Somewhere in my travels these words ….’Everything that happens to you has the potential to deepen you’….and so last night I happened to watch “Elephant Whisperers” on Netflix and was transported, viscerally and sensually back in time to a place where adventure, family hooplah, wonder, beauty, wisps of fear, passion for wildness and tangible LOVE for elephants crept into my young self.
Mudumalai!!!!!!!! Forests and rivers and waterfalls in themselves bursting with scents and particular viscosities, camouflaging the most fantastic array of life behind, above, below and ON just about everything. In other words, one cannot begin to imagine the CREATURES in this place! Malabar squirrels and braminy kites and kingfishers and gaur and sloth bears and tigers and leopards and vultures and and and ELEPHANTS.
When we were on the plains, Mudumalai was our unanimously voted for favorite expedition picnic, roaming, hide and seek place, in between my parents humanitarian endeavors…..and last night I was transported, Dad’s laughter calling me forth, to bathing baby elephants in the river and feeding them balls of oatmeal-ish glop in their adorable mouths and being tickled and nudged by their grateful trunks….and being reminded of the warmth and sweetness of the people….all because of this one simple documentary.
We can all fuss about the ways in which the internet has hurt our culture, but now my grand children can peek and SEE…just a little…of the world that their Mamgee grew up in!
My heart is smiling….and of course a small part of me says “And WHAT am I doing here?????”