Model jumbo trumpets for BSP contender

MYSURU: In the villages of Chamarajanagar district, where rampaging elephants are not uncommon, children have been thrilled to see one life-size model of a jumbo go through the streets in recent days. The 15-foot-tall mockup elephant, mounted on a goods autorickshaw, has been on election duty, going around with supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate N Shivakumar as they canvass in the district’s Ramasamudra village.
The elephant was created by Harish Kumar S and Nanjundaswamy M, residents of Ramasamudra and students at Sri Ravivarma Art Institute in Chamarapuram, Mysuru.
Nanjundaswamy, who says Harish and he have diplomas in drawing, notes that the model elephant was designed to be mobile so it could be taken even to remote villages. “We have made replicas and tabloids for the education department and came up with a ‘smart class’ concept for the last Dasara procession, so we had some experience when we were given the job of making this model, the BSP party symbol,” he says.
“The task was to come up with a model that was realistic and attractive to the general public,” Nanjundaswamy says.
The duo also had to decide what materials to use for the model and the techniques for the artwork, Harish adds. “We opted to use bamboo sticks for the elephant’s frame,” he says. “We filled and covered the frame with thermocol and sackcloth.”
The duo got electricians to help them install a horn in the trunk of the elephant to mimic a trumpet, he says. “We took around four days to complete the model, which has become an instant hit with the locals, especially students, who rush out to see it when it goes past schools,” Harish adds.
The young artists have done a splendid job, says BSP Mysuru City president M Basavaraju. “The model elephant looks so lifelike that when it trumpets, it seems like the real thing,” he said. “We have taken permission from the authorities to use it for campaigning in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.”