In India elephants are considered to be the most intelligent of animals and are held in high regard. The Hindu deity Ganesh has a human body and an elephant’s head, and is known as the lord of wisdom. He has the highest status amongst the gods, making him very popular, with millions of temples, shrines, statues erected in his honour. There are pictures of him all over India as he is seen as the remover of obstacles and is invoked before beginning any project or ceremony.

In southern India lives an elephant named Laxmi and her keeper (or mahout) Raja. Her stable is in a Ganesh temple, and she spends early mornings and evenings with the mahout and a priest blessing pilgrims: decked out in regal finery at these times, the elephant gently puts her trunk on the head of each pilgrim. There is generally a queue of people waiting for this blessing with gifts of fruit and money, and after each blessing the elephant takes the offerings from the pilgrims with her trunk and sorts the fruit from the coins and places it in different containers. Laxmi is therefore always treated with the greatest reverence and respect, and approached by devout pilgrims from all over.

The rest of the day Laxmi is out browsing in the picturesque countryside. There’s always lots of amusement in the streets when she tries to steal a pomegranate from a fruit seller, or stops at the well for a drink with the locals. A main event in the day is when she takes her bath in the river where the local woman and children do their laundry. Shot at a pace that evokes the fluid and graceful movements of the elephant herself, Laxmi’s Blessings explores the beliefs surrounding this elephant, her character and the healing powers she may have upon the humans that come into contact with her.

The Making of the Film

Durga Shakti Films decided to make a film in India for a number of reasons. India was a favorite get away destination for Karin Slater (director) during most of her 20's while I had spent 17 years of my adult life living there and speak Hindi fluently. In fact it was there that we met in 2001. It was in that year too that Karin visited Hampi in Karnataka state and encountered the main character of the film, Laxmi the temple elephant. She was impressed by what a friendly and gentle animal Laxmi is and never forgot the profound experience of getting touched on the head by her trunk, which is how Laxmi blesses people.

So we decided to take a chance though the logistical problems were considerable. Hampi, the site of a 16th century Hindu kingdom, is a fairly popular tourist destination in a remote area about 350 kilometres due east of Goa. We were able to determine that Laxmi was still there through calling an internet cafe but communicating what we wanted to do and getting permission to film was all but impossible. We also didn't know what kind of character her keeper was and that would be a key element in making the film.

With all these unknowns 6 month pregnant Karin, myself and our one and a half year old daughter, Allana touched down in Mumbai after a 14 hour flight from Joburg via Dubai. It took a couple of days to get adjusted and acquire tickets for the 18 hour train ride to Guntukal junction, 100 kms from Hampi. Arriving at 3 in the afternoon, we decided to take a taxi from there rather than wait 3 hours for the next train. It was a bad mistake. The taxi was an old Ambassador. Its shocks were shocking, and the road was choked with trucks and full of potholes that were more like bomb craters. Half way through the 7 hours it took to go 100 kms Allana was crying, I was frantic with worry about the unborn baby getting so horribly bounced around and Karin simply refused to go any further. It seemed like coming to India was just more than we could handle. But as it happens all the time in India, things just seem impossible and then somehow they work out. In this case the driver found a back road which was a longer route but smoother and with less traffic. We arrived in Hampi at 11 pm frazzled but intact and grateful for the comfy room we found and the pizza at a roof top restaurant that was still open.

The next day we found our way to the enormous Virupaksha temple which is Laxmi's home. It is about 200 meters in length with a 60 meter high tower at its entrance. As soon as we turned the corner into the section where Laxmi lives we knew we had scored. Laxmi's very presence seemed to wash away our anxiety as she was so friendly and welcoming. Her keeper or mahout, Raja, also proved to be a splendid and generous character. Born deep in the Mathodi forest of interior Karnataka, Raja exudes the patience and acceptance of someone who has been close to nature for his whole life. He was very pleased to meet us and helped us to get permission and negotiate location fees from the temple authorities.

Raja says, "I can't explain the relationship I have with Laxmi (the elephant)... she has the same trust in me that I have in her. It is not because I trained her, it is God's grace."

The next day the filmmaking family checked into a guest house on the edge of town where we rented a reed hut on the bank of the beautiful and clean Tungabhadra River next to a banana grove. It was a charming headquarters but it had its drawbacks. On the second day of filming a rat ate through the microphone cable on the camera. Not possible to fix it on location, we luckily had a spare mic and figured out that the rats would leave our gear alone as long as we left some food out for them every night. Then while having lunch with Raja, a monkey stole the radio mic out of the pram and dangled it from a tree, over the temple lake, but a little boy spotted him and managed to retrieve it. Phew!

