 "Maharaja")
Think Air India, and almost always the first thing that comes to mind is the portly Maharaja — complete with his yellow and red striped turban and oversized moustache.
Originally designed for an in-flight memo pad, the Maharaja went on to become the mascot of the airline. Created in 1946 by Bobby Kooka, the then creative director of Air India, the Maharaja — in his late 70s now — may well be bowing out.
As Air India started flying to virtually every country on the globe, the Maharaja too became a globetrotter. Ads featuring him buying carpets in West Asia, climbing the Swiss Alps or breaking into a traditional Thai dance in Bangkok came to be loved by fliers. The Maharaja is one of the most iconic mascots in the country.
“The Maharaja was created at a time when the airline had a very small marketing budget. He soon became synonymous with Air India, so much so that any announcement by the airline came in the way of the Maharaja speaking…he became the airline’s mouthpiece,” says Jitender Bharagava, former executive director, Air India, and author of the book, The Descent of Air India.
The mascot was an important character in the Air India story, as the airline competed with plush international airlines.
“There was a time when Air India was one of the most luxurious airlines and the Maharaja signified a kind of pampering luxury that the airline provided,” says Santosh Desai, MD and CEO, Futurebrands India.
But over a period of time, Air India lost that lustre.
Founded in 1948, Air India was soon nationalised in 1953, giving way to Air India-International and Indian Airlines operating on domestic routes. The entities remained under the chairmanship of JRD Tata till 1978. And thus began the turbulent times. With the civil aviation ministry appointing officials to run the airlines in the 1980s, things took a turn for the worse. In 2007, with the merger of AI and Indian Airlines, the entity became a loss-making venture.
It was in 2022 that the airline got a second lease of life as it went “back home” to the Tatas. Now, as the company tries to revamp the brand, the Maharaja is almost a relic of the past.
“People want luxury, and not necessarily the way maharajas used to have it. The younger generation does not relate to the mascot anymore. As Air India becomes more aspirational, it is necessary to create a new identity that people can relate to and trust,” says Bhargava.
The role of the Maharaja has also been minimal lately, Bhargava points out.
“Even when Landor Associates redid the airline’s corporate identity in 1989, they too suggested doing away with the Maharaja, because you have got to move with the times,” he adds.
Says Desai, “The world today has become much more democratised and the idea of maharaja as a mascot may not be appropriate. Airlines today can hardly provide a unique experience anymore; it is pretty uniform across the board. The Maharaja’s luxurious experience would be an overclaim in today’s times.”
He adds that the Maharaja is also reminiscent of a faded grandeur of a past that we longer have and so it makes sense to retire him.
Bhargava agrees. “The last 20 years of the airline’s journey do not spell trust and why would a company that has serious plans for its future want people to be reminded of that history?”
