To begin with- Khajuraho was a teeming tourist town, with an array of Hindu and Jain temples dating from the 10th and 11th centuries AD. These temples are famed for the depth of detail- artistic skill- creating a sense of human emotion, fluidity and above all, sensuality in the figures depicted. Most often featured on the temple are carvings of women- queens, consorts, apsaras (celestial nymphs), milk maidens and village wives. Khajuraho has even been described as a monument created primarily to honour the female form and its beauty. The relaxed curves, smiles and poses certainly convey a charming sense of joy in life and love between couples.
It seems from this place that there need be no contradiction between religion and sexuality- that those among us who a affinity for both the spiritual and sensual aspects need not be dismayed by a difficult choice! Many of the postures depicted left little to the imagination, and as usch these carvings represent a uniquely liberated form if religious art, free to express the beauty of the female form, unafraid of the temptation of desire- the suggestion is that we should perhaps embrace our sexual nature and experience it to its fell enjoyment- as such these temples have been connected to the tantric school of thought which reaches for ultimate liberation through orgasmic saturation.
at the temples some touts would simply come up to you and say repeatedly 'erotic, erotic' trying to lead you away to some kama sutra style pose depicted in the stones. The lack of rain for 3 months- drying up the agricultural lands and preventing cultivation adds to the problem of hassles for visitors by pushing more locals into working with tourists to earn some income. The most enjoyable time i had in Khajuraho was escaping the tourists traps by riding out of town, along small sandy paths lined with catcus to the base of a 150m high hill. I scrambled up the steep and thorny hillside for a view over the surrounding fields, trees, mountains, watching planes take off from the airport, viewing the temples towering in the distance, fires burning, sun setting amongst clouds- here was peace, quiet, calm.
After a long, cluttering and thrashing overnight sleeper bus to Bhopal (famous as site of the Union Carbide disaster that killed 16000 people in 1984) a caught a local bus to Sanchi and soon headed up the hill to explore the monuments. Sanchi is not overly spectacular to the eye- the size of the monuments is large but not huge and decoration of the buildings was usually quite simple- but the gateways leading to the main stupa were a major exception highly decorated on all sides- archway, pillars- with animals, nature scenes, figures, battles and flowery motifs- coming from events in the buddhas life, his past lives (Jataka stories), and other historic moments. Notably again monuments provided a historical chronology of developments in Buddhist art & architecture- with the oldest buildings depicted buddha as a stupa or bodhi tree while later on buddha (and boddhistva) statues and carvings were added. Foundation remains of many monasteries, subsidiary stupas were scattered around the hill- showing that this place was once a flourishing religious centre between 2000- 1500 years ago.
A highlight in Sanchi was taking the afternoon to ride 30km through the local countryside- greeted warmly and shown the right way by many friendly villagers- waving and practising their limited english, one fellow was keen to share his water (from a bore) with me and i accepted another rode with me almost the whole trip to make sure i found the right way. Rode to the Udaigiri hindu caves carved into rock, an ancient pillar from 150BC dedicated to Vishnu, erected by a greek emissiary who converted to Hinduism and the busy town on Vidisha to 2nd century brahmanic temple remains.
In Sanchi met a nice and quite spiritual old local fellow- Parihar- who told me openly of his struggles with local authorities, life philosophies and local fables- we had some memorablle discussions while he took me to some special local spots where old statues and ancient rock paintings were scattered about. Met up with Austrian- known by his Indian name- Mukti (meaning one in search of Moksha- or enlightenment) as planned.
We took a long drive to Mandu stopping occasionally to meet the locals, photograph the countryside- its nice having your own wheels. In Mandu on our first afternoon, a chance meeting with Jain Sadhus at the jain temple led to a memorable interaction with these inspiring characters. After showing us all around the temple, eagerly explaining all the features and facts about their religion- we offered some money- but they refused to accept- they do not touch money! In fact these guys, who spoke almost flawless english gained during their carefree youth in a wealthy private school, had been walking across India for the past 5 years. They eat only once a day- depending upon the generosity of locals they pass and never use cars, buses motorbike- only by foot- and no shoes. They practise Ahimsa non-violence and thus sweep the ground in front of themselves to avoid crushing bugs underfoot. Meditating, chanting softly and reading sacred texts are their major daily activities apart from walking 25-30km each day- they were so friendly- and told me their sole focus in life is the mission to achieve moksha- ultimate liberation from the cycle of deaths and rebirths. Wow! these guys are determined AND disciplined. Their strength and clarity of spirit was obvious through their eyes and manner. They gave us mementos and seemed touched by our gesture in spending much time with them.
