It's festival season again
Nothing makes me realise how long I've been here like the return of annual events that I experienced last year. The festival season is back in India. And I don't mean a couple of weeks of the Adelaide Fringe, no, no. Were taking the next three months. Holi was just celebrated up North (it doesn't have much currency down here), which is where sane people spend too much money buying brightly coloured powders, which they then throw at anyone in range, more or less all day. Last year I was in Bangalore for Holi and got to see the madness first-hand. I naively wondered out camera in hand wearing a white tee-shirt. Not advised.
If three months sounds like a long time (and it is), it's simply because every temple in the country has is own festival, and in the Land Of A Million Gods, that translated into lots and lots of temple festivals. I didn't go to the festival for the nearest temple, because I was completely exhausted that night, but there are about a dozen temples within ten minutes walk, so I might get a chance to see one before the season ends.
The thing that makes it most apparent is the prevalence of elephants. Elephants are quite common here, I would normally see a few a week, but at the moment they seem to pop up everywhere. (If the visual image of elephants popping up all over the place has you questioning my drinking habits, let me assure you that the here beer isn't good enough). We were driving back from a place down the road from Kollam a week of so back and we came across a procession of elephants, all tricked out for some nearby festival or other. And let me tell you, elephants are one thing thing that never lose there impact. There is something about being close to something alive of that size; it reminds me how much I want to go swimming with whales one day.
One of the monks spots me snapping shots (I was a bit hard to miss, standing in the middle of the road, although not for this shot)
You don't often see the younger elephants and certainly not all dressed up for festivals, but this 'little' guy seemed to be enjoying himself.
A bit of assistance proves that they're not just show-ponies, a young tusker helps with the parade float.
And since the traffic didn't stop (it never does in this country), the local constabulary were out to protect the pachyderms from injury (and the cars from damage too I guess)
If three months sounds like a long time (and it is), it's simply because every temple in the country has is own festival, and in the Land Of A Million Gods, that translated into lots and lots of temple festivals. I didn't go to the festival for the nearest temple, because I was completely exhausted that night, but there are about a dozen temples within ten minutes walk, so I might get a chance to see one before the season ends.
The thing that makes it most apparent is the prevalence of elephants. Elephants are quite common here, I would normally see a few a week, but at the moment they seem to pop up everywhere. (If the visual image of elephants popping up all over the place has you questioning my drinking habits, let me assure you that the here beer isn't good enough). We were driving back from a place down the road from Kollam a week of so back and we came across a procession of elephants, all tricked out for some nearby festival or other. And let me tell you, elephants are one thing thing that never lose there impact. There is something about being close to something alive of that size; it reminds me how much I want to go swimming with whales one day.
One of the monks spots me snapping shots (I was a bit hard to miss, standing in the middle of the road, although not for this shot)
You don't often see the younger elephants and certainly not all dressed up for festivals, but this 'little' guy seemed to be enjoying himself.
A bit of assistance proves that they're not just show-ponies, a young tusker helps with the parade float.
And since the traffic didn't stop (it never does in this country), the local constabulary were out to protect the pachyderms from injury (and the cars from damage too I guess)
posted by David Brennan + Anne Swart at 11:06 pm
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