The Painted Elephants of India

Charles Fréger, a French photographer, travels the world to reveal to his audiences great mysteries. In the past, we've seen his depictions of the Wild Men of Europe--costumed representations of a folklore stock character. In 2013, he attended and photographed an elephant festival in Jaipur, India. The Daliy Telegraph reports:

The elephants are decorated specially for the festival, their hides painted bright colours, ears adorned with dangling jewels, anklets decked with bells, and tusks decorated with gold and silver rings. Their mahouts dress up in brocade jackets and brightly coloured turbans.
For every other day of the year the elephants are working animals. Traditionally bred and trained for heavy forest work, nowadays they carry tourists up to the Amber Palace, a 12-mile round trip from Jaipur. They are dressed and painted for weddings and special ceremonies, and of course for the festival.

You can see more photos of the elephants at Lost at E Minor.