Hi Everyone – We spent the morning hiking amongst the beautiful ruins of Hampi, an ancient civilization from the 14th century. I am trying out a more detail-oriented style writing for my book and thought I’d practice by sharing a unique experience we had this morning. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
“Sarah, turn around! You won’t believe this.†I pivoted quickly, flipping my attention from Hampi’s bustling morning street scene to whatever new marvel awaited me. Someone once told me that everything in India is an 11—meaning, more spectacular or grandiose than anything you could ever dream up in your imagination—and I have to admit, they were right. This time, the “11†was a ten-foot, six-ton Asian elephant sashaying its way toward us out of a 14th century Hindu temple.
She was the most glorious elephant I had ever seen. Her course gray skin had faded to a peachy-pink color along the length of her trunk and the edges of her eyes and ears. Dark spots dotted the peachy-pink areas, giving one the distinct impression of freckles. The upper trunk and ears were adorned with tikkas—a red dot of vermillion paste applied on the forehead between the eyes, where the third, or spiritual eye, is said to reside—and a few other markings I didn’t recognize. “Temple Elephant†I was told. “Heading to the water to take bath.†Damn. How did we get so lucky? This definitely was NOT in the guidebook.
 After recovering from a brief moment of shock, I yanked my camera up, determined to capture every bit of this I could on film. She was a Queen with a capital Q and the hell if she didn’t know it. The mahout who was escorting her at first was suddenly M.I.A. and she took full advantage, beelining for the nearest market stall in search of food. Thankfully, the mahout reappeared just in time to prevent banana theft from occurring.
The elephant continued to meander along as instructed, but then stopped stubbornly at the banana stand, intent on getting her treat. I was trying to figure out how temple elephant ranked against holy cow (who, of course, was also in the middle of the road) and got my answer when the cow was shooed aside to clear a wide path for the Queen. The local vendors weren’t giving up their bananas for free but I was more than happy to indulge the elephant with a banana blessing for the equivalent of 40 cents. Just as I reached to feed her the first of my tiny elaichai bananas, I found myself being pushed out of the way by holy cow, who clearly was also interested in the bananas! He was surprisingly strong and blocking my path to the elephant now. I persisted though, determined to give my banana to the Queen. Success! I couldn’t help giggling as her soft trunk opening tickled my hand as the banana (skin and all) got sucked up into the trunk. God I love elephants. Nia wanted in on the fun so Nick ran cow defense for her so she could get her banana to the elephant. I was starting to feel a teensy bit sorry for the holy cow so I snuck him a banana too. Now I didn’t feel so bad. Banana blessing for the cow too. You can never do too many blessings in India!
The mahout abruptly decided feeding time was up and began ushering the elephant along the market road for about 100 feet before prodding her to turn right. “Where are they taking her to bathe?†I asked a local villager. “The river. That’s where everyone bathes.†And wouldn’t you know it, that was absolutely accurate. The elephant walked down a long flight of stone stairs, past throngs of villagers doing their laundry and taking their morning bath in the river. The elephant seemed to know where to go and went out until his legs were covered, probably about 3 feet deep. He stopped and I wondered what would happen next. How does a 10-foot elephant get bathed??
I got my answer soon when, after a series of aggressive prods from the mahout, the elephant finally resigned herself to laying in the river, the left half of her body completely submerged in the water. What a sight to behold! The mahout recruited an assistant to help splash water up on top of the right side of the body and scrub it with what appeared to be a stone. We watched the process play out for awhile before Nia insisted that we move on and “give the elephant some privacyâ€. So off we went, marveling at our good fortune. Incredible India strikes again.
