The term Yugadi is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘beginning of a new yuga or a new era’ or the beginning of a new age. The festival of Ugadi is a change in the lunar orbit and the beginning of the Hindu lunar calendar i.e New Years Day.
In 2017 it falls on Wednesday 29th March and is a public holiday. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar.
It is the beginning of spring, a season associated with joy and prosperity in India.
How is it celebrated?
It is celebrated with gatherings of the extended family with lots of food and feasting. Preparations begin a week before the festival with houses given a thorough wash, shopping for new clothes and buying other festival items.
On the morning of Ugadi people wake up before dawn and take a ceremonial bath with oil and Bengal gram flour which is believed to purify the body and soul to perform the rituals. New clothes and jewellery are then worn.
The house door / entrance is decorated with fresh mango leaves to signify good crops and general well being. As they also give out oxygen it will bring freshness into the home (and good health). Neem leaves are also used (which act as a disinfectant). People draw colourful floral designs (rangoli) at the entrance to their homes to signify they are ready to welcome guests.
People perform the ritual worship to god invoking his blessings before they start off the new year. They pray for health, wealth and prosperity and success in business -it’s a good time to start new businesses. Mantras are chanted and puja performed. The most important ritual of the day is the panchanga sravana which is an informal function where elderly and respected person reads out the almanac and predictions are made for the new year. This ritual used to be performed by priests in temple and focussed on the rain forecast for the year.
There is a symbolic eating of a dish (a paste) with six tastes called ‘Bevu-Bella’ which is only served during this festival. It symbolises that life is a different mix of different experiences and human emotions: sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise. These experiences should all be accepted equally throughout the new year. The six tastes are: sour (tamarind juice), sweet (jaggery), salt, bitter (Neem buds), astringent (unripened mango) and spicy hot (green chilli) or pungent and are called Ugadi Pachhadi. Eating this dish is believed to subdue the Arishadvargas, the six passions of the mind, desire or emotions attributed to living beings. These are: kama (desire or lust), krodha (anger), lobh or lobha (greed), moha (attachment), mada or ahankar (ego, pride) and matsarya (jealousy). These negative charactersistics are believed to prevent man achieving moksha or salvation. A harmonious blend of ingredients in the pachadi is considered to eventually help to win over self and gain eternal bliss. As a consequence great care and skill is displayed in the preparation of these dishes.
The fragrance of intense sticks waft through the warm air and in homes the aroma of puliogure (tamarind rice) and holige (a sweet dish) fill the air. These dishes are believed to bring peace and prosperity when offered to the goddess Parvathi.
In Karnataka there is a special dish called Obbattu (or Holige) which is a filling of jaggery and boiled sugar to make a paste which is stuffed inside a roti. It is eaten with ghee, milk or coconut milk and can be eaten hot or cold.
Celebrations by our friends
We bought sarees for three of our friends celebrating Ugadi. They were delighted. They are all going to t heir villages to celebrate with their families for a few days.
Yugadi Habbada Shubhashayagalu! (Kannada for “Greetings for the festival of Ugadi”)
Holi is the Festival of Colours. This is when people spray colours on each other, dance, party and eat festival delicacies. It is the time when everyone puts the gloom of winter behind them and celebrate the colours and life of Spring.
When is it?
It is the Hindu spring festival at the full moon (Phalgun Purnima) and is on Monday 13th March in 2017. The parties start on the weekend though with some on Saturday and Sunday.
How is it celebrated?
With a lot of coloured powder, water guns and a lot of fun!
It’s a party atmosphere and people party with friends and family. People who don’t normally drink will have one or two. People partake of ‘bhaang’ (made from cannabis leaves) – although I’ve not seen this myself so I’m guessing it’s kept away from expats. Non veg people have a great and eat mutton and chicken curry whilst the veg eat spicy ‘katahal’ jackfruit.
The night before is Holika Bonfire with religious rituals in front of the bonfire and pray that their internal evil is destroyed on the bonfire.
Bangalore
There is a water crisis here but that has not deterred a lot of Holi parties being planned – with water being the main advertising feature on online booking sites (rain dances and pool parties). The organisers use on site bore wells or private water tankers.
