Washing 'sins' at Khajuraho

moneysh

After taking breakfast of ‘Kullar Doodh’, Jalabi (I'd rather not try to explain this to anybody who is unfamiliar with it) and ‘Poha (steamed rice flakes)’ (Gwalior was also the only place in this trip where humble ‘Poha’ was available as street food, in almost every nook and corner.) we started towards Jhansi at about Nine in the morning. The drive to Jhansi was nondescript and we crossed Jhansi at about eleven-thirty. After about forty kilometers from Jhansi the road conditions deteriorated, but thankfully, the road was not in as bad shape as it was in bad name (I had heard numerous horror stories about the roads in MP). One can comfortably manage to drive between fifty and eighty (depending upon car), of course, taking care of some potholes here and there. But aren’t almost all the roads in India, barring some fancy highways, like that. After stopping for about an hour at Chattarpur for tea and snacks, we reached the gates of Khajuraho.

“Sir, Kidhar Jaana hai? (Sir, where do you want to go?)” Asked one ‘educated looking’ guy in decent attire when we were standing in front of closed Iron Gate in the middle of road.

“Ander (Inside), Western Group [of temples]….”

“Idhar say to kewal local gaari ki entry allowed hai, aapko teen kilometer peechay say ghoom kar aana padega. Main batata hoon, main bhi udher hi jaa raha hoon. (Only local cars are permitted from this gate, you’d be required to go back for about three Kms and take another route. Let me guide you, I’m also going that way.)” Saying this, the guy started pulling the handle of back door of the car. Having got wise by my experience with ‘such types’ in Agra, I was in no mood to accommodate anybody in my car. Luckily, by the time I was trying to figure out how to react, a security guard in black uniform came running from behind the gate and opened it.

“Sorry, sir I just left for tea.” Said the security guard apologetically when we were crossing the gate.

We reached front of Western Group of Temples, which was barely two hundred meters from the gate, within a minute. We parked in front of ‘Hotel Siddharth’ situated right in front of the Western Group of Temples and checked about availability of room. A decent 'Temple view’ room with air-conditioner and bath tub was offered at Rs thousand per night, but after a little haggling deal was done at Rs eight-hundred and fifty per night.

“Fix kar liya? (Have you got the room?)” The ‘decent looking’ guy whom we had met us at the entrance gate was waiting for us besides our car when we came out to our car for picking up our luggage.

“Yes. We’re here to pick up the luggage.”

“Yeh hotel to mehnga hai. Yeh sabhi subidha aadhay paise ma dildoonga. (This hotel is expensive, I can get you same facilities at half the price.)” I told you, these nuts are sure very hard to crack.

“I just said…. I’ve already fixed the room and paid the advance. Can’t you understand?” I firmly said, to fend him off.

“Okay….. Sir, …… anyway, I’m a government approved guide. You’d require guide for temple visit tomorrow?” He tried to push his visiting card in my hand.

“You’re a guide!!! That’s why you were trying to misguide us in the first place. Is this the way you guide people.” I said, but the guy continued to narrate his side of the story till we entered our hotel after locking the car.

Although we went to Khajuraho knowing well that it was ‘low season’ at that time of the year, but we came to know that season was so low that almost all the good eateries were either ‘closed for renovation’ or offered only snacks and drinks for dinner. The only place that was abuzz with a lot of ‘white people’ was Raja Café, situated next to our hotel, but I deliberately (and wrongfully) gave it a miss because the Menu Board they had placed prominently at the road side mentioned only Burgers, Pastas, Pizzas and Pastries whereas I was in no mood to take bland European food (I, somehow, dont like anything ‘cheesy’). Anyway, after taking two rounds of the market, we returned to hotel and ordered dinner there. Considering that our hotel was passing through the same ‘low season’ as other hotels and restaurants of the town, the dinner was excellent. Although, several other tourists who had stayed in the same hotel complained (in tripadviser.com) about its being ‘noisy’ but, thanks to ‘low season’, we managed a rather ‘good’ night’s sleep.

