Saturday April 6th, 10:26 pm
As
I was heading to the program house today I ran into Danielle, Nitish and Sundar
Ji and I stopped to chat. Danielle is doing her felid work on the Mahavets
(elephant trainers) of Varanasi, and she told me that a Mahavet friend of hers
and his elephants were right around the corner. They were going to get samosas for everybody and they would meet me there in a few minutes. I immediately
stopped going to the program house and ran to where the elephants were. I
managed to tell the Mahavet that I was Danielle’s friend in broken Hindi, and
then went to watch the elephants hang out under they trees while their trainers
painted their trunks with chalk to get them ready for the religious procession
that they were going to. 
They
were the most beautiful creatures, and way more interesting up close than they
are in the zoo. When Danielle and Nititsh got back from getting somosas Danielle
was given the honor of “painting the elephant” or adding her own chalk design
to the trunk. I got to pet it and could not have been happier. However, when we were right about to leave Nitish asked the Mahavet if I could ride the elephant
and amazingly he said "yes"!
It
took a few minutes for the trainers to get the elephant to sit down so I could
scramble to the top, and then they told me to hold on to the two ropes that
were on his back. Because these elephants are not for tourists, and
the people who ride them are all experts they did not explain to me why I had
to hold on to the ropes, so I did not hold on very tightly. All of a sudden the
elephant stood.
Elephants
are huge, so standing up takes a long time, and at one point the rider is
parallel to the ground 10 feet in the air, with nothing keeping them up but the
ropes on the back of the elephant. The same ropes that I was not holding
tightly. Luckily I was able to grab hold before I fell, but it felt like a roller
coaster that had no safety precautions.
When
the elephant was standing all the way up I was in the trees and felt on top of
the world. The elephant barley noticed I was there, for men sleep on his back
all day long, but I could not have been more aware of the huge creature under
me. It was very steady when it was eating, but every time it took a step I
found myself grabbing onto the ropes. The slum kids who had come to play were
amazed, and the Mahavets were all entertained by my clear awe and delight. I
sat on the elephant as it ate and walked around for about 15 minutes before
Danielle and Nitish had to go, so I had to get down.
With
the elephant standing I held onto the two ropes and slid down the tail, which
apparently is not how you are supposed to get down from an elephant. The
Mahavets ran to help me, and with their assistance I was finally back on the
ground.
Getting to ride an elephant the way
the professionals do was one of the most unique experiences I have had in India
thus far. I got to meet Mahavets, which are a dying breed of animal trainer,
and to top it all off the elephant I rode was the same one that the King of
Varanasi rides when he is in a procession.
 |
| Sliding down the tail |
The day just got better because
tonight Alex and I went to professor Ojha’s house for dinner. It was so nice to
see him, and his family was amazing. His wife is an elementary school teacher
who is getting a masters in Gender Studies and hates the inequality in India, in addition to raising two amazing kids and being a wonderful cook. His son was a
sweet thirteen year old, and the 10 year old girl gave us a kutuk (Indian fold
dance style) performance that was the best I have seen so far. We played
Geography like my family used to do when we were little and these two kids were
amazing. They spoke English almost fluently, and the entire night was a prime
example of a happy, modern, Indian family. It was lovely.
Things I learned
about elephants:
- Not all elephants have tusks. Those with tusks are a special breed, which are unofficially called “tuskers”.
- Elephants live to be 120 years old.
- Elephant skin is very rough. So is elephant hair.
- There are kings in Varanasi that have the same role as the Queen of England, and even though the palace is falling down and there is no money to fix it, the king still owns elephants.
- When you get on an elephant you must stand on its feet and climb up, because even laying down it is taller than any human being, not to mention one that is miniature size, like me.
- You can decorate elephants skin with sidewalk chalk and it does not bother them
- An elephant penis is kept up when not in use, but when the elephant needs to pee it falls down about three feet and there is a stream probably five inches in diameter. They poop from right under their tail, meaning the poop had to fall down over 10 feet before it hits the ground, causing the huge puddle of pee to splash.
- When male elephants are in heat they excrete straight testosterone from a point above their eye causing them to be very aggressive. (I rode the one that was not in heat).
