Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 6, 2014: The Smiling Elephant,Sri Lanka

In the corner of a small lake in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka I came across this delightful 3rd Century BC rock carving of a Smiling Elephant. It is so wonderfully 'cartoonish' that it set me thinking about the sculptor who clearly had a great sense of humour which the carving depicts. I saw no other works that showed the sense of mischief that our little elephant portrays to us through the centuries and I wonder if he was a little piece of mischief all those years ago or a reflection of the happy days in that great city in the years gone by.