Prasadam For Lakshmi

Sethu was very excited, he with his grandmother was on the way to visit his uncle Ganesan.

Sethu had lost his parents when he was one year old in a natural calamity.

So for the last 6 years, he was with his grandmother and young uncle in a small village near Trissur, Kerala.

His uncle Ganesan was a mahout in the Bhagwathi temple. Sethu used to accompany his uncle to visit elephants.

Ganesan loved them, he was given the honour to hold the" alavattam"(peacock feathered fan) riding on the elephant in the local temple Festival.

But the nephew of the new mayor arrived and Ganesan's honour was removed and bestowed on the nephew of the mayor.

Insulted, Ganesan left the temple services

and went to Pondicherry for serving in

The Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple.

Puducherry being a popular tourist place, Ganesan soon got additional sources of income and called his mother and Sethu to Pondicherry.

It was the first evening of Sethu and was enjoying the prayers in the Vinayagar Temple. It was time for the arrival of Lakshmi the temple elephant to circulate in the temple as per routine ritual.

Tourist used to get astounded to see the huge Lakshmi entering the temple and would move back.

Sethu being from Thrissur was used to elephants, ran near Lakshmi. In his hands was the Drona of tasty prasadam and being a child was given an additional banana.

Seeing this Lakshmi rushed towards Sethu. There was a frightening hush in the crowd of the devotees. Everyone held their breath, scared that Sethu would be harmed by the elephant.

But Ganesan was a skilled mahout he tried to calm Lakshmi but she rushed towards the now scared Sethu. She grabbed the prasadam Dron and banana from Sethu and after her tasty snack raised her trunk and trumpeted which echoed in the temple dome! The crowd now was clapping and laughing and Sethu got his first friend Lakshmi in the new town