Elephant Polo!!!
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
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63
188
Trip End
Jun 28, 2009
Jaipur,
Rajasthan,
India
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Today we flew from Delhi to Jaipur, the Pink City. We are staying at a palace that was built by a former queen for her maid. It was later a hunting lodge for the maharaj princes and then in 1957 it was turned into a hotel. It is very cool, with canopy beds and a great indoor and outdoor swimming pool. When we arrived, they put a red dot on our foreheads and gave us a yellow flower necklace made of marigolds.
This afternoon, we drove out of Jaipur to play Elephant Polo, a sport of the maharaj. On the drive, we saw tons of cows walking around, including lots with painted horns, and goats, pigs, monkeys, dogs, and camels - Indians love their animals that's for sure!
I had no idea what to expect about elephant polo and did not think I would get to play, but when we got there, we found out that we could all play - two on two elephant polo
Me and the dancers!
! My mahout (the guy who trains and takes care of the elephant) was very good and he helped me score a couple of points, but mom and dad's team won. Basically, you have to climb a ladder to get on your elephant, then you hold on to a rope while they hand you a mallet with a very long stick. Then a referee on top of another elephant throws the ball so the game can start. Lu was the referee for most of our game and she sat in a special chair on top of another elephant. All the elephants are decorated with paint and fancy saddles and things, and so are the camels.After the game, a marching band played bagpipe music and then Dad gave the head of the band a bottle of dark rum. We then had a dinner outside by the fire, with chicken tikka, fish, and all sorts of good food. I really liked the naan bread.
During dinner, there was a small band playing live music and some dancers. One of the band members was playing a box accordian. We watched the dancers and then they asked us to dance. We danced with them, went around in circles, and had a great time. Then a fire eater came and blew out huge plumes of fire - awesome!
I am reading a lot about the history of India and especially Ghandi
Us and the polo team
. I am also learning about the Indian gods, thanks to Indrajit. Tonight, I learned about Ganesh, the elephant god. Basically, his mother told him not to open the door to his house. But when his father got home, he tried to get Ganesh to open the door but he refused. His father went crazy and killed him. When his mother saw that he was dead, she demanded that his father bring him back to life. The first animal that his father saw was the elephant. So his father put an elephant head on his sons body, and that became Ganesh. Ganesh is the "remover of all obstacles" - and Indian people always have him at weddings, births and other important events. The main god, kind of like Zeus, is called Brahman. Different places have different gods.Good night!