Tuesday

“Papa, wake-up, there’s a peacock outside our room.” …Were the words my daughter used to wake me up in the morning. Exuberance was evident on her face. I brought out camera and quickly ran out to cover the peacock, which, by then, had moved up the stairs to the roof of the hotel. I quietly followed it in a bid to take a few photographs but it managed to remain elusive to the camera.

After having our breakfast we started for the ‘Western Group of Temples’ complex. The complex is very well maintained and the Temples of the group, per se, are astonishing. I’d not act hypocritically by collaborating to any of the numerous theories that ‘logically’ try to explain the ‘whys’, ‘hows’, ‘whens’ and all other interrogative words about the temples. The bizarre theories that are in coinage try to explain that kings of that time practiced ‘Tantrik Sex’ and tried to popularize it or that "The sculptures were ‘probably’ made to impart ‘sex-education’ to the masses". But I feel that the sculptures there are pure pornography, the poetic form of it, carved on stone. If you leave aside a few outrightly ‘explicit’ statues, even then, each sculpture, even as mundane as showing a woman feeding a cow or mopping the floor or working on grinding stone, has definite sexual undertones in it. The sculptors of the sculptures were probably given unconditional immunity and full freedom of expression to create whatever ‘comes to their mind’. The sculptors, obsessed with the very form of feminine body (aren’t we all?), carved sexual connotations of the ‘body’ in its natural form, irrespective what the ‘body’ is doing, or for that matter, against whatever canvas it is drawn. It was as plain as that for me. The show that exists there has not been created to invoke some ‘intellectual thoughts’ or to churn out some hidden ‘logical conclusion’. The obsession with the form of feminine body is clearly evident from the fact that even almost all the male statues are also ‘feminine’ in nature. Large eyes, sharp features, sensual lips, hairless bodies, and no noticeable muscles and so on, the comparison does not end here (In fact, well defined mustache and beard have been created deliberately as distinguishing factors in some of the figures, besides, obviously, the lack of bre***s). Browsing through thousands of such figures, I suddenly felt, that even though I had always felt ashamed of it, but my mind was not at all perverted. Instead, it was in perfect tune with the universe, the male universe. Frankly, the experience there absolved me of all my ‘stockpiled sins’ that I was carrying in my mind. By the way, let me tell you that before visiting ‘there’ every time I ‘watched’ any young woman doing anything, the ensuing thoughts almost always added to the stockpile of sins, but after ‘the experience’ I closed this ‘head of account’ from my head. I felt that I can also walk with my mind ‘without fear’ and my head ‘held high’. My wife, on the other hand, was trying to superimpose the prevalent ‘theories of existence of the temples’ on the ‘sheer fact of existence of the temples’ to gauge the degree of validity of the ‘theories’ (Even to her, no theory's perfect, so far.).

“Should I try to pass ‘my theory’?” Was the thought that came to my mind, but ‘my idea’ is sure ‘the guy thing’, so I played safe.

By one-thirty, we were damn tired by walking on sand stone in high sun, in hot and humid atmosphere. We returned to our hotel which, thankfully, was just across the road. After having lunch and cooling off for about two hours, we proceeded towards the other temples, which are scattered all over the town. The other temples were like starters after a hearty meal. We returned to hotel at about seven and decided to take dinner at ‘Raja Café’, which, surprisingly, served good north Indian fare also. At night we went to watch the 'light and sound show' which, with narration in voice of Amitabh Bachchan, was superb.

The next morning we left for Orchha.


NB: The thoughts above could be easily terms as wanderings of ‘perverted mind’ of an individual, so think twice before cancelling that ‘Haridwar Trip’ and going instead towards Khajuraho to wash away your sins.

mousourik

Excellent write-up. Next part is on Orchha ?

kausiks

Very nice write up. Please do continue with the remaining parts of your trip.

