From Nepal to India Feb-March 2015
Part II- India
Chapter 2 – Khajuraho
Day 21 The Art of Love
The train arrives in Khajuraho at 7am. Then, a tuk tuk brings us to our hotel, in the middle of a dusty road. The first thing I notice is the almost total absence of traffic. Most people around drive bicycles. Coming straight from the maze of narrow backalleys and the overcrowded street of Varanasi, I couldn’t have asked for more than this kind of peaceful, laid-back, wide open country town.
It feels already much more relaxing than any place in India I’ve been so far. Even the name of our hotel seems to agree with me.
Inside the hotel, there’s a gorgeous little garden, where you can just sit down and unwind.
It was hard to sleep in the train. As soon as we get inside, we crash on the bed for a few hours.
The room is large and comfy. And we even have our own fridge. However, we’ll probably give a raincheck on the bathtub‌
When we wake up, it’s almost lunchtime. We’ll take our breakfast in a small, cheap, family owned restaurant nearby (strange, flat rice balls with cold onion sauce).
Khajuraho may only be a small, isolated town, but the temples, here, are listed as World Heritage sites, and are considered some of the finest in Asia, They are superb examples of Indo-Aryan architecture, with stunning embellished carvings and stonework. Our hotel is right in the middle of the main street, so we have no problem getting anywhere on foot.
Today, we’ll visit the Western Group of Temples.
Khajuraho’s temples are also known as the « Kama Sutra » temples. They feature extensive amounts of eye-catching erotic carvings, going from sensitive erotism to bestiality. I won’t show any of the raunchy stuff here out of pure decency, but you can always look’em up online for curiosity’s sake.
The temples are all inside a beautiful park. It’s a real pleasure to stroll around and admire the view. Our first stop is the small Vahara temple (left).
Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
Next temple is Lakshmana (right). Arguably, the best preserved of all Khajuraho’s temples. The South side is covered with erotic carvings and illustrations. That’s the one most tourists will remember after their stay in town.
Sex and – graceful, voluptuous - women are the two major elements depicted on the temple walls.
Surasundaris (heavenly nymphs), Apsaras (dancing surasundaris), and Nayikas (mortal surasundaris). All often depicted in sensuous poses, or dancing playfully.
This nymph is removing a thorn from her foot. A teasing way of showing off her leg and twisting her waist.
The attention to details on every single sculpture is particularly impressive This is only one nymph, among hundreds. But she is definitely unique (I think she is writing a letter) and the expression on her face is incredibly realistic.
But the erotic content should not distract from the other representations, skillfully sculpted in the stone. Gods, goddesses, warriors, musicians, and real and mythological animals, are also depicted all around the temples.
A beautiful dancing Ganesh - the god of good fortune.
All around the outside of the temple, there are some scary looking monster heads. They’re supposed to protect the temple from evil spirits.
The temples were built during the Chandela dynasty. It looks like these guys were generally at war when they were not having sex – batallions of soldiers and war scenes also cover the temple walls.
I find this one particularly disturbing – these elephants are having the time of their lives, as they are about to stomp on enemy prisoners.
But it’s not just sex and violence everywhere. Some statues are actually kinda funny. For instance, this couple on the right, trying to get rid of a pesky monkey.
Most of the temples are based on the same architecture. They are built around a massive sikhara, or linga – a phallic representation of Shiva.
Hindus believe that life on Earth is a cycle – you are born again, and again. But the quality of these rebirths is dependent upon your actions – karma - in previous lives.
You can be reborn as an animal form, but it’s only as a human that you can escape the cycle of reincarnation.
So, the Hindus worship the symbol of Shiva, hoping to be delivered from their…circle of life.
We’re now going in the inner sanctum.
If you can read Sanskrit, you’ll learn that the temple was built around AD 954, and took twenty years to be completed.
The Hindu god Vishnu - the preserver. He protects all that is good in the world. Often represented with four arms, holding a lotus, a conch shell and some weapons.
More statues inside. This one is a human with the head of a bull.
That’s all for the Lakshmana temple.
Now, we have to walk to the other end of the park to continue our tour.
Can you see me ?
With its 30m wide, and its 31m high linga, Kandariya-Mahadev is the largest temple in town. The outsides of the temple are crammed with representations of female beauty. But the inside is not as interesting.
Next to it and sharing the same base, we have the temples of Mahadev and Jevi Jagadamba
Mahadev temple features a beautifully carved sardula (a mythical beast, part-human, part-lion)
By the time we reach the Devi Jagadamba temple, we understand that they pretty much all look alike. Even the nymphs seem to be bored in this one.
I’m not sure who the statue’s supposed to be, but it kinda freaks me out.
North of here, we have the Chitragupta temple. It’s unique in Khajuraho and rare among North Indian temples, in being dedicated to Surya –the god of the Sun.
We’re almost done. Now, we have to walk through the park once again to get back near the entrance (left). Also, I loved how I managed to capture the two planes crossing each other, right above the center of the park.
Not much to say about this one, that hasn’t been said before.