Raja was extremely accommodating and let Karin and the team spend major time with him in the temple and also brought us into his home where we were fed and entertained by his family as Laxmi stood untethered outside at lunchtime, sometimes poking her trunk through the open door.

After a few days of filming, we noticed Mahesh, the street kid that is always around Laxmi. There was something special about this boy and Karin started to document him. He has a deep love for Laxmi and even when his mother leaves town he refuses to go with her. He just wants to be with his elephant friend from morning to night. After a ceremony and a long days work carrying ropes and grass for Laxmi, Mahesh received a 5 rupee tip. When he saw Allana on her way to bed, he ran off and in an extraordinary act of generosity he used his entire day’s earnings to buy her a chocolate.

Christmas eve was the build up of the film on which a full moon boat ceremony was to take place at the large water tank in the temple. Crowds of people from all over India arrived in Hampi for the occasion and we spent much time fending off the mobs who would swarm around the very blonde and blue eyed Allana wanting to pinch her cheeks and get her blessing. The only signs of Christmas were 3 Israeli girls dressed in electric Father Christmas hats and singing "Jerusalem" as they weaved through the narrow streets.

Translations were arranged with a tour guide who I found through a travel agency. Ram was a very nice guy, punctual and dedicated and not above pushing Allana in her pram when the need arose. But when we got back to South Africa we realized we would need a Kannada speaking person in order to place the selected translations and thus began the search for a Kannada speaking person in Johannesburg. No easy task. I checked out Indian restaurants, IT companies famous for their Indian programmers and Joburg’s Hindu temples ending up on several wild goose chases before Karin remembered the man who makes masala dosas at the Bryanston organic market on Saturdays. Chaithanya Pandith proved to be a treasure (as well as a fantastic chef) He says that he is one of only two dozen Kannada speaking people in South Africa. Chai gave generously of his time to work in the language he is very proud of and ensure that the translations were spot on.

Nicci B. was the tremendously dedicated editor of the film. She lived and breathed Laxmi for over three weeks, fully immersing herself in the film and capturing the essence of the story with subtlety and artistry.

The music for the film was procured from various sources. The Virupaksha Temple Band were stunning in the temple ceremonies, often cutting through the night with piercing clarinet and trumpet duets accompanied by exotic drumming. They were also recorded in their ancient stone practice room in the cool dimness of the midday as the sun blazed outside. Other music was contributed by Datta (Alan Wade) a longtime resident of the Shyam Meditation Hermitage in Kulu, H.P, India. The blends of guitar, sitar and tabla were from his CD Himalayan Muse. The cello/sitar themes at the beginning and end of the film were composed and generously contributed by Jolette Odendaal, a Joburg musician who had herself recently returned from India.

Raja's bright eyed daughter Ganga, a champion high jumper in Karnataka, became a character in the film and had this to say about the elephant, "We are all my father's children. So is Laxmi... she loves us all because we are with her all the time."

The entire scenario was one of unassuming spirituality. All those around the elephant seemed to accept their lot in life with grace, dignity and a minimum of material ambition. Raja says, "When money comes I don't have a habit of saving it... Sometimes trouble comes. What can you do? It comes and it goes... I don't entertain troublesome thoughts. But when it comes to Laxmi, my feelings change. I put my whole heart into feeding and taking care of her. She is my number one priority."

After nearly a month in the Hampi region seeing Laxmi everyday Karin, Steven and Allana took a bunch of bananas and sadly said their goodbyes to Raja, his family and the elephant we had grown to love. After one last long blessing from her they braved the journey by train to their next destination, one night in Goa and a swim in the sea.

DIRECTOR PROFILES: Karin Slater

Director and Cinematographer, was selected by Encounters as the African Trailblazer at MIPDOC, Cannes 2008. Karin has directed many films for SABC including – Riemvasmaak, Laxmi’s Blessings, Prenessa and the Dolphins, From Gogo with Love, The Meaning of the Buffalo amongst others. As a student at Technikon Natal she won the Best Student Director Award in 1989. Thereafter she raised and filmed big cats in the wild for Londolozi Productions. Animal Powers (National Geographic 2000) won four Avanti awards including Best Director. The Meaning of the Buffalo (2004) was listed as a New York Times Critics Pick. She has filmed for well known internationals and teaches Independent Documentary at
Selkirk College, Canada and in Johannesburg.