Grammy-Winning Musician Ricky Kej today released a music video highlighting the plight of elephants while kicking off a 'Save India's Elephants' online campaign on the World Elephant Day.
The campaign seeks legal protection to elephant corridors.
Drawing inspiration from the song "Kudrat" from his music album Shanti Samsara, which features lyrics celebrating man's relationship with nature from many of the world's spiritual traditions, Kej said he has collaborated with multi-award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker Amoghavarsha to document and make the video on the excruciating experience of capturing, relocation and domestication of elephants.
Amoghavarsha said the video documents the capture and relocation of a herd of wild elephants with heart-wrenching music score by Kej and beautiful rendition of singer Hariharan.
"A capture may sound like a logical solution, but the ultimate impact on the animal is gruesome. At what cost is this a solution?" asked Amoghavarsha.
In his online petition, Kej has appealed to the government to improve forest cover in the elephant corridor, prevent and evict encroachments.
The government should also discourage elephants being used in temples, he added.
Noting that elephants have played an important cultural role throughout India's history, Kej, a wildlife conservationist said, protection of the species is of paramount importance for the Indian government, as human and elephant conflicts are on the rise.
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