Elephant Love!

This afternoon after I finished my work, I went to my favorite neighborhood in Udaipur with Maddie to look for a few things I needed to buy. Soon we got too hot and tired to browse any more stores. I bought fresh-squeezed sweet lime and orange juice to cool off. I was still hot and tired. So we walked to the Old City to find a rooftop restaurant with a good breeze and nice view of the lakes where we could order a (hopefully cold) beer.

As we were navigating the winding, narrow streets of the Old City, we suddenly came upon a giant elephant standing in the street! I see elephants quite a lot in Udaipur, but it was the first time I had seen one that seemed unoccupied, just standing around waiting for a tourist to ride him. (Otherwise I generally see elephants booking it through the busy city streets, sometimes carrying crops.)

I happened to have some snack-y food items in my bag, so I ran up in front of the elephant and asked the Indian man sitting on top if I could feed him. He said yes, and I almost died of happiness.

The elephant's name was Ram, and I instantly fell in love with him. His face and body were painted lightly with flowery designs, and - lest he forget his name - "Ram" was painted on his forehead in bright colors. I fed him handfuls of crunchy goodness, which he scooped out of my hand and shoveled into his mouth. He seemed very happy, but not as elated and giddy as I was.

Maddie snapped pictures, and even when the feeding was over, I couldn't stop petting his big face and hugging his trunk and telling Ram that I loved him. It was an amazing feeling to be so close to an animal that immense and powerful! His skin was so thick and covered in scratchy hairs. He seemed happier than the first elephant I met. Ram kept swinging his trunk around, playing with a small branch he had, and his eyes even seemed to wink at me.

I also talked to the owner (in Hindi, I might add) about Ram. I learned that he is forty years old and lives in Udaipur. His stomach is very big and robust because he is a good eater. He also loves to give tourists rides around the city, and he does not overcharge. I told Ram we would take him up on his generous offer another day.

Pictures soon to come!