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The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.

jaibharatma

Great reading. Will be there next month.

moneysh

We started from Khajuraho at about nine in the morning and reached Orchha at about one in the afternoon. We drove through the town in search of suitable accommodation. Apparently, it appeared that the town has only very basic or very expensive accommodation to offer. After running length and breadth of the town on car, we landed in Sheesh Mahal hotel of MPTDC. Although, looking at its location (it is situated in a small fortress, near Jahangir Mahal), ambiance (it is a small palace which was abode to a famous courtesan of Mughal era) and interior, we expected it to be an expensive place to stay, but on enquiry we found that the place was not that expensive (All inclusive cost of Rs.1650 per night for AC room with attached bathroom that is almost as big as the room itself). The restaurant of the hotel offered decent food at reasonable price (here I’m talking of relatively reasonable price, considering amenities explained above).

After post-lunch nap, we headed towards Raja Ram Temple at about six in the evening. On reaching there we found that the temple gates would open only at Aarti time i.e. at eight-thirty.

“Eight-Thirty!!! Why is Aarti time so late?” I enquired from the guy who told me about this, rather awkward timings.

“Sir, Seven-Thirty to Eight-Thirty is time of Aarti at Ayodhya (Town, birth place of Lord Ram) and god cannot be present at both the places at the same time, hence Aarti time is Eight-Thirty, when Lord Ram remains present here (after completing the ritual at Ayodhya).” The guy gave the simplest possible reason for absence of Lord Ram from Orchha (and, of course, from everywhere else).

“Well…. Isn’t the God supposed to be omnipresent?” I mumbled, in a very low tone.

“What sir?” The thing that struck me after eye contact with the guy was that he was fully convinced about the statement he was making. For him it was as certain as the sunrise from the east.

“No, nothing.” I opted to keep mum.

The area around the temple typical temple-surrounding area with several Prasad, souvenir and flower shops but nothing interested us so we decided to check nearby Chaturbhuj temple.

“Sir, this temple closes its doors at six in the evening.” Tea-vendor near the beginning of stairway interrupted us when we had just stepped on the first stair of grand Chaturbhuj temple. Considering the previous experiences of the tour, I went up all the way through sixty odd stairs to check by myself that the temple was indeed closed.

After coming back, we ordered tea to pass the time.

“Why this temple closes so early?” I asked the Chai-vallah.

“This ain’t no temple, sir. An old lady has placed a statue here just a few years back. Real temple is Raja Ram Temple......, but now …. (he gave a look to his wrist watch) …. you can visit there only during Aarti.” Chai-vallah told us while serving tea.

“But, how come the grand temple complex remained empty and Raja Ram Temple is situated there.” I asked, looking at small Ram temple complex which is certainly very humble as compared to grand Chaturbhuj temple.

“Actually, this Chaturbhuj temple was constructed to accommodate Lord Ram because the queen of Orchha was devout worshipper of Lord Ram, but when the King of Orchha went to Ayodhya to bring Lord Ram here, Lord Ram put three conditions. Firstly, Lord Ram desired to become the king of Orchha. This wish immediately fulfilled by our king by stepping down from throne and instating Lord Ram as the king, hence the ‘Raja Ram temple’.” After telling this the tea-vendor got busy with some other client, leaving us there and then, gasping for more. Frankly, the tea was the worst I ever had out of my home, (At home, my wife can certainly outdo this, at times.), but the flavor of the story was started building up.

“What was the second condition?” I immediately asked after the vendor became free after serving tea to the other client.

“….Well…., the second condition was …. that Lord Ram asked our king to carry him to Orchha from Ayodhaya on foot. Our king also agreed and carried Lord Ram on his shoulders all the way from Ayodhaya to Orchha. The third condition was that Lord Ram would set-up abode wherever he is placed in Orchha, at first. Here…, after walking all the way from Ayodhaya, our king forgot this condition and placed Lord Ram near kitchen. Hence, the current Raja Ram Temple was actually the kitchen area and the Chaturbhuj temple complex, which was erected to accommodate Lord Ram remained empty for centuries.” The tea-vendor narrated the whole story.

“…….Raniiii Lala (local trader) ke sang Lagri hai (The Queen is having an affair with the local trader) [well… I’m being as decent as is possible]) .......” were the words that my ‘just returned from Khajuraho’ dirty mind was able to comprehend from the Ragini (a type of folk singing pattern) that was being played in very loudly in nearby CD shop amidst other brouhaha of market place. Needless to say, I got extremely curious about the story of the queen ‘in relation’ with the trader, but, fearing that I might offend somebody, I somehow controlled urge of asking the story from someone at the CD shop.