As there was no formal program arranged in our complex we just a got together on the street with the children – powders and water guns at the ready for a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun in front of the house then we went in search of others celebrating. We knocked on one of our neighbours door on the way and wished him a Happy Holi with a lot of colours too! He took it in good humour (thankfully!). We moved on in a group and when we encountered other groups we took full part in their celebrations with a lot of water and powders being liberally shared. It was such fun and a great community atmosphere.
Heading out to join other groups, well prepared.In the middle of the Holi celebrations The colours
Colour powder for Holi
The usual ingredients for Holi colours are as follows:
Orange and red – from flowers of the palash tree, lime and turmeric powder mixed and also saffron. Ours had Kumkum, tumeric and rice flour.
Green – mehendi and dried leaves of the gulmohur tree. Ours had tumeric, indigo and rice flour.
Yellow – tumeric (haldi) powder. Ours also had rice flour.
Blue – indigo plant, berries, blue hibiscus and jacaranda flowers. Ours was indigo and rice flour.
Magenta and purple – beetroot (that’s never going to wash out!). Ours also had indigo and rice flour.
Brown – dried tea leaves
Black – grapes and gooseberry (amla)
Afterwards
After enjoying the colours and water (a welcome relief to have a water gun fight in 34C), we headed for the shower and the clothes to the washing machine. The dye had gone through everything and has dyed my skin. Scrubbing hard has only faded the colours. I am going to be technicolour for some time. The pink, purple and yellow is particularly difficult to remove.
The clothes were white. After the second wash I have some clothes that look like they have been tie dyed and underwear in a many different colours. It’s a look…but maybe one I’ll leave for next year.
“A land of misty hills, lush forests, acres and acres of coffee plantations, and breathtaking landscapes – Coorg is the quintessential holiday destination.”
Says the website and it is. Kodagu is lush and beautiful as well as tranquil (a rarity if you live in Bangalore like us.) The air is fresh too, what a treat.
Coffee plantation
.
We arrived after a short 45 minute drive from the Dubare Elephant Camp through the fantastic scenery at the coffee plantation villa. It is a heritage bungalow that still has that period charm and look about it. It was very quiet. A bit too quiet as it turned out as I had to venture into the kitchen to locate any personnel. We checked in and we’re shown to our suite.
A very large bedroom with ensuite had a separate bedroom for Zahra – she was delighted. The room also had satellite TV and AC. The bungalow had a common area lounge, dining room and veranda as well as gardens and play area for children, surrounded by coffee plantations. It was idyllic.
Relaxing in the dining area.
Now the website promised several things including a bath (only a shower) and a “stunning view of coffee plantations” from the bedroom. That might have been possible before they covered the bottom part of the windows blocking any view whatsoever. It was disappointing as the view would have been fantastic. The website also promised “enjoy a steaming cup of coffee amidst the verdure”. We ordered a coffee after lunch (which we had had to order in advance days before, and still came without everything we ordered). We had to chase twice before the coffee appeared. Now the bungalow is not that big and there were not that many guests so I have no idea why the service was so appalling.
Coffee plantation tour
In the late afternoon we took the coffee plantation tour by jeep. We started late after having to wait 25 mins for two male stragglers who made no attempt to be quick (or apologise for their tardiness). We started the tour in the sprawling, coffee-scented plantation in the warm evening air with the songs of the birds singing sweetly in our ears. Our driver and guide stopped to show us the Arabica and Robusta beans and a white pepper plant. As we continued our jeep safari, enjoying the warm summer fresh air we wondered what fascinating facts about coffee awaited us. We continued to wonder after another 35 minutes when our tour ended without another word from the guide about coffee plants, the plantation we were in, the time it takes to grow coffee, the harvesting season, the drying and roasting processes or the sales. He did stop and point out a Kingfisher (bird not beer) though. We were left bemused.
Dinner
We had pre ordered dinner at lunchtime and it was ready when we returned from the plantation tour. We quickly cleaned up and headed to the dining table in anticipation for a great meal ahead. After all the website had said:
“A visit to the Thaneerhulla Bungalow is not complete without relishing the lip-smacking Kodava delicacies whipped up by the talented in-house chef! Visitors, both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, can also enjoy various North-Indian and Continental dishes, and don’t forget to savour the delectable dessert of the day!”
