Elephant Tradition - Handcrafted Lacquered Kadam Wood Elephant Sculpture

"I was born and raised in Jaipur into a family of artists. My friends consider me to be honest, punctual and a workaholic. As a boy, I was good at drawing but was not keen on working with my family until much later.

"Over time I developed my own style through the use of colors, original ideas and, most importantly, my own unique touch. I inherited this art from my parents, especially from my father. He used to wake me up at 4:00 a.m. and made me practice until dark. Today, I am capable enough to teach and guide my own students.

"My art is very much inspired by my parents. In my family, everyone has a role. My father, my brother and their team supervise the creation of wooden handicrafts.

"We use natural materials like organic colors, wood, paper and silk, and everything we make is crafted by hand. Along with my mother, my wife and other team members, I am involved with painting.

"Initially, our sculptures were made from sandalwood but then we switched to kadam wood. We season the wood for six months but sometimes, it takes longer than usual due to weather conditions.

"I want to promote Indian arts around the world so everyone becomes familiar with our culture and talent. I want to help keep our artisans' creativity alive, and my dream is to improve their standard of living. I want people around the world to use India's wonderful crafts in their daily lives.

"And it is with this thought in mind that we also facilitate other artisans to come forward and share their art with us so that we can promote it worldwide.

"We carefully craft our designs by hand, with a lot of patience and attention to detail. Our workshop aims to benefit local community members and empower women, create jobs and improve the quality of life for artisans and their families. We also want to create eco-friendly crafts and improve their durability.

"If you work hard and you can take care of the quality of your products, then there is nothing that can stop you."