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Published: December 22nd 2007
Come into me...
Welcoming me into the templeKhajuraho , the city which took me many a week to learn to pronounce even though its pronounced how it is spelt, is truly a marvel in temple architecture dating back to the....ppppppffffffff hahahahhahahahah.....the temple sculptures have boobies!!! Hahahahahah BOOBIES!!!
The erotic temples of Kharjuraho, in all due honesty, contain some of the more intricate and detailed carvings I have seen to date, and are truly wonderful. It is just unfortunate, that the content of the sculptures is so awesome, awe-inspiring, or awful (depending on your religious upbringing) so as to incite reactions such as that above. It is enough to make the prepubescent boy* squeal and squirm, the Religious Right protest, and for the sculptor to admire at some of the finest sculpting in India.
*It's just a coincidence I've mentioned prepubescent boys twice in two blogs, I swear...
It was these sights that prompted me to name the blog one of the following:
The uninspired - Indiana Jones: The Ass Crusade
The all too obvious - Indiana Jones: The Temple of Poon
or, my favourite (and chosen title) - Raiders of the Dark: Indian Jonesin'
But , blog title and my own
Khajuraho temples
The grounds were well kept, and the temples beautiful...in many a way... immature perversion aside; your own sexual views and religious upbringing aside; please take these temples and sculptures as they are - beautiful, intricate examples of some of India's finest sculptures dating back to the...... hahahhahahah, orgies...
The Town The town of Khajuraho is a completely different story. The lands were once lush with dense forest, undiscovered until the 1800's when a british soldier came across the temples and their erotica. But even then, they remained as they were - shrouded and protected from the world for a century to come.
Khajuraho is a far cry from its lush past, today. Essentially a shopping arcade built to cater to tourits, it is the only place in India I have seen so far with a Radisson, Taj Group hotel, Holiday Inn, Ramada, and more to come - aligned on one street. The town of approximately 12 to 15 thousand even has its own airport, with the train station to open in a month. Isolated in the middle of nowhere, the economy and government have gone to great lengths to ensure that those westerners so intrigued by the kama sutra may come pay visit to its colossal stone version, and
that they may profit in turn.
The plus is that without such marketing, I probably would have never heard of the place. The minus is obvious: touts. I have yet to be to Agra, but in my Indian experience no place has come close to being as aggressive, rude, and persistent as this. For example, I was going shopping for a Khajuraho t-shirt, by the time I had visited 2 stores ALL stores knew what I was looking for and within minutes I was swarmed by representitives of each store trying to sell me their copy of the shirt at prices ranging from 125 rupees to 250! The simple act of telling a vendor, "no thank you", is enough to incite shouting, scornful protests, or a sidekick for the day constantly reminding you of what "high quality goods" await you at his store.
But to be fair, the town is not without their kind store keepers and children who, once you surpass their need for rupees and foreign coins, are rather entertaining and enjoyable and more than willing to sit down for a cup of chai and talk India, the world, and everything after.
And besides...if you
ever get frustrated, angered, or annoyed with the vendors , I know a quiet little temple that has some finely carved ass for you to whittle away your aggression...
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Mom
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Temples
Whenever we travelled in India, you were with us, so we did not visit these temples because you were definitely not old enough and you still are not!!!!!!!!