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora , Seema Kohli, Bajju Shyam Prabhakar Pachpute Rupali Patil and the Good Earth team, that have indeed created elephants that have the richness of intent and the aesthetics of design in being a testimony to the power of bringing life to a venture that will create design statements in colours and tones and graphic splendor.

I use the term graphic splendor because sadly speaking, a number of artists chosen did not do justice to the act of painting. A lot of them painted the poor creature like a kitsch ridden inanimate object, not even worthy to be crooned over. The design dictates failed to emulate any grade of interest or intrigue. Perhaps, the best in the juxtaposition of the wildlife intent with an insignia of the culture of caring for the animal

that is on an endangered list in Africa after 100,000 perishing for ivory tusks, is the design by Anita Dongre called Dappu Juju. While Good Earth's Van Vaibhav is a masterpiece of deep interest in Bajju Shyam's tribal notations and textures as well as the brilliant tree of life web of networks and characters of Seema Kohli's vedic compositional patterns.