Elephant Pradakshina

I hope our kind readers rememborize the story of the nice elefinks who helped save a wild boar and then went for a pradakshina. Well ... we don't really quite know how to break this to you. We've been like trying to find words for it since yesterday.

Elefinks take inner path during pradakshina

Well, it was their first pradakshina. And you know what they say about elefinks having razor sharp memory. It just plain ain't true. Our friends lorst their way as can be seen above.

They landed up on the inner path, either by mistake, or trying to cut it short. Now the inner path is particularly stony. Its strewn with tiny pebbles which not only slow down one's progress but also hurt one's soles.



And when this happens for several miles ... then you can imagine the blisters and callouses etc. A pretty ugly site, feet can be after the forst pradakshina. So there they were crying in pain with each step, the old ones and even the young ones. Wincing, grimacing, and shouting "Ouch!" with each step. With each step the pain only increased. The pebbles seemed to get sharper and shoahper. It seemed it would never end, one baby elefink was saying, a bit melodramatically. It was an asperience we will never forget, another said. It was such a relief to get out onto the road as we neared the city, said yet another.

They've put some medication and are improving. Someone in town suggested that they check out with Mum Lioness, she usually has her home remedies (invariably blessed by Bhagavan) for all sortsuv problems. Praps being a lickle thick-skinned they didn't take the advice.



Not particularly cute are they, these lickle elefink feet. Anyway, they can be seen hobbling about the ashram and nearby temples clicking pictures of each other in touristy poses.

Cute flappy earses, insists Spotty. Wouldn't mind one elefink for a table fan! And the young ones are so totally smoochsome.

[Update: Just heard that they are fine. And are planning a second pradakshina on the 15th which is our Independence Day. The one who complained the most was saying, "Awww it was nothing!"]

More on the wild boar story

Elephants on pradakshina

Spotty reports to say that he saw those nice elefinks, who saved the wild-boar by carrying him to Bhagavan, going on a pradakshina. That was a nice way to aspress gratichude to Arunachala Siva.



The wild-boars too did a pradakshina of Arunachala, but since they had some little ones with them, they needed to stop and take rests quite a bit. I fink they were quite overwhelmed with the whole thing that happened. -- Spotty

Update from Stripes : when i got up and saw this post, my eyeses fell on the boar pic forst. For a moment i thought that the cubs had changed into boars for the day. It does look quite like the three of them duzzen it -- i mean size-wise.
pradakshina

Iddlies and a wonderful gift for Spotty

This is in continuation of the day Spotty spent tracking his brudders. Auntie Lioness had like invited us over for Iddlies.

After retorning, we got dressed, and went over to the Lionses for Iddlies. For some reason Auntie Lioness seemed to think they had not come out well, but when you make Elefink sized iddlies then they get made for an elefinks digestive tract.

So anyway, they had to return to Lion in order to get back into their cave. Spotty was asking me, do you think my brudders are Boggarts. I said, WHAT?
He said, matteroffactly, you know Boggarts...shape-shifters. They take the shape of what they think will frighten udders. But i digress.

So we were at the Lionses, and there was absolutely no mention of the elefink day out, or what they had been, or whether they knew that i was watching them throughout. Or Lord Ganesha's naughtiness. Or Om-elly and Tiru-elly rolling the sand, and playing tug-of-war with their probosces.

But after we mooched down all the iddlies (the cubses politely watched us, taking just a nibble themseffs, praps they had never seen anyone eat sooooo mooch!), Auntie Lioness brought out the dearest little gift for Spotty.

Baby Ganesha, Tiru-elly, and Om-elly

Spotty was thrilled to pieces, he could not get over how nice Auntie Lioness is, and what nice treats she makes, and what nice gifts she gives for him, and how he wants to go over and spend the day with his brudders, and he's gonna surprise them by going disguised as a Lion cub. I promised i would not utter a woahd about it. I hate to spoil surprises.

Like they are elefinks today

Spotty the detective

Spotty was on the prowl as usual. He came back and telled me this story.

"My brudders cave seemed unusually quiet today. And thats like VERY unusual.

So I went on, thinking that all the lionses must be fast asleep, what with yesterday's Nayana Day celebrations and cooking and cleaning up.

So I went on walking around the base of the hill. And what does I see but three elefinks on a rampage! and no mummy around!



I understood that maybe Mum Lioness or Elefink must be starching the Kaupinams. And them three made their escape. Anyway, huuge amounts of grass were being demolished by dem.

I had a hard time tracking dem without dem knowing, cos elefinks smell big catses easily. So i had to remain upwind all the time, sometimes going behind them, sometime ahead. Now these are skills that Tiger has not teached me since we are no longer predators. I had to lorn them myselff.

Spotty watches

I got this lovely shot of dem brudders bums (haha), i hope they don't smack me for this. If dey do i will have to take off dis pic.




Then at one point Om-elly cast a magic spell (so dats how they change themseffs!), he said:
"Om Om Om, my magic wand!
Bhagavan make this marsh into a pond!"

A pond begins to emerge magically as all three watch

And a pond came about from nowhere. They all chant "Bigger Bigger Bigger".



All three merrrily dived in.
Major splashing happened, trunks lashing dis way and dat. One or two silly humans tried getting in and jumping on my brudders but they got majorly sprayed, and ran out quickly.

Some humans get splashed up

Den it seems they heard some distant trumpetting, and two got out in a jiffy. THe thord one seems hid in da water.

Mums coming! You hide. No, YOU hide

Soon mummy elefink came thundering, where are you three. Just let me catch you!!!!

Two ellies dry demseffs in sand

Two hastily dried demseffs, I thot these would be little om-elly and tiru-elly. Mummy came and thundered. A-elly where are you? Come on out.

A voice came from the pond. No mum. I am having fun.

Come on out this instant. Or I shall send a mouse after you!

Call me by my today's name and i shall come.

Call me by my real name!

So mum thought for a moment, looking puzzled. "Come on out, tusker baby".

"Nooo. Call me Ganesha and I will come out."

So Mum called him Lord Ganesha and he emerged, laffing from the pond.

Ganesha emerges from water laughing

As they got out, to my shawk, many humans began getting in, as tho the water had been santified by them.

If you misbehave, we won't call Spotty over to play!

Dey like put the water over their heads and rubbed them into their eyeses, and some sipped a few drops of the holy water.

Elefinks return home after naughty day out

The Iddlies are getting cold, Mum was saying, I haff made elefink size Iddlies for you all today. And for Spotty, if he can hear me. She looked slyly at the nearby trees thinking i was hiding in them, and winked, but I was on the opposite side.

Spotty ommst invisible

And Med Tiger is invited too, if he gets to know, she said."

He showed me the pictures he had taken with his digital camera and said, let's blog this fast, and go fer iddlies.

-- Med Tiger