The main tourism features of Mandu are its location atop a 600m high plateau, the area walled and filled with 14-16th century remains of a grand capital of a Mughal dynasty- the finest Afghani architectural remnants in India. Massive mosques, tombs, palaces, water playgrounds and marketplaces scattered profusely across a large area inside and outside the city walls. Pointed arches and heavily domed roofs were prominent features, with many lakes as their backdrop. The red stone and marble buldings were graceful, yet strong and imposing in design- large pillars, walkways high roofs, geometric designs- the architects and builders were obviously brilliant mathematicians- the buildings often perfectly symmetrical, complex floor plans and elaborate water systems to control the flow, cool areas down in summer. Some buildings showed remains of flowery white marble motifs, brightly glazed painted tiles that must have covered most of the buildings during their heyday. It must have been a glorious city. Even the royal familys midwife's sister had a large tomb built in her honour. On the 2nd day took a walk along the fortress walls for a magnificent view over the hills and valleys below- many old mosques visible covered in greenery. At the Delhi gate main entrance i tried to imagine princes and processions arriving on elephant back colorfully dressed and shining with gems, flute music playing in background.
Wandering in the almost deserted royal enclave was highly enjoyable- many large, multi-levelled old buildings to explore.
Jahaz Mahal- the ship palace where the ruler apparently kept his harem of up to 15000 ladies- was a highlight- its triple towered 120m length lined on both sides by large lakes. In another place a Shiva temple had been replaced with a water retreat for Mughal royalty. overlooking a valley, with prominent inscriptions about the auspicousness of the natural surroundings in Persian, the place now once again converted into the site of a Shiva shrine.
Drove to nearby Maheswar after driving right in to explore an old caravanserai and having a close encounter with a few trucks and buses on the narrow roads. This city is 000s of years old and its fame is enshrined permaneanrely in indian history by its featuring in the classic hindu epics- the ramayana and mahabharata. it was another quiet and calmly charming place, few tourists. Climbed to the hilltop palace, wandered the stone-lined riverside lined with temples and ghats, fortress walls towering up beside the Namarda river. Took a boat to watch sunset from a temple seemingly floating midstream of the river- serene, with waters all around, sun firing its last burst of orange and red into the sky, against the clouds. Stayed the night here at a very friendly and relaxed GH, the kids were charming, playing badminton with them was fun and they didnt even ask for money! This would be a nice place to stay alot longer.
Om Kareshwar is a bustling pilgrimage town, an island covered with temples, auspicously shaped like the AUM symbol and housing one of only 12 of the most sacred lingams (phallic symobls) in India- jyorthilingam- that are naturally occuring and not carved into the distinctive shape. Devotees line up for hours to view this symbol for only a few moments- and i joined the thronging swarms. Many of the so-called religious officials patrolling the main temple were keen to make a quick buck- one offered me a short cut to the front of the line for 200 rupees other insistently gestured for you to give them money as offering- when i reminded one of these greedy temple acolatyes following me around that 'religion is not money' he quickly retreated, looking guilty.
I walked all around the 8km circumference of the island, up to the hilltop where a 7th centrury temple (Gauri Somnath Mandir) stood- i climbed inside for a short meditation in the highest attic, beside the linga. Walked along a quiet stone path, past stone gateways, walls, statues and ruins until i reached a beautful temple, lined with large elephant staues and held aloft by equisitively carved pillars- this temple- Siddnath- overlooked the massive new Narmada Dam just upstream- which, in its unnatural, bare, dully functional form looked remarkably out of place amongst the graceful monuments and ancient stone carvings. (read Arundhati Roy 'Power Politics' for more on this dams controversial construction). Descended to the bathing places in the front of the island for a refreshing dip in the only moderately polluted waters, listening to the sounds of drumbeats overhead, the chantings of a waterside Shiva bathing ceremony, i calmly meditated while the cool breeze refreshingly brushed against my bare wet skin, tingling.
