From Nilgiri Hills to New York

One Hundred Beautiful Elephants and Sabyasachi too!

Who would have thought that on one fine morning in Manhattan you would meet a herd of 100 Indian elephants from the Nilgiris – and noted designer Sabyasachi too! This was the first day of the fabulous public art event – The Great Elephant Migration- which is taking place across the US, starting here in New York. The idea behind the whole effort is a wonderful one about sustainability and the coexistence of humans and animals.

The Great Elephant Migration event in the Meatpacking District featured 100 life-size elephants made from invasive lantana wood, aiming to raise awareness about coexistence between humans and wildlife. The elephants, each representing a real wild elephant, were created by 200 indigenous artisans from the Nilgiri Hills in India. The project aims to raise $10 million for conservation NGOs. Notable attendees included Binaya Pradhan, Consul General of India,  Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President and New York City Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Chair of the Committee on Parks & Recreation.  

The event highlighted the importance of public space and community involvement in promoting environmental awareness. There were dancers and drummers and the community partook in a beautiful blessing ritual where petals were showered on the elephants.

This unique event is a collaboration between The Coexistence Collective, Elephant Family USA and Management Association (Meatpacking BID) and can be seen from September 6 through October 20, 2024 before the elephants move on to their next destination to spread their message. The concept is quite ingenious: Lantara is a shrub which is toxic to animals and to the growth of produce, and so by removing it, the land is being freed for agriculture and for animals to live peacefully. Instead of filling up landfills, it is actually creating a thing of beauty for the world and sustenance for the lowest income people

As Ruth Ganesh, co-founder of the Co-Existence Collective noted, “So these elephants are telling that story. And the vision is this, we’re going to migrate this 100-strong herd of elephants from the East Coast to the West. It is going to take one year and one month. It is 3500 miles in length. Every single elephant is for sale. We plan to sell the herd 10 times over and raise ten million for all sorts of conservation NGOs that are helping humans overlap with different animals.”

Dr. Tarsh Thekaekara, Coexistence Collective Co-Founder, who has lived in close proximity to the real elephants said, “So in making these elephants, we are actually healing the forest and restoring it and improving the health to allow native biodiversity and vegetation to come back and for the animals to have a better home. And it’s amazing that the elephants are able to start in this iconic location as they travel around the US, and then hopefully the world in sharing this message of coexistence from the people, the indigenous people of the Nilgiri Hills, to the whole world.”

Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee whose gorgeous store is on Christopher Street has an elephant right outside his store and is an ardent supporter of the project. He says, “I was just sitting here and thinking that this is so fitting. From  one of the greatest countries in the world to arguably the most important and the greatest city in the world, from India to New York, the elephants have come a long way and in India, we celebrate unity and diversity. India and New York are very similar, because, you see, there is so much of diversity in the city, but there’s so much of beautiful unity.”

He added, “And also, don’t forget that you belong to  one of the most important and one of the most influential cities in the world. So open up your Facebook accounts, open up your Instagram accounts. Make the elephants go viral! Help us create dignity and coexistence within India by raising funds and Ruth, I’m sure all of us will work very hard to make sure that you get your 10 million many, many times over!”

So on this day, the community had gathered to welcome the elephants into the American hotpot of New York.  For a full month animals and humans will be living together in their daily activities, because these noble elephants will become very much a part of the regular push and pull of life in the Meatpacking district. Take your family to see them before they are all gone! More details at