A large chunk of it is not accessible because of the scaffolding around.
I don’t know why, but this reminds me so much of Raiders of the Lost Ark…
The impressive 2.2m long statue of Vishnu’s bull.
The last one is the temple of Prateswar. A much more recent bricks-and-mortar structure, built around 200 years ago.
Interestingly, it combines different types of architectures.
There are three domes that represent the three major types of religion in India - Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist.
We’ve spent most of the afternoon in the park. We’re both hungry and thirsty, and the sun is beating hard on us. We decide to find a restaurant nearby.
I get some rice and green curry chicken. The guide recommends this restaurant, but the food is pricy and nothing amazing.
However, they have an unrivalled view of the western temples.
Walking back to our hotel, I haggle for a couple of souvenirs (including a deck of cards and a book). At night, we go to another restaurant. This one has been recommended by the hotel staff, not the guide. It’s called Mona Lisa Restaurant and the food is so much better. I get chicken tandoori (the meat is marinated and then cooked in a clay oven – a tandoor).
Two expensive restaurants and an entrance ticket for the western temples (250 rupees each). We’ve blown up our budget today, we need to be more careful in the upcoming days. Fortunately, the Festival of Dances, that takes place in town every year, is free for all.
Every year, between February and March, they set up a stage near the western temples for a week-long dancing festival. When we get there, we expect something colorful and extravagant, with dozens of elegant women swirling around in long, beautiful dresses, and coming straight out of a Bollywood movie. But there’s only one woman on stage. And her presentation resembles more mime than actual dancing.
Between each of her representations, she explains (in English) what she’s going to do next. And her dance usually represents a story, where every move has its significance. It’s a fascinating cultural experience. As much as a really boring one. Her stories last forever and keep repeating themselves. She needs to move around for 15 minutes to tell something that could be said in less than a minute. No wonder Bollywood movies are often 3 hours long…
Later on, another group of dancers enter the stage. We are told we are about be dazzled by the dancing tale of the first encounter between a god and a mortal stranded on an island. It sounds epic. But it’s not. Again, it’s all symbolism and interpretation – nobody even plays the role of the god.
What I like the most in the show is the backdrop, with a fake temple and a fake moon‌ Especially since the fake moon is right below the real one. The upper one white, the other, orange.
It’s like the two suns in Star Wars !
Anyway, we decide to leave after a while.
But there’s more than the Festival of Dances at the moment. There are also a couple of Art exhibitions that are free to visit.
I love the colours on these two.
See, that’s exactly what I meant before.
Her dance was more about facial expressions than acrobatics.
Definitely my favorite.
Ironically, we have a better time looking at paintings than watching the dance show. And we also meet and talk with the local artists.
This woman studied Art in France. This painting was inspired by the prehistoric caves, that she visited in the South of France. That’s where I come from! The South… Not the caves…
After the exhibition, we walk back to our hotel. Tomorrow, we plan to ride around outside of town, to visit the other temples. We get a fixed price to rent bicyles from the hotel.
Day 22 Bike Buddies
We get up around 9 and come back to the local restaurant for breakfast. I like that there’s no government taxes here, because it’s family owned.
Quinn likes the egg and cheese uttapam (thick rice pancake).
The sweet curd (yogurt) with fruit salad is not bad either.
So, we hop on our bicycles. As soon as we’re riding, one guy, also on his bike, decides to join us. We tell him where we’re going, but we don’t want him to follow us around. We don’t want a guide - although he says he’s only a local.
From our hotel, we have to ride South to get to a temple near the river. Of course, the «local » is going the same way. We don’t have much choice but to follow him anyway. Instead of going straight to the temple, he gives us a tour of the local village. But when he expects us to stop at the school, I know there’s gonna be some money involved,…
We make sure he understands that we’re not interested and move on. Still, he stays with us and we all ride to the first temple on our list.
You can tell whether or not you’re away from a tourist area, simply by the attention –or lack thereof to details in English translations.
The temple is nothing special, compared to the ones we saw yesterday. But it’s still a very interesting piece of architecture.
Also, it’s located in the center of a large park and near the river. It’s a very relaxing place.
While we’re visiting the temple, Mr. Follow-me-I-am-not-a-guide is sitting on the grass. He is waiting for us to get back on our bicycles.
I tell Quinn that we should have lunch here (mostly snacks and biscuits we got in town).
Around us, sitting on the grass, are a couple of professional artists (probably from the Art show). They are drawing, sketching and painting the temple.
I decide to join them. I assume that our « friend » will not wait for us forever. Bingo - as soon as I start drawing, he comes to us, and leaves us a business card. It was obvious from the start that he wanted to drag us somewhere in the end. The funny part is that his shop is called « Super Mario ». With a gamer like me, he would be selling anything related to video games, he would have had a good customer…
Anyway, now, he’s gone. We can finally enjoy our ride together.
We keep going along the road, and on dirt tracks, for about 3km, until we arrive to a new temple.
In proper English, what you need to know is that it’s a temple dedicated to Vishnu, and the only one in Khajuraho without erotic sculptures.
