Painting Elephants

Hindus have worshiped elephants for centuries.  It is not the animal itself that they are worshipping, but rather, what it represents, Ganesh.  Ganesh is the Hindu god that has the head of an elephant. Ganesh is the god of luck, fortune, and protection.

In western cultures an elephant represents power, dignity, royalty, reliability, and pride.

In China an elephant is a symbol of happiness, longevity, and good luck.

Christians say the elephant is a symbol for temperance, patience, and chastity.

Here is why I am telling you about elephants.  Pinky, an 18 year old girl in the Girl2B empowerment program wanted to paint something that my American friends would love, and remind them of the girls in Kolkata we take care of.

She offered to make many paintings of ganesh, so that my friends who are helping me, would have good luck in their home.  If Pinky only realized that my friends already have good luck simply because of where they were born. (but this I did not get into).

I knew Pinky was onto something, but it was not until I stumbled upon these small brown paper mache elephants in Michael’s arts and crafts store that I knew what to do.  I bought over 50 elephants!  Pinky had no idea what she was in  for when she opened her package with all the elephants and brand new paints!  The smile was from ear to ear!  On my last visit to Kolkata she gave me her first trials, one of which is the little red guy in the photo.  Of course she said they were no good, she needed more paints, maybe some neutral colors, more white to mix with the primary colors to make pastels… maybe some glitter to make them sparkle.  This girl is a pure talent!

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Please tell us what you think of the little red elephant, so we can tell Pinky and make her proud.

Namaste

Christine