Needless to say this was a triumph of hope over reality. Several dishes we ordered simply didn’t arrive and our dessert was substituted for a measly two pieces of Gulab Jamon. Clearly we were on an enforced diet! What we did have was fine but it certainly wasn’t fine dining.
Bonfire
The website says:
“Enjoy a cozy and comfortable bonfire with your friends and family after a long day. Every bungalow is equipped with a bonfire area, and visitors can indulge in snacks and/or dinner (extra charges applicable) by the warmth of the bonfire on chilly evenings.”
Yeah…that didn’t happen. We went to bed early instead (as we’d been up since 5:30am at the Dubare Elephant Camp).
Bird watching
The next morning we were up bright and early again and headed out for a bird watching tour at 6.45am. With over 300 species of birds nestled in the region, Coorg is a haven for wildlife. Which would have been nice….if we could have seen them. We had fog instead. By this time we were just laughing at the comedy of this stay and going with the flow.
Foggy bird spotting!
We had an enthusiastic expert guide called Balu who took us on a tour around the golf course. He was a font of information and facts. He was also an expert bird caller, mimicking several birds and getting them to respond.
So what did we learn and what did we see and hear?
Jungle trees are protected and can only be pruned, not cut
The coffee in the plantation is shade grown coffee and needs natural shade to grow
The coffee plantation is an elephant route so an electrical fence surrounds the plantation-but elephants disconnect the fence by throwing a log on it. There are 13 elephants in the herd which passes through.
A Bird eye chilli plant produces tiny chillis which are 20x the normal strength chilli
We saw a Cannon ball tree, a Pied Kingfisher, a White throated Kingfisher, a Plum headed Parakeet, a Barbit, a Pond heron, a Cattle egret, a Red vented bull bill, a Shikra, A Vernal hanging parrot, a Malabar parakeet, Mamat grey hornbill, a Plain backed woodpecker, a Jetroper plant (which has sap with which you can blow bubbles), Morning glory (purple flower plant), a Rat snake and a flock of Mina birds.
Not bad for a foggy morning.
Rat snake.
We headed back to the heritage bungalow for a much needed breakfast and coffee. Did I say coffee? Oh how foolish of me…
We had dosas for breakfast and their was a small buffet selection to choose from but coffee was definitely not on the menu.
After breakfast we showered, packed and checked out. I also asked to buy some coffee and coffee beans, only to be met with the statement: “We don’t sell coffee”. I must admit that it took a few seconds for me to comprehend what was being said but I reverted to the very British “I’m sorry?” statement. To only be met with the same reply. I looked at the manager and pointlessly said: “But we’re in the middle of a coffee plantation!”. After receiving the same response I asked where indeed we could buy some coffee but the manager did not know. I headed out to the car half laughing and shaking my head. Only in incredible India would you be able to stay in a the middle of a coffee plantation and not be able to buy coffee. We asked at the gate security and they directed us to the estate shop… but that only sold green tea.
We headed to the nearest town which was 10km away. We found the one and only coffee shop there and finally bought some coffee.
The coffee shopIn possession of the golden brown nectar we headed on the long journey back to Bangalore, safe in the knowledge that we would have more than one story to entertain dinner guests with over the coming months!
International Women’s Day (‘IWD’) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
IWD 2017
The UN theme in 2017 for International Women’s Day is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. (Not such a snappy title – no one is going to remember that).
They say:
The world of work is changing, with significant implications for women. On one hand, technological advances and globalization bring unprecedented opportunities for those who can access them. On the other hand, there is growing informality of labour, income inequality and humanitarian crises.
Against this backdrop, only 50 per cent of working age women are represented in the labour force globally, compared to 76 per cent of men. What’s more, an overwhelming majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidizing care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection. Achieving gender equality in the world of work is imperative for sustainable development.
The United Nations observance on 8 March will call upon all actors to Step It Up for Gender Equality towards a Planet 50-50 by 2030 by ensuring that the world of work works for all women.
The upcoming sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), from 13 – 24 March, at UN Headquarters will deliberate on “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.”
The IWD website has a separate theme which is #BeBoldForChange (and yes that hashtag is part of the official title – a sign of the times.) The intention is to encourage women to forge a better world of work which is more inclusive and gender equal.
