This charming artwork featuring pink elephants and Air India’s elaborately moustachioed Maharaja mascot was the front cover of the drinks and cigarettes list aboard a flight in 1967.

It was part of a package handed to passengers in the first-class cabin as they settled themselves on the ‘jet carpet’ (a fleet of Boeing 707s) that flew from Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Madras to points across the world, including New York, Nairobi and London.

The package also included writing paper, postcards and envelopes, a witty booklet acting as guide to a passenger’s first time in India, a colorful Please Do Not Disturb sign to put on your headrest, a form addressed to Air India’s General Manager for any suggestions or criticisms a passenger may wish to make and a route map that also gave useful information such as time differentials, currency rates and local telephone numbers.

Serving as Air India’s mascot since 1946, during the last year of British rule in India, the Maharaja icon was designed by the airline’s commercial director Bobby Kooka and Umesh Rao of the J Walter Thompson advertising agency. At that time, India had 600 Maharajas ruling smaller principalities.

The Maharaja was instantly recognizable with his pot-bellied figure, twirly mustache, striped turban and serene expression. The portly figure in regal garb with hands folded in namaskar, the traditional Indian greeting or gesture of respect, could be seen in different humorous scenarios on travel posters – sharing a spot in the Louvre with the Mona Lisa, skiing in Switzerland and trying to catch a mermaid in Sydney, Australia.

The debt-ridden national air carrier was taken over by the Tata Group in 2021 and the mascot, albeit with a sleeker and more modern image, continues to be part of the airline's branding.