1-17-09

Today was a lot of small events, but it was great fun. First thing after breakfast, we went on an elephant ride! I was so excited. I suppose it showed on my face because the boy who was riding the elephant before me, a complete stranger, gave me a brilliant smile as though to say I hope you have a fantastic time. I did have a fantastic time. Dad and I shared an elephant and Mom and Patrick shared one, because we thought the height difference was about the same. I got to go on the one with tusks, which made me happy. As we rambled down the streets., children would wave and call to us. I felt so completely happy. It was quite comfortable, although this is no surprise considering the number of blankets piled beneath us. I took my shoes off so I could wiggle my toes and scratch the elephant’s ears. Elephants are more hairy than I previously thought – their hair is very wiry.
After the ride, we got to give an elephant a bath. It climbed into a pool and had water sprayed all over it and we scrubbed it with brushes. It really seemed to be enjoying itself and blew hot air out of its trunk at me. After the elephant was a clean as our inexperienced hands would make it, we climbed, one at a time, onto the elephants back and had a shower. I went first. It was more like having a giant bucket of water dumped on you with considerable force than a shower, but it was great fun. I got thoroughly soaked. I also had a good time watching everybody else’s faces as they got sprayed.
We left the elephants and returned home to change, rest, and eat, then went out again for an Ayurvedic massage. It was extraordinarily oily, but I had been warned so it did not take me by surprise and I quite enjoyed myself. I have never had any other type of massage, so I can’t really compare. I will leave that to Mom – she is the massage expert. I can say, however, that I enjoyed it and felt healthier afterwards.
In the evening we went to two performances: one of martial arts and one of Kalakshetra Dance. The martial arts performance was impressive, but some parts seemed extremely unpractical. I have had “keep your hands up” drilled into my head for ages now, so it seems ridiculously stupid to me to have your hands down and your head sticking out. However, there is no denying that these young men were very comfortable with their weapons and in extremely good condition. I wouldn’t want to fight them, but I would be interested in seeing one of my more experienced friends from Monroe County Martial Arts spar with them, just to see how it worked out. I am going to take a month of lessons in this martial art. At first, I was a little disconcerted by its impracticality, but now that I’ve thought it over, I am glad. Combined with the other martial arts I have already studied, I think it will be very helpful. I also find the history of this art to be intriguing. It is about 3000 years old and is supposed to be the father of all martial arts. Supposedly, it was taught to the warrior Parashurama, an incarnation of Vishnu, by Lord Shiva himself.
The dance was fantastically intricate. I had no idea there were so many muscles in the face. The dance was a story of a demoness who falls in love with the son of Indra, the rain god, and how he rejects her advances. The costumes were also incredible, but while one can see costumes in a photo, the extraordinary array of facial expressions is harder to display. All I cans say is, you really have to see it for yourself.