Bangalore
The Overseas Women’s Club of Bangalore held an event called “Be Bold for Change” at Fava restaurant, UB City in the centre of Bangalore. The three hugely inspirational speakers were Kaveri Sinhji, Dr Aloma Lobo and Devika Krishnan.
There were some technical difficulties at the start and we all had to move upstairs for the talk. The technology still refused to cooperate properly so the presenters slides could not be seen or heard. Despite this, the speakers were engaging and fascinating. The OWC President commenced the meeting by encouraging us all to be “there for each other”. We were living in a different country and as a consequence did our friends, neighbours and helpers know who to contact in an emergency? It was a sobering thought and I resolved to share some emergency numbers with relevant people – just in case.
Kaveri Sinhji is the owner of BlueFoot Tours and also runs a company called One World. She is a psychologist and cultural historian whose passion is to bridge cultural divides by finding similarities rather than differences in people.
In 2009 she set up a non judgmental customised tours eneterprise on a pay what you think basis. Her first customers were from north India and she spent 3 days giving them a cultural and shopping tour at the end of which they paid her ₹50 and ₹100 ! It was a steep learning curve but she remain non judgmental. She continued (persevering with fiscal and medical difficulties) and developed a company which in 2017 has 8-12 tours a day in Bangalore. She felt it was a lonely journey not only as a woman in a man’s world but also because there were no natural competition. She did say that she felt she had the advantage as a woman as people believed what she said and didn’t challenge her. Her company is expanding into four other countries next month.
Dr Aloma Lobo is a christian and pediatrician with 6 children, 3 of whom are adopted. She has worked with the World Health Organisation taking over the Voluntary Coordinating Agency for Adoption and specialises in the promotion of awareness of supporting adoption of children with special needs.
Dr Aloma Lobo
Dr Aloma said that most people in India think adoption is a remedy for sterility and charity and very few people or families adopt children with special needs; in fact she stated she knew of only 6 families that did so. That fact alone is quite shocking in a country so hugely populated.
She asked us how do we see these abandoned children with special needs, do we value these children as in need of love support and a family? She said Indian people are looking for a pretty and fair girl who is light skinned. The reason they give is”how are [they] going to marry her otherwise?” People have many deep seated doubts and fears. If a family already has one child the bias then comes from the agencies who will state that “As you already have one child you won’t feed them well”. On top of these difficulties an attitude change was needed to allow a single person to adopt and single men especially.
Special needs children are usually older and difficult to place as they have hospital needs, genetic disorders and other problems. Sibling groups were even harder. Many (80%) are girls. Some wealthy families will give away (aka abandon) girls with a disability (e.g. blindness) to avoid a stigma on the family. There were also religious beliefs affecting people’s actions and viewpoints; a child with a disability may be seen as a curse or evidence that they have done something bad in a previous life.The greatest disability the children have is the disability of rejection – “why are they given away when they needed their parents the most?”
She asked “How do [you] initiate change for children with special needs?” and went on to say that change is never change unless you make the change in your own life. She asked us to give a child with special needs the value they deserve as they are worthy of a family. It’s an obvious message and sad that it is one she believes she still has to deliver in 2017.
Devika Krishnan is an industrial designer and is setting up a woman’s enterprise in Nellurhalli called Joy at Work, upcycling tetrapaks, cement sacks and scrap fabrics into “lifestyle products “. Devika believes if everyone helps one person less fortunate the world will be a better place.
Devika Krishnan
Devika started by telling us she had a very matriarchal and very laid back upbringing. Her father was a general in the army and the family went with every posting, whether to a remote village or a border dispute. She worked in the corporate and craft sector as a designer but is drawn with people and drawn to women in particular. She currently has 10 projects a year running in between designing at work. Her philosophy is that “all it takes is to have trust and faith in one another”.
India ranks 105 out of 130 countries in the world on the gender gap index. 70% of women live in villages and 150 work days a year are spent by women to fetch water for the home. In addition “population in the slums is going to increase by 119m”. Women (actually children) in the slums get married between the ages of 12-16 and migrate with the men when they get work. Marriage is at puberty to avoid them becoming abused by other men as the family homes in the slums don’t have doors and are open. It’s a shocking thought and sad the facts are simply accepted.
