When Salvador Dali asked for a baby elephant from Air India

The Spanish artist had designed a small, unglazed porcelain ashtray for Air India's select few passengers

Hyderabad: From flying passengers in all luxury to facing tough competition and financial struggles, India’s oldest airline Air India has seen it all.

Between 1950 and 1980, Air India was known for its luxurious fleet, cabins, on-board services and inflight dining. Its air hostesses were dressed in style, the First Class passengers were received by people dressed as Maharajas, and the ashtrays, which were presented to a select few clients, were designed by the founding father of Surrealism, Salvador Dali.

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Air India’s deal with Salvador Dali had an interesting story behind it.

Air India’s then public relations officer Jot Singh met the Spanish artist in New York City in 1967 and asked him to create something special for the carrier.

So, Dali designed a small, unglazed porcelain ashtray.  The ashtray was composed of a shell-shaped centre with a serpent twined around its perimeter. It was supported by two surrealist elephant-heads and a swan. These supports are based on Dali´s double-image effect.

The reflection of an elephant’s head looks like a swan and the reflection of a swan appears to be an elephant. So, the swan upside-down becomes an elephant’s head and the elephant inverted – a swan.

It was the first time that an artist of such stature had designed an art object for any airline. While the exact number of ashtrays designed for Air India is not known, some claim it to be around 500.

As part of payment, Dali asked Air India for a baby elephant. This did not come as a surprise as the artist’s pet companions, which were also the subjects of his marvellous artworks, were doves, anteaters, lobsters, rhinos and so on.

Some of his pets also used to accompany him to social gatherings. He was even photographed while walking with an anteater in Paris!

Air India flew a two-year-old elephant along with a keeper and an astrologer to Dalí’s house in Cadaques, Spain, where a grand ceremony, including a parade, was held for three days to welcome the baby elephant. The elephant stayed with Dali till it grew large and was then sent to Barcelona Zoo in 1971.

The ashtray became a piece of Air India’s luxurious history.