A different fair

NEW DELHI: An animal fair with no elephants, camels or buffaloes stomping around? That''s right. You''ll find these animals and more, but on T-shirts, toys, candles, food, jewellery and paintings. The five-day fest organised by People for Animal is a fundraiser hoping to tap a growing awareness that animals must be protected.
The same awareness saw Art for Wildlife hold an art camp with British artist David Shepherd and Indian celebrities Anjolie Ela Menon, Manjit Bawa, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Bulbul Sharma and the Kundus.The same drive inspires Shudh, the first vegetarian restaurant "to promote Ahimsa." What explains this spurt in animal activism?
"Wildlife has become fashionable," says Shepherd. "People are getting more civilised," says Maneka Gandhi. "But politicians, bureaucrats, and MNCs need to be educated on the need to protect animals," they say. Shepherd had kick started Project Tiger with 127,000 pounds raised through his paintings in 1973. "The tigers then numbered 2000. The project raised awareness but it''s crashing again. After peaking up to 12,000 they''re down to 3,500 worldwide."
Tigers are not the only ones: elephants, rhinos and gorillas are endangered too, warns Shepherd.
Maneka Gandhi said, "because our rural economy is dependent on them and 70 per cent of rural bankruptcy is because these animals are dying."
And why the crusade for vegetarianism? "Because it takes 10 kilos of grain to make one kilo of meat. Because it takes 2.5 acres of land to feed one goat which is then exported for a mere Rs 250."