A few minutes later, walking aimlessly through the dark allays of congested town we landed in a small park where a number of local people were praying in front of a small Mazar like structure. On a closer examination, we found that there was a stone statue of a person under a canopy.

“Whose [which deity’s] temple is this?” My wife asked an old lady who was selling garlands nearby.

“Lala ……………….(Sorry, but I forgot the name)” were the words of the lady.

This inflamed my curiosity further as my mind was eagerly trying to figure out whether ‘this lala” is “that lala”. But, the flower-seller lady started narrating the related story almost immediately. The story was about a very popular charitable trader (Lala) whom jealous ministers a king got killed by spreading the rumor that he is having affair with the queen. She explained that people still worship the trader for his benevolence. So many stories in so little time were a bit too-much for me to handle, but the conviction and faith local people were telling these stories was unmatched. Everybody for sure believed every word of the story he or she was telling.

Later, we attended Aarti at Raja Ram Temple before returning to hotel. Had sumptuous dinner at the hotel restaurant where live performance by some folk artists enlivened the atmosphere.

Next day we also visited Laxmi Narain temple at were astonished by its remarkable murals of Ramayana and Mahabharatha which are now in a state of neglect. We also visited Chhattries and Jahangir Mahal. Everyone we met anywhere in these places was ever ready to tell bizarre stories. There were stories of Lord Ram which somehow failed to find place in mainstream mythology, stories of Mughal emperor Jehangir which never appeared in mainstream history, stories of Rani of Jhansi which were totally ignored by historians while writing about ‘Freedom struggle of 1857’, there were stories about courtesans of local kings who were so popular that Mughal emperor and constructed palaces for them in Orchha (our hotel was in one such palace) and on top of all there were stories about bravery of great kings who failed to find a mention in history, mythology and even folklore.

In conclusion, Orchha, which is just about twenty odd kilometers from Jhansi maintains this marginal distance from mainstream history, mythology, polity, economy and modernity. The town remains in a medieval time-wrap and this very idea that adds romance to its existence. Its effect is like effect of alcohol that gets into your bloodstream, as soon as you start taking it. It intoxicates you after a few rounds (of stories, ...... what else) and it definitely leaves you with hangover.

My tour originally planned as Khajuraho tour certainly ended as Orchha tour because I had only stories from Orchha to tell friends after this tour.

mousourik

No matter how good be the items, their presentation is more important. Your being a gifted story-teller makes it more interesting than the stories perhaps.

Why don't you travel more frequently so that we can keep on enjoying ? Think about it seriously.

NowInBangalore

Good story teller, Moneysh. But what did you do with your daughter in Khaujuraho? Did you take her along to see the Western temples? We are going with our 12 year old boys, what do we do with them??? Any part they can see?

moneysh

Wellll...... you've asked a very difficult question. My daughter was just 5 at the time of my going there and her only query was 'Why the gods are not wearing cloths?', which I was able to handle, but twelve-year old boys are surely a different preposition altogether. Check out with hotel guys and local travel agency to know whether they're conducting a half day guided tour to Panna National Park during the days of your visit. Send them on the tour in the morning and pick them up in the after noon. 'Sound and Light show' in the evening would be fine for them.
Of course..... if you're not planning to talk 'birds and bees' with them in style - at the right time and The Right Place.

NowInBangalore

No, no, the birds and bees will be humming much later, I HOPE!!

Maybe, they can just sit under a tree, COUNTING the birds and bees.
Yes, we are planning on the sound and light show in the evening.
Thanks for your reply.

rtandon

moneysh, your detailed and picturesque description is awesome. Only just less than being there, I suppose! Great write up.

Also I had read your other account of Orccha and since I am a frequent tourist of that place and like that too, I also found your pictures and write up useful


NIB, your response to the birds and bees is indeed witty.

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Rajeev

delhiwala

I'll be at Khajuraho on 23rd & 24th.

Any other IMers, there at that time ?

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