As a consequence of these facts Devika set up a project called Anu Life. Her approach is that she brings in change as a designer and watches the change happen. She taught the ladies of the slums to weave and sew baskets and bags out of tetra packs and cement bags. These are then sold in some shops, markets, melas and events around Bangalore. A lot of expats have something from Anu Life as they are very useful and very sturdy as well as being good value for money. Initially volunteers took care of education and healthcare so Devika could concentrate on the business. She told us about the challenges and antics of having to set up a registered company for a slum project – it was certainly interesting! Eventually the project was so successful that an NGO invested in it and Devika moved on to other projects, including the latest called Joy at Work.
It was a privilege to listen to the inspirational speakers and learn about them too.
After the talks we moved downstairs to the restaurant for a (late) lunch at Fava. Unfortunately the service was very slow and despite chasing for lunch several times I eventually left on the school run after only having a few mouthfuls.
Other events in Bangalore
The Department of Women and Child Development of Youth Services and Sport organised a sports meet for women at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Women working in government departments, anganwadis*, self help groups and Stree Shakti groups**, under the jurisdiction of the Bengaluru Urban District, participated; participants were eligible for special leave on the day.
The Hindu newspaper profiled several women who have been leading some of the school gnificant projects and developments in Bangalore. These included Chitra R, the sole woman civil engineer in the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, who was responsible for the building of the MG Road and Trinity metro stations. Other profiles were of the badly treated pourakarmikas***, the garment sector and the waste management system, all dominated by poorly paid and treated women. The Hindu stated: “To many, these women may seem pushy and uncompromising, but it is these very qualities that has turned them into role models”. The paper also carried several adverts celebrating “women’s day”.
The Smoke House Deli, a restaurant, offered a free glass of sangria or house wine for every woman visiting the restaurant on 8th March.
Sanchez in UB City had a Women’s Day DJ night (dress code “pink”) with DJ Daniela da Silva celebrating “womanhood” from 10pm.
Mums and stories organised a ‘Mums and Stories’ walk in Lalbagh Gardens at 5:30pm on 7th March.
Ukraine
In the Ukraine it is traditional to give all the ladies of the house a flower in International Women’s Day. This then extends to offices and places of work.
Although not our tradition, Rez took this up and bought both me and Zahra a lovely bunch of flowers each for IWD.
Wherever you are and whatever you do, take time to celebrate the women in your life today. They are amazing.
.
* Anganwadi is a government sponsored child-care and mother-care center in India. It caters to children in the 0- 6 age group. The word means “courtyard shelter” in Hindi.
** Streeshakti groups cover poor, needy and physically handicapped women either engaged in small business activities or keen on establishing small business activities through groups that enable them to become self reliant and improve their economic and social status.
*** pourakarmikas is a general term used for people who sift through rubbish, separating it into recyclable objects, dry waste and wet waste. It is also used for those who deal with chemical waste and general junk.
We set off for our long holiday weekend on Thursday evening and headed for Mysore. It took 5 hours to do a journey normally taking 3 due to the holiday and commuter traffic. We checked into the hotel Sandesh The Prince for the night. Unfortunately and, as is sadly usual in India, despite it being me who was checking in, I was roundly ignored and the reception staff starting talking to Rez about facilities etc. We both looked at each other and Rez turned around and walked away so they could only talk to me. Not defeated by this jesture the reception staff just talked even louder to Rez as he walked off! The hotel reception and atrium were well maintained and beautifully decorated. The same could not be said for the rather tired looking rooms. The extra bed we had ordered for Zahra had also not been supplied and after some arguing it transpired there was an extra charge of ₽500 (£6) so hadn’t supplied it. Eventually it appeared and we settled in for the night. Our sleep was brief though as we were rudely awakened at 5am by the caged parakeets in the atrium squeaking to each other. Breakfast was traditional Indian and rather tasty. Checkout service was equally as bad as check in service. What a shame.
Zahra ‘steers’ the boatNot very reassuring!Car unloaded ready for the boat across
We headed to Dubare (stopping briefly at Decathlon as Rez had forgotten to bring anything other than his work shoes for the weekend!). 2.5 hours later we arrived at the river bank, a little confused as to where we were supposed to head to. After asking around we discovered we were in the right place. We had to beep the car horn and a boat would be sent across for us – and indeed that is exactly what happened.
