The man standing in the middle of the room is talking to our group about the fine paintings that the artists of Udaipur have produced over the centuries. I'm not hearing too much of what he is saying because I am being distracted by the Elephant Boy over in the corner. I politely look interested in the young man demonstrating the art of grinding and mixing all of the natural pigments used in these paintings, but I am more interested in how the paint came to be burnished across the belly of the Boy. He stands about 7 feet tall, has six arms and rides atop a mouse. I just love everything about him.
When the demonstration is over I turn to Tucker and tell him that I am not interested in the paintings. But look over there. In the corner. He turns to me in amazement and admits that he has had his eye on the same Elephant statue. Ganesha. Carved from an odd black wood and then burnished with just a little color, he holds the cobra and is missing part of one tusk. Ganesha is part of the Big Huge Legend of India. When Shiva lost her son because he was beheaded , she could no longer go on. Moved by her sorrow, Siva resurrects the body by borrowing the head of a small elephant. And so it is that Ganesha is born into India's mythology. He embodies the spirit of new beginnings. Whenever there is a wedding to take place in a household in India, there is a Ganesha painted near the front entrance of the home. For luck.
I once read a book entitled "Shopping for Buddhas" and it described a man's journeys throughout Southeast Asia in search of the perfect Buddha. I had been looking for a small Ganesha in brass or ivory. But this was so much better. Big can be better and this one was huge. We make an attempt to look around the four floors of this shop for something else a little smaller. We find a very over-the-top, very cool, carved wooden frame that employs peacocks as a theme. The peacock is the symbol for Rajasthan. And this frame is also burnished with metallic gold and copper and silver paint. Sounds horrible but is quite beautiful.
The bus is leaving in 20 minutes and there will never be another chance to look at either piece. We bargain quickly and as hard as we can in 20 minutes. The bargain must include both pieces AND the shipping charges to the U.S. We begin to walk out the door and our offer is accepted. (this always works like a charm....took us two weeks to figure it out!) The papers are signed. We now own a really neat Ganesha that is supposedly 60 years old and was taken from the entryway of a wealthy home. We chose to believe this because we wanted the damn thing anyway. (IF it were older than that it would not be allowed to leave the country...best not ask). The frame will be a conversation piece as well.
What a fabulous day this turned out to be. What we do not yet realize is that Ganesha will require us to participate in an even more difficult birth when we return home.....but that is another story.
Off we go to London, which takes an interminable amount of time and energy repacking and waiting in the Airport Zone. The hotel is very British in its tackiness, but larger than most European hotel rooms. Even the club sandwich was not as appetizing as I had expected it to be. The drinks were fine. Best to relax before we attack a new country. Maybe Ganesha will be a lucky charm for us as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment