With an aim to raise awareness about the shrinking space for wild elephants in the country, a four-day ‘Gaj Mahotsav’ featuring 101 life-sized jumbos art installations among other aspect of the national heritage animal will be held in the national Capital next month.
The first edition of the fest will be organised by wildlife conservation NGO, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), with the Environment Ministry, to be precise from August 12 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) here.
Apart from 101 life sized elephant art pieces representing as many elephant corridors of India, the four-day event will also see dance and music performances by artists such as Mallika Sarabhai and Astad Deboo, films and talks by filmmakers Mike Pandey and Krishnendu Bose, an exhibition of elephant-themed art and photographs curated by Ina Puri and Alka Pande.
Vivek Menon, Executive Director and CEO-Wildlife Trust of India, called for urgent need to protect "our biggest national treasure".
India has a little over 27,000 wild Asian elephants, about 55 per cent of the species' estimated global population.
Yet these natural nomads face an increasingly uncertain future in the country due to growing human population and depleting areas available for elephants to roam, said Atul Bagai, Head, UN Environment, India Country office.