Inside, a stunning, 2.7m high statue of Vishnu.
And on the wall outside, the unexpected presence of a person half-man, half-woman‌
There’s nothing further South. So, we head back across the village to get to another series of temples.
There’s no road here. Even the dirt tracks are gone. We cycle among cows and large rocks in the grass. It’s so bumpy that the chain of my bike falls off. Thankfully, I manage to fix it by myself. I had to fix Quinn’s bike this morning, now mine. These bicycles really are worth the price we paid for – squat.
The weather is really beautiful today. And the air is clear. We can even see the mountains on the horizon.
We have one last group of temples to visit. But this time, we make sure to follow the road, and not get in the village again.
We arrive to the Jain temples.
Jainism is one of the many religions in India. Jains believe that liberation can only be attained by achieving complete purity of the soul.
It is done by a life of asceticism, fasting, and maintaining a bare minimum of possessions.
Right conduct is essential – they cannot harm any living creature. In the most extreme cases, monks go naked, they sweep the path before them – to avoid stepping on any living creature and they cover their mouth with a piece of cloth, to prevent inhaling an insect by accident.
They’re such party-animals…
This is the temple of Shanti Nath, built only a century ago. Inside, a 4.5m high statue of someone important.
But for me – gender aside – it reminds me a lot of the android in Metropolis…
Finally, we get to the two remaining temples. They are really similar to the ones from the western group.
Indians have their own version of the Arc de Triomphe.
In the final temple, a striking jet black image of a Jain divinity. Creepy‌
After cycling around for the whole day, we get back to our hotel at 5pm to leave the bikes. We are invited by the hotel’s owner for dinner – he does that with every group of guests – at 8. It gives us about 3 hours to browse shops (I get a couple of souvenirs) and visit another Art exhibition.
Love this one. Especially the couple in the clouds.
This one represents the Trident of Shiva. But with its dark and red background, it reminds me of the opening of Dracula (1992)
Some distant cousins of Globox, from the Rayman series ?
Or maybe even inspired by the Raving Rabbids‌
8pm. We’re back in the hotel. The owner invites us to sit down in the garden for dinner. The cook has made us a thali (traditional rice and veg meal served in compartmentalised stainless steel). And we dine with candles – it’s only because there’s no electric light outside, but it’s still quite romantic.
Day 23 Tummy Trouble
Khajuraho used to be covered by jungle. Today, they have a train station and their own airport. But it still remains in isolation. Today, we need to take the train to Gaya. But the station is not in Khajuraho, it’s in Satna – 3 hour drive from here. We had to rent a car from the hotel (2500 rupees). We leave around 11am.
Maybe it’s the heat, the stress of the road, or simply something I ate. But today, I woke up with an upset stomach. It’s not too bad so far, except that it gets worse when I lie down, or when I’m shaken every which way. Perfect timing! First ,the road is dreadful. When we don’t have to cover our mouth because of the dust, we bounce back and forth on rocks and pebbles. And I know that when we arrive in Gaya, we’re taking an overnight train. Where I will be forced to lie down. It’s gonna be a long day.
We haven’t been driving for more than 20 minutes that we blow up a tire. That’s how nasty the road is.
I help our driver change the tire and we stop to a village nearby, so that he can get it fixed. Quinn and I sit in a local cafe, with some tea. And wait. The place is really basic. A mere four walls, a kitchen and a roof. With only a couple of tables and a TV in the back. Nothing like the tourist areas we’ve been to. However, I like their system to heat up the pots.
The car finally fixed, we resume our journey.
At some point, the driver stops once more. This time, he’s taking a break. There’s a tiny house beside the road. No door, no window. Only three small walls. Inside, there’s a man, sitting on the floor, who appears to be selling spices and nuts in jars. The driver takes some spices, nuts and some tobacco, and rolls everything together in a large leaf. Before he eats it whole. The leaf is called Betel. It’s used around Asia as a mild stimulant, and has the same effect as nicotine.
At the same time, I look at this street barber, shaving someone’s head.
Eventually, we arrive in Satna. The driver leaves us at a restaurant (I can’t eat much) and drives away. We get a tuk tuk and get to the train station, and wait on the platform with hundreds of locals. We are on AC 2 this time, which means that we have our own cabin (shared with 2 other passengers), with a bit more space. But it doesn’t matter for me since I’m going to spend most of time in the train’s toilet…
Of course, our cabin is on the left side of the tracks. So, again, I won’t see the name of the stations when we stop. Around the time of our arrival, I start asking around what time we arrive in Gaya. We’re supposed to arrive around 3am. I will spend the night asking questions (Quinn manages to get some sleep), to people who don’t speak English. I get obscure answers like, « 3 », then, « 1 hour », « yes, yes 3 , « 5 », 6 » and so on.. Until our train eventually arrives. At 7am! On one hand, I’m glad we don’t have to find our hotel in the middle of the night. On the other, what’s with this country, where everyone finds it normal that their train is 3 hours late ??