Blake

To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. William Blake, from "Auguries of Innocence"

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Ganesha's Rat

Dear Daughter,
Yesterday on the phone, you were telling me about how you saw a program on television that showed Ganesha and his rats in a temple! Yes, Ganesha has a traveling companion, Mooshika, who is a rat and is often seen with him in statues as well. In Tamil, Ganesha is sometimes called Pillaiyar, which means a special young child, because Ganesha is often shown when he is young. Here is a Ganesha statue in Madurai that Papa goes by every day in the Tak-Tak when he goes to teach English to the children at the school. I have shown a close-up where you can see Mooshika near Ganesha's foot, and look at what his belt is: a giant King Cobra!
I Love you,
Papa



PS Papa and a few other teachers played the big students in volleyball today. Guess what? The teachers won! Here is a picture of some of my students wishing me good luck before the game. It was a very exciting day.


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