Celebrating Tiger Year to inspire Bravery and Willpower

About a quarter of the world's population, specially from East Asia, celebrated the Lunar New Year on 1 February, 2022. This year it is being celebrated as Tiger Year, which symbolizes the bravery, confidence and strong will of the tiger. The last tiger years were observed in the years of 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950 and 1938. Google celebrated the occasion by running a colorful animated doodle on its homepage. In India's neighboring Asian countries, Lunar New Year celebrations will continue for almost the entire month. This year's celebration is special as the world is slowly trying to get out of the clutches of Corona virus and lockdowns. During the ensuing days and weeks of celebration, the Lunar New Year is welcomed with feasts, fireworks and joyful activities. Ancestors and deities will be worshipped throughout the month and the focus of those celebrating the Lunar New Year will be more on good luck, happiness and prosperity for themselves and for rest of the world.
 
Switzerland's world famous lighting artist and filmmaker, Gerry Hofstetter, who specializes in creating a variety of special effect artworks with the help of light, illuminated the Eiger North Face mountain in Grindelwald in such a unique way that the world was stunned. The event took place on the eve of the start of the Winter Olympic Games, so it is also being linked to the diverse cultures and Swiss commitment to the environment. Incidentally, the tiger is the pride of many nations and this magnificent creature is on the verge of extinction. This artist from Switzerland beautifully reminded the world to protect tigers and the environment. A 5.3 km long and 2 km high tiger projection was done with the help of lighting on the Eiger North Face mountain, making it a unique event in the world. Gerry thus created the world's largest artwork, which was larger than 1,060 football fields.
 
The idea of depicting a tiger on the mountain came to Gerry's mind when he saw a tiger-like figure in the Eiger mountain. He feels that this depiction of a tiger will inspire athletes from other countries besides Swiss athletes to show tiger-like agility to win the Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics are starting on 4 February, 2022. It took Gerry Hofstetter and his team more than a year of preparation to get the perfect projection. They noted that the elements like weather, wind, clouds, the size of the moon, the position of the moon, snow, cold and stars align and fit exactly into the 15-minute time frame. A well-known photographer from Gerry's team, Frank Schwarzbach managed to capture the images of the tiger at the exact moment. The event was supported by Grindelwald Tourism, Grindelwald Municipality and art lovers from Switzerland and other countries. Tigers are found in 13 countries of Asia. They are in danger of extinction, so they have been protected. Gerry Hofstetter is a light artist and film producer of international repute. He is also committed to climate and a prosperous future for humans, animals and nature on our planet. In March 2020, he sent a message of solidarity to the world in lockdown by lighting icebergs in the Arctic, Antarctic and Zermatt's Matterhorn.

(Author is a senior journalist and columnist)