My fascination with elephants goes back a long way, possibly because of the frequent sighting of these animals in South Indian temples, which I used to visit as a child, during my annual vacation trips with my family. Their size, demeanour and the calm eyes make them look so majestic. It is not a wonder that historically, kings used to ride elephants because you get to ride above all. Over time, elephants also became synonymous with royalty. 

Culturally in India, elephants are a symbol of intellectual strength, and sturdy earthy mental strength. It is a sacred animal and is considered the representation or the living incarnation of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity. It is the most important of all gods who is invoked before any other gods. Asian regions like India and China have dense mythologies which are packed with rich symbolism and multi-layered depictions of various elements of nature. Elephants have been a part of their civilizations for a long time. 

Elephants, in general, symbolize the qualities of wisdom, strength, courage, longevity, patience, honour, and stature. 

They are the largest amongst land animals and the African species can weigh upto 6500kg.One of its unique physical attributes is the presence of a trunk. It is used for grasping, breathing, feeding, dusting, smelling, drinking, lifting, sound production/ communication, defense/ protection and sensing.

Their ears serve like a inbuilt radiator and its function is to cool the blood. Interestingly, the size of elephant ears is proportionate to its geographic distribution. The closer to the equator the elephant resides, the larger the ears, allowing more heat to dissipate from the body. African elephants live closest to the equator and have the largest ears, followed by the Asian elephants.