Sunday, 16 July, was a little different for Berliners. On that day, they were treated to a rare spectacle at Hoppegarten, one that animal lovers said was fit for the 'Roman circus'. About 15 elephants raced along a 200-metre track for the Maharaja Cup, a first-of-its-kind event in Europe, organised to celebrate India's 50 years of Independence. The idea was the brainchild of the only non-white mayor in Germany, Ravindra Gujjala. An India-born doctor, Gujjala created history when he won the mayoral elections in Altlandsberg in Brandenburg, in 1993 and 1998. He thought of the elephant race as simply "a good opportunity to promote Indian culture".