Parade of the Painted Elephants

Tourists are now king, and so at the Elephant Festival in Jaipur, Rajasthan, instead of pomp there are elephant polo, elephant tug-of-war, and an elephant beauty contest. The participants in the festival are working animals, which spend most days ferrying tourists up to the Amber Palace, a historic site above the city that attracts visitors from all over the world.

For the annual festival the elephants are garbed in their finest costumes.

The elephant has long been revered by Indians. And that has “helped massively” to protect them, says Rachel Dwyer, a British scholar researching the cultural history of Indian elephants. “India’s elephants have survived in larger numbers than other elephants in Asia.”

But the animals face an uncertain future. An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 elephants are held in captivity, and according to Suparna Baksi Ganguly, a former member of India’s Task Force on Elephants, “almost all are part of the huge illegal trafficking in wildlife.” Some steps have been taken to improve their welfare. The elephants photographed here dwell in Hathi Gaon, a village near the Amber Palace designed specifically for elephants and their mahouts.

“Tradition has no meaning if it results in suffering and exploitation,” says Ganguly, yet “all Indians, culturally, have love, respect, and great devotion for the elephant.”

” The elephant-headed god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, is invoked before every new endeavor. Elephants add to the aura of temples and bestow blessings on the devoted. Beautiful women are said to walk with an elephant’s gait.

Thank you Inda for posting. I saw this actually in National Geographic and I am happy to see it on Givnology.

The Elephant Festival is an annual event held every year at Jaipur the capital city of Rajasthan. The Elephant Festival Jaipur is organised according to the Indian calendar on the full moon day of Phalgun Purnima (February/March), this day also coincides with day of Holika Dahan, just a day before Dulendhi, when the Indian festival of colour and joy Holi is celebrated all over India turning cities and towns into a riot of colour, fun and frolic.If you are planning to visit India, are slightly adventurous and keen to experience and explore various aspects of India, this could indeed be a perfect time. The weather is balmy and the light good for photography.

http://elephantfestivaljaipur.com/

Thank you for the post Inda.
At least these elephants are cared for.

The gentle magnificence of elephants has long held a special place in Indian society. One of the most recognized gods in the Hindu pantheon is, after all, Ganesh – a deity with an elephant's head – and Hindu mythology also includes the divine elephant Airavata (sometimes depicted with five heads) who carried Indra, king of the gods. It's hardly surprising, then, that elephants became symbols of royalty in Indian culture and that the animal is associated with a number of different festivals.

Read more at http://www.environmentalgraffi...#hp9uhZBC6CYQprao.99

Nice post.

Thank you Inda, yoko and Vicky.

Love,
Sue

Thank you for the post.
At least these elephants are cared for.

Sincerely,
Gisele

You are right Gisele.
At least these elephants are protected and cared for.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you girls for your replies; and you are right, at least these elephants are cared for.

Love, Inda

Greeeeeat! Uhm.. is this a painted elephant? he he..

You are really funny Teo.

Its a great photo, this is what mostly the attraction here where many people coming to take pictures with this colorful elephant.


___________________
Regards
Jamie of http://www.amandabarkerphoto.c...orn-photography.html

Thank you Jamiefraser.

These specific elephants are happily well cared for.
These animals are loved by their people; for this reason it is nice to see these animals taking part in the parade.