It is a known fact that man tamed and used animal for work from the olden days. Of all the animals that were used ox, cows, buffaloes are the most important animals dedicated for basic requirements of man.

 He was benefited by using ox for agriculture and cows and buffaloes for breeding purpose. He celebrated Pongal to pay tribute to the mother nature. Pongal is the most important festival of TamilNadu. The festival is filled with vibrant happiness, dance and songs. The specialty of this festival is the bull fight. There isn't anyone who is not awe struck by the magnificent look of the bulls and scared of it. I'm one among them.

Most of my sculptures are based on the images of bull. The reason is its aesthetics and the structure – I could feel the intensity because I come from agriculture family. Bulls are being treated as part of the families and even people worship them as god. The prime example is the Nandhi statue that is seen in thresholds of every Shiva temple. We can also find the images of cow and bull in many cave paintings and in folklore. 

For example, in Kalithogai which was written before 2000 years mentions about bulls. 

தொல்லேற்றுக் கோபஞ்சுவானை

மறுமையும்

புல்லாளே ஆய மகள்

அஞ்சார் கொலை ஏறுகொள்பவர்

அல்லாத

நெஞ்சிலார் தோய்ப்பதற்கு அரிய உயிர்துறந்து

நைவாரா ஆய மகள் தோள்”  

Human started using animals for his needs, he lived with it and then eventually it lead to this sport bull fight.

 It become both cultural and social identity, it has also been celebrated as a sign of bravery. After a certain period of time it became political because of humans and not because of the bulls. It gives me immense joy in sculpting the bulls as per my imaginations. It reminds me of the all the memories I had with the bulls.

 Dear Friends

 I am happy to bring you this engaging show titled " The Eternal Waiting" by  Elanchezhiyan P.

 I first showed Elanchezhiyan's work a few years back . It was a sculpture of a Nandi which was made of bronze by fusing together hundreds of small sculptures to create a temple like form. I was immediately blown away by the technique and decided  to showcase his full body of work. Elanchezhiyan is fascinated by bulls and works extensively on showing them in different forms, styles and movement. For me the show encapsulates the spirit of Nandi which is as a gatekeeper for Lord Shiva and is shown waiting outside and guarding Him and His Abode. This form has a meditative quality and as Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev puts it signifies Eternal Waiting . 

 It has been a pleasure working with Elanchezhiyan who has  put forth this beautiful collection. The wide range of shows is a collectors delight which I am happy to share with you through this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue.

 I hope you will enjoy this holistic collection 

 Cheers 

Anu Bajaj