Air India Travel Poster Elephant – Vintage India Airline Poster

Air India Travel Poster Elephant – Vintage India Airline Poster A delightful vintage travel poster promoting tourism to India. It features the Air-India Maharajah mascot that has been featured in many posters for the Air-India Airline company. Probably created in the 1950s and possibly by the artists Bobby Kooka and Umesh Rao who were responsible for a great many Air India Maharajah travel posters. This Air India Travel Poster sets the large sacred grey elephant against a bright yellow background. In Hindu culture the elephant represents strength, power, wisdom and divinity. At celebrations and festivals, many owners proudly embellish their elephants with vibrant colours, jhools, heavy jewellery and anklets. Highly decorative head-plates are worn on the elephant’s foreheads and their tusks are garnished with gold, and silver bracelets and rings. The elephant in the poster is rather more plainly decorated. It is wearing a green, red and purple patterned jhool. The famous Indian Maharajah in his red military jacket and red and white striped turban is sitting inside a houdah positioned on top of the camel’s back. A mahout or elephant trainer is happily controlling the direction the elephant is moving in. A large green car has pulled alongside the animal and the Air France mascot is lowering a rope ladder that the car driver is pictured reaching for. It would appear that the young woman driving the car is about to make some kind of James Bond move and board the elephant and join the beckoning Maharajah for the trip. The elephant – a sacred Hindu animal. Over 80 percent of Indians are Hindus and almost all believe that every living being is a sign of God and God can be found in it. Of all the animals the elephant is considered the most sacred. It is believed to be the living incarnation of one of their most important gods: Ganesh, an elephant-headed deity who rides atop a tiny mouse. Hindu scholars teach that each part of the deity has a symbolic function. Ganeshi’s head symbolises knowledge and wisdom, its ears signify patience to listen carefully, while its small eyes can see the future and recognise truth. Its trunk has the power to sniff out good and bad and its belly is thought to be able to digest the best and worst in life. Also, the tiny mouse upon which Ganesh rides symbolises the ability to move quickly and decisively in situations. Other Vintage India Travel Posters H