Paintings by Phoolkali in the exhibition in New Delhi
The national capital is home to a unique exhibition this month: the 'Padchin' series, a collaboration between Singapore-based painter Alpana Ahuja and Phoolkali, an elephant.
Phoolkali faced torture and abuse for 40 years in the hands of poachers after she was taken away as a calf. She was being employed as a 'baraat' elephant, or one used in marriage processions, when she was rescued by Wildlife SOS, India, an NGO.
Phoolkali was chosen of all elephants owing to her fine temperament and her weakness for treats. However, she was not the same when she was brought in.
"When she came in, she was very wild, she was crazy about human beings, she had no trust on them. She didn't think people could be kind at all, but it took us a lot of time to recondition her to understand that people could be kind," says Kartick Satyanarayan, co- founder of the NGO.
Alpana was working on the Wildlife SOS calendar when the NGO suggested that she do elephant footprints.
"I thought that was a great idea. My condition was I would do everything myself. So, I had to go down to Agra, and I bonded with Phoolkali, and I spent time with her, and I fed her treats. I realized how beautiful and gentle she is," recalls Alpana.
The exhibition is drawing a lot of attention and Babita Gupta, owner of the art gallery, is all smiles.
"I think everybody's overwhelmed, they had never thought something like this could be done," said Babita.
The proceeds of the 'Padchin' series will go towards conservation and contribute to the rescue of more abused elephants like Phoolkali.