Said goodbye to Mukti that evening and took a gamble to try and reach Ajanta caves the next day- and stay on schedule to catch my train to Mumbai. Bussed to Khandwa from where i got a train ticket for local class to Jalgaon- me and a few local chaps squashed together merrily on wooden benches- even managed a few winks of sleep with head on some fellows shoulder! In Jalgaon i took a few hours sleep in the station waiting room before catching the first local bus to Ajanta at 6am. shuttle buses werent running when i arrived- so i saw the 4km walk with full backpack to the caves as some nice morning exercise- joined by a bunch of schoolkids and their professor we jogged along in unison.
Ajanta caves are simply spectacular. Massive stone edificies hollowed out of solid stone cliffs, many filled with elaborate statues and intricate paintings- they are one of the most magnificent masterpieces of Buddhist art ever created. Subtle lighting inside the caves added to the sobering mood of awe at the sight of such wonders. Some caves acted as monasteries- accomodation for monks- and the highly decorated pillared and statued prayer halls were lined with austere monastic cells were monks slept. Other caves were simply places of worship, with massive buddhas, stupas and other statues and colourful 1500 year old paintings still visible on the walls. The faces of some figures- slightly closed eyes, gently smiling lips- spoke of deep serenity, wisdom. Visited all the caves and walked up to the viewpoint for a view over the horshoe shaped gorge where the 30 odd caves are perched. Massive stone buddhas- most often in teaching- dhyana mudra- pose were powerful and imposing. Even the pillars inside the huge halls were intricately carved, as well as the walls, doorways, rooftops lined with majestic statues and/or finely detailed paintings.
A 3 hour bus later and i settled into Aurangabad- wandered a popular local park at dusk, where families and young amourous couples enjoyed their domains at opposite ends of the park.
Today i visited Ellora caves- another world heritage listed cave complex nearby aurangabad- this time from a mixture of faiths- Hindu, Buddhist and Jain and emphasis here is on statutory decoration rather than paintings. The highlight is Kailasa temple- the worlds largest monolitihc stone structure (created from a single piece of stone) dedicated to Shiva, and full of magnificent carving and statues of Shiva in his many different forms, his voluptuos partner Parvati, animals and mythical creatures, flowery lintels. The main temple building was fronted with a entrace hallwway and 2 massive pillars, the sides of the structure lined with multi-storey halls, viewing platforms, each filled with many more carving, statues and other decorations. The bases lined with large elephant and lion statues- sometimes wrestling each other- reminded me of the symbolic struggle between Buddhism (represented by the elephant) and Hinduism (represented by the lion) in ancient India i had seen depicted in stone in temples of Orissa. Competition between the religions was apparently part of the motivation for building more spectacular monuments- it seems a shame if this is a major reason why buddhism lost out to Hinduism in India by the 10th century- it couldnt match the hindus ability to recreate life in stone.
Some traces of the colourful red and yellow paint that would had covered the temple still show. This temple was full of life and action, the atmosphere created by the energetic depications contrasted with the more calm and austere, though beautifully decorated, atmosphere in the Buddhist caves at Ellora.
The Buddhist, Jain caves were also grand and beautiful, some triple storied, huge square halls lined with teaching buddha statues, some simple and some elaborate, and some chaitya rectangular caves for worship as at Ajanta. huge stone Buddhas in standing and sitting, yogic postures, and also attractive female figures accompanying buddha or sometimes depicted separately. The Jain carvings of their tirthankars to me closely resembled buddhas, though the few Jain temples were highly decorated with lotus flowers, trees, animals and also female figures- it seems a touch of tantricism was influencing Elloran carvers back then too!
Ive been taking squillions of photos and would like to share some- i have uploaded a few to a site at flickr- callum_mcqueen to check them out
tonight am training it to bustling, cosmopolitan (and somestimes squalid) Mumbai- Indias economic capital, then down to beaches at Goa for Xmas/new year (hope i can get a train ticket!) see you next time! Have a merry xmas friends!
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