The Blessing

Last weekend CIEE took a trip south to Chennai, Pondicherry, Mamallapuram, Auroville, and Kanchipuram. It was a fun filled weekend, where we attempted to cram way too much into 4 days. Highlights of the weekend included the following:

1. The Blessing: In Pondicherry, I was blessed by an elephant! On our free afternoon a small group of us went to the Ganesh temple. Ganesha is my favorite Hindu god, he is the remover of obstacles and the god of auspicious beginnings. He also holds a special fondness for writers. Ganesha is depicted as having the head of an elephant and the body of a man. At his temple in Pondicherry there was a real elephant performing blessings. To be blessed, you had to pay the elephant. You put a 2 rupee (the equivalent of 5 cents US) coin in one of the holes of his trunk and then bowed your head. Once he received your coin, the elephant would raise his trunk and tap you on your bowed head. He was surprisingly gentle for such a big guy! He was beautifully decorated with powders painted on his face, and huge jingling silver anklets.

2. The Beach: On our way back to the airport in Chennai for our flight home, we stopped for lunch at a seaside resort just outside Mamallapuram. The resort overlooked a beautiful beach on the Bay of Bengal. The beach was empty except for our group. The sand was white and full of gorgeous shells. The water was clear blue and surprisingly warm. The sky was clear and the sun was warm. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. I could have stayed there forever, relaxing.

3. The Baguettes: Pondicherry used to be a French colony. There are several great things about this. For starters, the town is set up like a French village. That means that the streets a. are set up on a grid system with blocks and b. have names. However, the greatest thing about an ex-French colony is the food! We had such amazing French food - including baguettes, salad with mozzerella, and chocolate crouissants.