Going the whole elephant

“What is the most appropriate way of describing you,” I ask Waris Ahluwalia, as we sip coffee together one morning. “Are you Indian, American, American-Indian or American of Indian origin?” His off-the-cuff response has us both smiling, “Why not just an interesting man, or a mysterious gentleman? Isn’t that a great way of describing me?”

That does set the tone for a conversation with the talented, multidimensional artist — Ahluwalia draws his identity from the plethora of roles that he plays in life. He is an actor, previously seen in two Wes Anderson films The Darjeeling Limited and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Here in the private confines of ITC Maurya’s Summit Lounge in Delhi, I manage to spend a morning catching up with him, during his fleeting — and almost under-the-radar— trip to India. Expanding on his mixed-identity, Ahluwalia, dressed simply in a denim shirt, loose trousers and sandals, tells me, “When I started House of Waris and I had a jewellery line, people called it ‘Sikh jewellery’ and I wondered what my religion had to do with anything. What is Sikh jewellery anyway? Religion never comes up with any other designers or actors, so why me? I find it funny but I’ve learnt to deal with it. People love to put other people in boxes. It’s easier for them when you are, say, a banker or a doctor or a New Yorker. However, I exist in a world that doesn’t have a framework, a world that I have created for myself with no borders. I consider myself as American as I am Indian. I am 100 per cent Indian and American. It doesn’t have to be one at the cost of the other. There is no identity crisis to note here.” Ahluwalia has run into spots of trouble before, and faced discrimination for his Sikh identity. Last year in February 2016, he was stopped from boarding an Aero Mexico flight to New York City. The security had asked him to remove his turban, which he had refused to do. Ahluwalia took to Twitter to point this out, citing how this wasn’t the first time he had been discriminated against, and that to ask a Sikh man to take off his turban is akin to asking him to undress. Ahluwalia is an icon for brown pride in the Indian diaspora. However, this time, he visited India with a different cause in mind.

One for the elephants A quick look at Ahluwalia’s Instagram timeline tells you what he’s been up to in India this time. If the images, that are unmistakably “hipster chic”, are anything to go by, he seems to have had a fun time. He is fresh on the heels of an epic rally through Rajasthan — riding through the most nondescript parts of the desert State, covering 500 km on traditional chagda bikes, part of the Travels To My Elephant India 2017 initiative to raise funds for elephant conservation. “There were about 85 of us from around the world, and a sense of anticipation about the vehicles and the journey. Most people had never seen chagdas before, it was straight out of a movie. I also drove a vintage Jeep and it was a real adventure. I don’t drive a six-shift in the US, I drive an automatic. I have a lot of respect for chagda (custom-made local bike) drivers. More interestingly, we were not on closed streets or a race course, I drove through real functioning streets, in the middle of nowhere, with trucks, rickshaws, bicycles, cows, people, camels and the works. It was as authentic a perspective of India as you can get, ” said the prolific designer, 42, who has collaborated with the likes of Gap and The Kooples, and whose “it-boy” title follows him wherever he goes. Ahluwalia’s decade-long patronage of UK-based NGO, The Elephant Family is well-known and this rally through Rajasthan is one of its flagship initiatives. Travels to My Elephant is held in India to highlight the plight of Asian elephants and the need to protect elephant corridors here. It is an annual event organised by The Elephant Family and the Quintessentially Foundation, hospitality group The Luxury Collection and ITC Hotels. Ahluwalia counts himself in as someone who is passionate about conservation. In partnership with The Elephant Family, he has been working to save elephants across the globe by promoting elephant corridors and partnering with an international network of conservation specialists and local experts. The 2017 India tour attracted a host of famous participants from the business community.

Not the traditional NRI Coming back to India as a tourist or as the quintessential NRI, may lend a new perspective of India, but not necessarily one that Ahluwalia aspires to be, “Driving in India was never on my list of things to do but I’ve done it. I got to see the land where I was born in a whole new way and it will remain with me as a memorable experience. I never wanted to have what they call the “traditional” NRI relationship with India. I don’t want to just visit the country, see a few sights, visit family and end it there. I am always looking for a more profound relationship. I mean this is who I am. Look at me (points to his turban and beard), I can’t hide my Indianness, and I don’t want to.”

What, then, explains this need to forge a new, profound link to India? And how does he tie it up to the larger picture, of his involvement in elephant conservation? “I am here out of a sense of responsibility and duty to myself and to the country I was born in, and the world I live in. I don’t want to live in a world where eventually when I have children, they see elephants in picture books and I have to tell them that they don’t exist anymore.”

While this rally charted a course through the entrails of rural India, with 85 patrons, there was a visible absence of Indian participants, a fact that Ahluwalia laments about. He is worried that India doesn’t take conservation seriously till now, even though the adverse effects of climate change are already becoming hard to ignore in the country. He feels that the industry needs to pitch in more to do their bit to conserve the diversity of our environment. “It’s ironic that people from other countries are here to save the Asian elephant, and care about India’s environment. India’s strength is its nature, not its palaces and mahals. If we lose this, we lose India. To not see more Indians in this rally is a missed opportunity and a slight embarrassment.”

Responsible luxury: The future Ahluwalia believes that a conscience and luxury can coexist, and luxury need not be harmful for the environment. He proffered some insights on responsible luxury. “I feel that it is a marvellous trend that has come about, one that needs to be encouraged. The feeling of joy that you can get from your luxury experience is enhanced when you know you’re on a mission to do good and it makes everything taste sweeter. Leave the guilt at home. Business has to be about people and what drives them. And of course, connecting with the right, like-minded partners in a positive environment is of utmost importance.”

Ultimately, it all boils down to celebrating life, “Doing good should also have a celebratory tone, in my opinion. I know I am here in India to do my bit to protect the elephant and nature. But I am also acknowledging its majestic heritage, while we try to make it a better place for our communities. I don’t see why I shouldn’t be dancing till four n the morning or staying at a nice place to do good. Have a good time. People often speak of wellness. You don’t have to live in an ashram to enjoy wellness. You can enjoy the luxury of a glass of wine and still be a good man.”

Riaan George is a Mumbai-based lifestyle journalist

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