As a musician, it’s Ricky Kej ’s life purpose to ensure that his music acts as a catalyst for change. The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, who works extensively for climate change, feels strongly for the protection of the elephant. On World Elephant Day today, he tells us why his songs on the animal are close to his heart.
“My aim is to change behaviours with the emotional language of music, when it comes to sensitising ourselves to the elephants. Nowadays, when kids think about an elephant, they largely think about it in a zoo, or in a circus, or performing tricks or painting on a canvas, or throwing balls up in the air, or giving a joyride, etc. But it’s rare to have a child think about an elephant in a forest, which is wrong.
We need to educate our children and make them understand that an elephant is a wild animal and it belongs in the forest. That’s what I try to do through my music,” says the three-time Grammy winner, whose songs Kudrat and Elephant Bath are on elephants. Sharing how the tracks came about, Ricky Kej tells us, “My song Kudrat from the album Shanti Samsara was released at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015 and the song is very close to my heart because I made it after a small excursion in the forest with a wildlife filmmaker friend.
He taught me everything about the human and elephant conflict. We met villagers who live in the forests and forest officers and spoke about the effects of human encroachment of the forest land and how elephants also move into human settlement, creating a war-like situation between humans and elephants. Inspired by all that, I created Kudrat and I play it at every concert.
Elephant Bath was created for a film called Wild Karnataka by Sir David Attenborough. The song was picturised on a family of elephants having a bath and having fun. I composed the music for the film and it won two National Film Awards.
” Kej feels that it’s imperative for us to protect the elephant, as the animal is integral to our ecosystem. “There’s a misconception that since the elephant is the largest walking mammal, it doesn’t need protection. But the fact is that since it is the largest walking mammal, it is the most vulnerable and needs to be protected.
Elephants are extremely important for our ecosystem. Studies from many decades have shown that the number of elephants are directly proportional to the health of a forest. They help in dispersing seeds and planting trees, so they also play a role in combating the effects of climate change.
It’s also said that watering holes that are used by various animals are created by elephants. So, the more we study about elephants, the more we realise their importance. So if their number comes down, it will directly impact human life and sustainability,” he ends.
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