Dubare Elephant Camp
Quite possibly the quickest check in ever in India – super efficient manual system. We were shown to our “luxurious cottages with attached bath facility. Located in an idyllic part of the Cauvery River, “. We had a river view cottage which had basic facilities (beds, wet room, patio and a hammock) and was perfectly fine for one night.
Dubare Elephant campVillas in the mist
We settled in and headed over for our Indian lunch at 1:30pm. There was plenty to choose from, even if it was a little over chilli’d for our (read “Rez’s”) tastes. During lunch the wildlife guide chatted to us about the schedule over the next 24 hours. Tea at 4pm followed by a jeep safari in the jungle from 4:30pm to 6:30pm (we got back later than that); then an educational wildlife documentary for an hour (about elephants, obviously) followed by a campfire and supper. Day two was an early start with tea at 6am followed by a nature walk from 6:30am to 8am. Breakfast was 8am to 8:30am then elephant washing until 10am. The actually schedule went on longer than that.
The Jeep safari
After Zahra explored the camp and played on the rope tyre and hammock we headed off for the jeep safari.
It was stunningly beautiful scenery as well as spotting many animals. We saw spotted deer, peacocks, Malabar giant tree squirrels (brown and cream coloured with a tail like a fox), Malabar parakeets (also known as blue winged parakeets), buffaloes, eagles, “Indian God cattle”, paper wasps (“very dangerous” – as they sting unprovoked and its super painful and can cause anaphylactic shock) and elephants. We also saw the 200 year old ruins of a temple and a fish poison tree.
On the jungle safariJungle safari at duskSpot the deer!Herd of cattle
The wildlife film
The guide was very knowledgeable and we were quite tired after being out in the 35C heat for several hours. No time for rest though as we headed straight into the wildlife film about elephants and humans living in the same space and the conflict that causes. It was quite interesting to see the tactics employed to move elephants on when they ventured into crops. The focus was on moving the elephants on with minimal distress to the elephants (and the farmers whose crops were being destroyed).
The campfire and dinner
After the film we sat around the campfire (and at 8pm the temperature was probably around 25C) and ate our dinner starters. We had to move our chairs as far back as possible to remove ourselves from the heat whilst others, more used to the Indian temperatures, drew closer. The camp dogs were well behaved and were clearly looking for treats as the scampered around. (We discovered them the next morning are snuggled together in the ashes to keep warm.)
We headed inside for dinner which was a great buffet selection of Indian dishes. There was a lot to choose from and we ate plenty. We headed to bed after dinner as it had been a long day and we were all tired and happy.
The Nature walk
I’m glad we did as we were woken by loud Indian music playing over all the camp at 5:30am to 6am to ensure everyone was awake for the jungle trek. Zahra managed to still sleep through it and was less than impressed when we woke her. Still we headed over the the central hut / restaurant, had tea and departed for our walk with the guide. We wore suitable clothing for a jungle trek. One happy camper who joined us did so in her pyjamas and flip flops!
The eagle has landedThe edge of the Cauvery riverMisty morning in the jungle
The Elephant camp
After breakfast the guide walked us over the footbridge into the Elephant camp. The mahouts were already out in the jungle collecting ‘their’ elephants. We headed down the the riverbank and watched as boat loads of other tourists came over to watch and join in the spectacle of elephant bathing and washing.
Karnataka’s history with elephants goes a long way back and currently the state’s Forest Department has about 150 elephants in various camps. After logging operations were ceased there were domesticated unemployed elephants in addition to the rescued elephants which had various life threatening injuries. The Dubare Camp, the camp where elephants were trained for the famous Mysore Dasara, was converted to a rescue and training centre and a tourist attraction. The aim is to have guests and tourists leave the camp with a sense of responsibility to do their bit towards protecting elephants.
Our guide, a trained naturalist, talked about the complexities of elephant history, ecology and biology throughout the morning and he answered lots of questions. The first I had was about the chains the elephants had around their ankles. This had two purposes, the noise was like a rattle so mahouts and others could hear where the elephants were and where they are moving to. The other was to protect tourists in the camp. The chain would be attached to the two front ankles, limiting the elephant to to walking pace, whilst they were in the camp with tourists. This appeared to be for about an hour to an hour and a half. The rest of the time the chain was on one ankle like a noisy bracelet. I also asked about how the elephants were tamed or “domesticated” as the guide stated, as I have seen some truly awful and cruel film clips of poachers taming elephants using nails and metal hooks. The guide was horrified (a good reaction) and told us that rescued elephants were confined in huge wooden pens (and they were huge) for a period of time whilst the assigned mahout develops a relationship with the elephant by petting it and feeding it. Only when the mahout feels he has adeveloped a good relationship with the elephant will training for basic commands begin. It is clear that the mahouts in the Dubare camp have genuine concern for the health and well being of the elephants in their charge and were quite protective of them whilst they were in the camp amongst tourists.
