Dimsphere: The Lovely Lakshmi

Gap in posting due to the vagaries of Internet connectivity. They have it - just have made it impossible for us to get to it....the hotel that is. The other day when I asked for two hours of time, they printed out the little slip as always that assigns you a random user name and log-on to access their system. When I got upstairs and was logged on, I suddenly noticed that the time allowed was 58 days and 11 hours. It's been downhill since then trying to get it sorted out - so instead of tons, I've had none. Number 1 lesson in travelling for business or pleasure - save EVERY receipt. "We'll keep the slip in your folder and it will cancel itself out tomorrow - you won't have to pay...really!....." Un-unh! Nope. Don't think so....

So what I need are shorter posts more often to keep up! Mr. Chirpnifter and I were finally able to go see the lovely Lakshmi at her temple on Sunday. Ganesh - the elephant-headed God - is one of the Hindu Gods of much veneration. Looking lovely as always - her makeup was just right, her jewels and bells perfect. The way it works is that you offer sweet grass for her to eat, paper money or coins. She receives them with her trunk and gives you a light bonk on the head with her trunk as a blessing.

I'm used to her little shriek of protest when it gets too busy and everyone offers money for a blessing at once, but she made a noise I couldn't fathom this time. Sort of like a rolling thunder and short bray that Mr. C. identified as a burp. They never used to feed her in front of the temple, but sometimes now they do. Picture a couple vats filled with buttery-looking sticky rice - then see an arm come snaking around from behind her with a rice ball the size of a basketball - she opens up, and in it goes! Hence the burp. You are allowed to buy sweet grass and the occasional banana to feed to her besides offering money for the temple, but they watch her weight very carefully. We'd been wanting to bring her a big cucumber now that we know she loves them, but they kept wilting before we could go. If she gets one, or knows you may have others in your bag - the trunk goes right for the bag to seek them out.

Here she comes on her way to the temple - bells jingling!

She stands on a square wood and stone platform outside the temple. Her mahout sits next to her and seems to spend a LOT of time on his cell phone - though he still doesn't miss much.

Love the toenails and the pretty bracelets.

She's part of the Vishnu pantheon so she often has 3 horizontal lines painted on her forehead. Not sure what the six-pointed star with the Om symbol in the middle represents.

When you offer paper money she "hands" it right off to the mahout. When you offer change, she curls her trunk so you can lay it on the flat part next to her nostrils. Then she deftly slides the change INTO the trunk and moves on to the next person. She'll store up quite a bit before she offloads a batch to the mahout, so after awhile you can hear the change rattling around in there as she lifts and lowers her trunk.