Date: 12th to 15th August 2018
Venue: IGNCA

IGNCA lawns are now hosting some big and beautiful guests. 12th August was World Elephant day. To commemorate these gentle giants, The Wildlife Trust of India and Ministry of Environment have organised Gaj Mahotsav. The focus is to raise awareness about Asiatic elephants. This festival showcases more than 100 extremely artistic installations of elephants. In addition, there are paintings by renowned painters like Jatin Das and Paresh Maity, stunning photographs and elephant themed merchandise. In fact we found some handloom stalls as well. There is also a small food court.

But it is the beautiful installations that blew our mind away. The moment we stepped on IGNCA lawns, we were amidst herds of elephants made of clay, string, wood, metal and so on. In fact, some of these elephant sculptures are contemporary pieces, made of computer junk or discarded plastic bottles and there are others that carry traditional art forms like Madhubani, covered with hand-woven pieces of Ikkat or are totally abstract. And thankfully they did not go overboard with the Ganesh theme.

A cultural programme has also been organised  at the event. When we went, kids from Salaam Baalak Trust were performing a dance piece showing struggle between man and animal. This piece was choreographed by contemporary dance maestro Astad Daboo. Other renowned artists such as dancer Mallika Sarabhai, composer Ricky Kej and others are also scheduled to perform. The show stopper performance is by the band Euphoria on 15^th August, 2018.

Gaj Mahotsav is a first that attempts to create awareness about India’s national heritage animal. Hundreds of elephants are killed in accidents every year and the event sensitizes us on these gentle giants. The sheer artistry – all out in the open – is a cathartic experience. The event is on from 12^th to 15^th August , 2018 and is free for all. Ample parking is available inside IGNCA, the entry is from Gate 3. Gaj Mahotsav is a real Fun-Do this Independence Day season.