We didn’t wait long before we could hear the rattle of chains and the appearance of the elephants with their mahouts. They were massive up close.
Elephant bathing
The elephants appeared one after the other as they wandered down to the water for a drink. They drink 6-8 litres of water in one trunk and take about 200 litres of water a day. They enjoyed being in the water. The mahouts then came to the waters edge and the elephants laid down for a scrub. This is were we joined in. Only allowed at the back top of the elephant we splashed the water over its body and helped rub it down. The skin was soft and rubbery as well as hairy. The skin is 1.5 inches thick too. The mahouts were really scrubbing the elephants. When too many people got close the mahouts shouted and people backed off. One baby elephant attracted a lot of attention but he had two young mahouts protecting him and they were very good at it.
Bathing an elephant
As well as the body scrub the tusks and other intimate areas were cleaned by the mahouts. The elephants stood up when they had had enough, although one was quite keen on another scrub down after his bath and laid down again. Two elephants decided to shower some tourists, a lot!
Feeding an elephant
After the bath we headed into the camp proper and watched as the mahouts prepared the elephants grain and grass ‘sandwhiches’ for the elephants. We were able to feed one elephant their breakfast and it’s quite a stretch getting food into an elephants mouth I can tell you!
Whilst we were feeding an elephant some other Mahouts were demonstrating how elephants obey commands and how they functioned during their earlier role in logging operations. (That made me feel uncomfortable as it reminded me of performing circus animals and was merely done to entertain the tourists.)
We were in the camp for several hours in the end and learnt a lot about the elephants and the mahouts.
Departure
We headed back to the villa for a shower and change before checking out (which was supposed to be at 11am but we only left the elephant camp at 11:30am. No one seemed bothered by the late check out.)
The camp also had coracle rides available on the Cauvery river. Whilst we didn’t have time I also didn’t fancy spotting a crocodile or two. As we headed back across the river in the boat we saw crowds of people river rafting down the Cauvery river and the elephants heading off for a day eating in the jungle.
Lent is an observance in Christianity that begins on Ash Wednesday (1st March in 2017) and ends around six weeks later on Easter Sunday. People observe this period by fasting or giving up something for the entire duration of Lent as a penance. Many Christians also add a spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying, to draw themselves near to God. There are three traditional practices which are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and charity (justice towards neighbours).
How long is Lent?
Lent traditionally lasts for forty days. This is in commemoration of the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert before starting ministry during which He was tempted by Satan. Lent is from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. This is 46 days but because there is no obligation to fast on the six Sundays in Lent it is 40 days.
Significant days in Lent
The fourth Sunday in Lent is Mothering Sunday, or Mother’s Day (in the UK). It is a day for honouring mothers by doing their daily tasks, buying them cards, presents and flowers and generally cooking all meals for them.Its origin is in a 16th-century celebration of the Mother Church.
The fifth Sunday in Lent is Passion Sunday and marks the beginning of Passiontide.
The sixth Sunday in Lent is Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week; the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter.
Wednesday of Holy Week commemorates Judas Iscariot’s bargain to betray Jesus.
Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper shared by Christ with his disciples.
The next day is Good Friday on which Christians remember Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and burial. (After 3 days He rose again, defeating death and sin for all mankind).
40acts – doing Lent generously
40acts is the generosity challenge throughout Lent, created by UK Christian charity, Stewardship. Participants receive a daily email (from the 1st March – 15th April in 2017; it does not include Sundays), with a generosity challenge (with three levels of challenge to choose from) and short Bible based blog.
I’ve done this challenge previously and whilst it can be challenging it is so incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. Anyone, anywhere can take part. For further information take a look at their website: https://40acts.org.uk/
Expat Life in Bangalore 