In June 2007, I undertook an arduous and extensive artistic expedition into the high altitude core region of the Ganges Himalayas with a small team consisting of my wife, Deanna, a close friend, Ashleigh DeVito; and a fellow SAA artist member, Kelly Dodge.

I had been awarded the coveted Artists for Conserva-tion Flag Expedition Grant #2. The focus of my expedition was to study and evaluate the core region of the Himalayan source of the Ganges River, from an artistic point of view.

Beginning in late May we worked our way up & down all 4 of the major tributaries of the Ganges, from the outer elephant forests to the high altitude glaciers. We started in Haridwar where we explored the sprawling Rajaji National Park. That is where we met Arundhati, India’s most famous elephant.

It may seem odd that an elephant would have a “star-like” reputation. But she was not an ordinary elephant. She was quite large, about 80 years old... and she was still working!

The ancient traditions of India’s elephant culture evolved around unique relationships between elephants and their handlers (mouhuts). In many instances young el-ephants are matched with young mouhuts. and they grow up together forming life-long bonds. Arundhati was just such an elephant.

She was famous because of her long association with this sanctuary and the fact that over the decades she had carried literally thousands of visitors into the park; includ-ing world-famous dignitaries, nobility, movie stars, prime ministers, presidents, and tour-ists from around the world. While working in Rajaji, we had the opportunity to explore the sanctuary on the back of this most celebrated of India’s elephants... Arundhati.

I spent time sketching Arundhati, her mouhut, and taking reference photos of her for future paintings. A couple months later I was saddened to hear of her sudden death. She had slipped down a muddy creek embankment, fracturing one of her front

legs beyond repair, legs that I had so recently spent time sketching.

News of her life-threatening accident spread across India in mere minutes. I was astounded to see just how famous and revered Arundhati was.

There were literally hundreds of articles and news reports from sources all over India heralding the sad news of her injury. Thousands of people in the region flocked to Rajaji to try and catch a glimpse of her before she died. At first there was a huge effort put into trying to save her by somehow

fixing her leg.But the fracture was

so bad that it soon became evident that she would have to be “put down”. Then, a huge problem developed because they could not find enough quantity of the right kind of drug to

put an elephant as big as Arundhati to sleep. Anguished wildlife conservation experts as well as animal rights groups struggled with the logistics and the acquisition of the lethal drugs. But most of all they were concerned for her ongoing ex-treme pain & suffering. It quickly became a “National Tragedy” in India.

However, during the last night of her life, only a few hours before they were to inject her with a lethal dose, she saved them the anguish of doing so... by dying herself. And fittingly, her funeral was a huge affair with the pomp & ceremony and deep sadness reserved for dignitaries with 2 legs.

I dedicated a number of pages to Arundhati in my Flag Ex-pedition Artist Journal. This painting at the upper left is the very first of several watercolors I will paint to commemorate this famous Elephant Queen of the Indian Jungles. I wanted to depict Arundhati in all her glory, once again with her mouhut on her back, walking along the banks of the Ganges River in the warmth of India’s morning light.

Arundhati, India’s “Elephant Queen” Dies! October 3, 2007

Arundhati at the Ganges, Rajaji 2007 / by David RankinDavid Rankin and his team on Arundhati

in Rajaji National Park, 2007

Photo by Kelly Dodge