tribute to Gulab Kali

[Guest guest]

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my attempt to write a tribute to GULAB KALI

 

 

Just my personal memories of Gulab - I always remember her to be extreamely

smart, joly and optimistic. She could figgure out after few times seeing me

with camera that it has a certain purpouse. I am not sure how exactly she

explained it to herself, but after while I noticed that she started to pose

for me whenever she saw me, even at times when i didn't have a camera with

me. She sometimes roll her nose and lift her foot up or cross her front feet

in a casual manner or she will do a 'cattle' stand by stratching her nose in

a cattle shape and playfully lifting her back foot up... She was a bandle of

fun, always. And very personal too. Even at the time she was crying (which

was quite often sadly) either due to remembering Sundar Kali (her sinior

elephant who died infront of her eyes) or for other unsaid reason... still

when someone she knew came by, she would realate to them in particular

personal way that she developped with this particular person.

 

Like one time I came by her shed late at night, she looked bored and

bothered with some thoughts. Then she notices me and decide to have a little

play - she grabbed my sari and started to pull hard untill she managed to

pull it off me compleately. And she would not give up untill sary came off.

Then she through the sary in the air quite high. As sari was coming down it

got straitenning in the air into one long strip of cloth and Gulab Kali went

under it in the middle, so sari fall on her head coming down evenly on both

sides - so she was wearing my sari now and I was hiding in her shed hopping

no one would see me like that... it was late and no one around anyway.

She was enjoying wearing sari for some time, she moved around in it and

looked just like a regular lady trying on new clothes. She was delighted and

shook her head gently side to side. When I was attempting to pull onto one

side of the sary, trying to make it slip from her, she would detect that and

move away, then turn and look at me as a winner. After sometime she let me

to take my sary back.

I wished I had camera with me then, but... I did not. She looked very fine

in a blue sary that was covering her ears and slightly forhead coming down

about 1.5 foof off the floor on both sides, she looked like a real lady.

 

When she was lying down, on the third day (the day she died) I came close to

her due course of helpping to clean and to see if she would take some water

to wash her mouth (she could not swallow even water, so she was rinsing her

mouth when was given chance) - and in such condition she suddenly grabbed my

sari again! like that time. This time there was plenty of people around and

I did not allow her to do the same trick and pulled my sari up, then she

grabbed me by the tois... I used to sit with her holding the end of her

nose, which is in many ways like a hand. It is actually quite fine in the

end and she can pick up even small things with those 2 splits on the end of

the trunk, which are acting as her 'fingers'. She was able to hold

individual fingers on my hand with it and even capture my toi and hold onto

it.

 

She was so overhelmingly PERSONAL. She wanted association of devotees, she

WAS NOT just a dying animal, NOT at all. Dying animals want to be along. She

did NOT want to be along, she appereciated devotees coming, touching her,

talking to her, chanting for her - appreciated very much.

 

The night before she left I could not get any sleep, so I went to her shed

to sit with her and chant my japa. She was not just lying there - she was

constantly trying to move herself and making very conscious efforts to get

up. She would put her trunk around corner and try to pull herself just as a

human being would try to catch onto some wall or handle for support to get

up... I was praying that she would make it... Her spirit was to figgure out

how to live, she was NOT a dying animal by any means...

She was very much attached to her service to Radha-Madhava - to carry Them

on her back. She was very conscious that this is her SERVICE and she was

doing it with appropriet concentration and love.

 

She understood that to offer a ride on her back is the top most service she

can offer.

When she wanted to express her special appreciation for someone she would

lift her knee on the front foot, which meant that she is inviting you to

come and sit on her back. Pujaries used to step on her knee and grab her ear

to get onto her back, that was the sistem of getting up there. And she made

this offer to those she liked.

 

Another expression of love was that she would blow in your face. Gentle warm

breeze was very comforting and full of feelings. It was liturally felt like

she is pooring her feelings all over you.

 

And She has real humble devotee nature, very forgiving. Even she was

obviously aware of some mistreats, she would not get angree (like a spoiled

elephant) - no, she was just excepting whatever devotees were willing to

offer her as a treat.

She was not keeping evel feelings for anyone, at least not in the form of

anger (usual for elephants) - but sometimes when she did not like something

she would cry with reall tears...

And she would remember every littlest insignificant good deed someone done

for her. It looked like she consciously was trying to remember or exibit the

remembrance of only good things someone done for her, even though elephants

do remember *everything*.

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I can't write any more. There are devotees who know lots of stories or more

details on her keeping and health situation and and you can contact some of

them (e-mails that are known to me):

 

Bhavananda Prabhu - Bhavananda.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net - the 'father' of Gulab;

 

Ramadevi Mataji - Ramadevi.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net - the nurse;

 

Nitai Prasad Prabhu - Nitai.Prasad.JPS (AT) pamho (DOT) net - the GM of Central

Department under which Gulab was supervised;

 

Sankarshan Nitai Prabhu - Sankarshan.Nitai.JPS (AT) pamho (DOT) net - also a GM

 

Pankajanghri Prabhu - Pankajanghri.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net - Mayapur head-pujari

 

Also Bhakta Gana Mataji (Australia) know a lot about Gulab's early days, I

don't have her e-mail.

 

I know that Ramadevi Mataji wanted to write a general article about Gulab

Kali, so contact her too if you want to know more details on Gulab's last

days.