…IS an understatement!  Wow.  This is the land of the Kama Sutra after all…

After a short flight to Khajuraho from Varanasi, we made our way to the hotel where our rooms had views of the 11th century temples of the Chandela Kings.  We visited the next day…an entire complex incredibly well preserved by the forest for hundreds of years before it was discovered by British explorers in the early 19th century. It was these explorers who described what they found as “a little warmer than necessary.”

Some of the images carved into the temple – that adorn every inch around it from the base to about 2/3 of the way up to 300 feet – are frankly pornographic – and beautiful at the same time.  It is so detailed and ornate it’s mind blowing…layer after layer and frieze after frieze.  Many of the images they do not even print in the postcards or souvenirs they are so racy (yes, orgies, bestiality, detailed genitalia).  The principle is that the foundation of the temple is the most base and primal of man’s being – sex and war (there are also many images of war) – and that as you ascend through these levels and go into a higher state of consciousness you find ecstasy and love and bliss and ultimately nirvana.  Each “row” of images takes you through this as you gaze from the lower portion to the upper portion and they tell a story as you circle (always clockwise in a Hindu temple – I have learned so much about Hinduism) and as you gaze from bottom to top.  It’s really amazing, and that these buildings and carvings (in sandstone) have survived all this time is astounding. 

We have by now gotten very good at ignoring the hawkers and beggars. While I have some wonderful and romantic experiences in India, there is a pretty constant reminder of the poverty.  Something like 800 million people live on a dollar a day.  The only way to get through the guys trying to sell you postcards and elephant tassles and, of course, memory cards for your cameras, is to ignore them.  If you are polite and say “no”, that means “maybe” to them, and they will follow you for blocks.  You have to admire their persistence if nothing else.

The weather has been good, the hotels great, only one bout of “Delhi Belly” [Tim] and Vishu (our guide) has been amazing.  Imagine having a friend who is Indian and an historian show you around India.  It’s perfect.

Next we begin a long journey to Agra with a stop at Orccha along the way.  This will be a driving and then a train adventure.  

Minor factoid:  the Indian Railway is the largest employer in the world…employing more than 1.6 million people.  Again, the scale of this country never ceases to amaze.

Until later…namaste.