South Asia’s Best Friends

Written by Shairose Ukanji • April 2011

Rich stones dangling visibly from the vibrant velvet cloth attached to the elaborately embroidered cushioned seat. This is not the settee of a lavishly furnished Arabic home, but a king’s throne mounted right atop the back of an elephant in the Indian subcontinent nearly three centuries ago.

This huge, yet majestic animal has been the exclusive and preferred carrier for kings in South Asia for many hundreds of years before the luxury of modern and lavish means of transportation arrived. Its size, posture and considerable height complemented the power and authority of the king and symbolized his wealth while its pace replicated an ideal ceremonial arrival of the royal member. The perfect height of the throne always made the king conveniently noticeable to his followers and thus, added to his reverence.

From the mountain ranges of Bhutan and Nepal and the Bay of Bengal to the tourists’ attraction of Sri Lanka and the rich cultural festivities of India and Pakistan, elephants in the region are a part of the landscape. It is said that over half of Asia’s elephants are found in India and thus, the eagerness of getting an adventurous elephant ride remains homogenous to everyone in the entire region regardless of age and country of residence.
In the Indian state of Rajasthan, an entire festival is dedicated to elephants that are bejeweled colorfully and enthrall the audience who come from near and far to see them ramp-walking, doing sports, dancing and participating in other games. This Elephant Festival also marks the spring festival of Holi, popular as the festival of colors. That day of the year, the sound of elephant trumpets echoes across the event’s field and adds vibrancy among the already enchanted audience.

The Elephant Festival is not merely confined to Rajasthan in India but, extends to Nepal as part of a three-day event, which is held with the same fervor. Last year in December, to add to the festival, a beauty pageant was also held to honor the importance of elephants in adventurous jungle safaris. Sauraha of Central Nepal, a famous tourist attraction roared with joy and was brought alive with elephants poised to charm the audiences and be graded by the judges. Amusingly, elephant owners enroll their animals for participation and train them to behave and by painting them in beautiful colors, they try making their animals stand out! The event is indeed, breathtaking!

Moving towards the south, a Sri Lankan wedding is incomplete without the presence of an elephant ornamented to complement the event. The elephant either brings the groom to the wedding venue or carries back the just-married couple. It is commonly practiced in almost all the country’s wedding ceremonies to keep the tradition alive of leaving the two families satisfied with the thought that the couple is off to begin its new life with good wishes and prosperity.

Indeed, elephants are considered to be a symbol of peace, power and wisdom in almost all the South Asian countries. This is to say that royal families belonging to this region, centuries ago had a tradition of owning hundreds of elephants to show off their nobility. As a matter of fact, in the architecture of an Indian temple, it is a common practice to associate and symbolize the lowest slab of the place with an elephant which manifests that the whole architecture will stand upright and strong till eternity. The sacredness comes from worshipping Ganesh, one of the gods in Hinduism that had a human body and the head of an elephant and is believed to bring prosperity and well-being.

It is quite interesting to note that the attributes attached to the animal and its bond with the people of South Asia has proved to be an inspiration for Americans and Europeans and the influence was such that lucky elephant charms and knick knacks have become quite popular all over the world. The best friends of South Asia gradually found their way to be incorporated in the evolving culture of the rest of the world.
South Asia without elephants is nearly inconceivable. It is not merely the ‘elephant safari’ that captivates people’s minds but its presence in their daily lives in the form of sculptures, puppets, decorative items, toys, lamps, coins, swords and every plausible art pieces of use in our living keeps the bond strong. Not just an animal, the elephant is but a ubiquitous aspect of the region’s cultural and religious heritage.