When I first visited India 40 years ago not only was I thrilled to see so many elephants in the flesh, I was immediately and inevitably drawn to the elephant headed Hindu god Ganesh.
Many Indian Statues are made by the lost wax process in which a wax sculpture of an image is covered in clay which is then baked. The wax melts leaving a negative image. Molten metal is then poured into the mould.