Khajuraho/Orccha: Pastoral temple/village life

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  Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

We arrived in Khajuraho on Oct 20, a stark contrast to the chaos of Varanasi.  Two villages (old and new) of <10,000 people, it retains that atmosphere and the pastoral vibes despite being a huge tourist destination.  We shacked up at the Osaka Guest House, courtesy of Rakesh, for 150INR for a double.  It was quite the steal.  Rakesh would turn out to be our tour guide/host and good friend over our couple of days there and I easily could have spent a week or longer just tooling around the temples, cycling along the countryside and visiting with the villagers.  Rakesh helped us rent some cycles - they were clunky, poor turning, tanks and mine was a Shyam (if you pretended a Shyam could be a Scwhinn). 

We took our steeds out to the south and east temples in Khajuraho (the main temple site and UNESCO place is the Western set of temples, which would be tackled the following morning).  These temples are spread out amongst the countryside and makes for a very peaceful and leisurely visit and you cycle up to one, park the bike, spend as long as you need checking out the magnificent architecture and sculptures and power on

Adorable school girl pumping water

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I should provide a little background - the various Jain and Hindu temples do not currently offer pujas and are more of an archaeological site providing some of the finest temple sculpture and architecture you will see in the entire world and was built from 950-1050AD during the Chandela dynasty.  Courtesy of Wikipedia: They are quite traditional, adhere to a northern Indian shikhara temple style and often to a Panchayatana plan or layout.  A Panchayatana temple had four subordinate shrines on four corners and the main shrine in the center of the podium, which comprises their base.  With a graded rise secondary shikharas (spires) cluster to create an appropriate base for the main shikhara over the sanctum.  These shikharas -- subordinate and main -- attribute to the Khajuraho temples their unique splendor and special character. With a graded rise of these shikharas from over the ardhamandapa, porch, to mandapa, assembly hall, mahamandapa, principal assembly hall, antarala, vestibule, and garbhagriha, sanctum sanctorum, the Khajuraho temples attain the form and glory of gradually rising Himalayan peaks.  Saved from the Mughal destruction that ruined

As we were riding along, we passed through some smaller villages, by tons of school kids and by many villagers (young and old) pumping water, washing clothes, gathering the grazing herd..

Ankit getting schooled in Tekken by some kid

. bottom line, it was the peace and serenity we so desperately needed after the madness of Varanasi.  I was reminded of the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where he goes riding with his girl and started singing "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" out loud.  It had been some time since I was on a cycle and it is something I immensely enjoy.  We even saw this one kid who was too small for his adult cycle, but was pedaling along while hanging off one side.  Pretty impressive. 

The only problem was because it is a tourist destination, the children immediately came up to you asking: "Hello, rupee", "Hello, school pen".  They are sweet and innocent children, but hearing this repeatedly definitely does not help anything.  The next day, after hearing the same refrain and visiting a school, we would retort that if the kids were in school, we'd give them a pen.  We also ended up cracking up a bunch of kids in Orccha as we adopted some new names: I was School Pen, Ankit was Rupee and Zoe was Photo.  "Hello, Rupee?"  "No, I'm School Pen."  It was a regular Abbott and Costello.  

But I digress.  I found myself just relaxing and looking up at the sikharas while laying on my back and I witnessed a gorgeous sunset on some rocks in a field near the southern most temple

Beautiful Sikhara

.  We ran into this Hyderabadi aunty at one of the temples who scolded me for not taking Ankit/Zoe to South India and showing them our relatively cleaner and magnificent temples.  As with every aunty, Ankit and I reminded her of her sons.  We got thoroughly lost coming back to the main village - somehow ending up in the old village - but this allowed for us to see a bit more of the entire area, albeit not intentionally.  How we managed to get lost in a tiny town with not more than 10 roads is beyond me. We then had a magnificent thali (at least Mario and Luigi did) at this fine restaurant Agrawal's and capped off a wonderful first day in Khajuraho.

 The morning of the 21st, after a much deserved sleeping-in, we tackled the Western temples on our cycles.  However, prior to doing so, while grabbing our morning chais we saw a huge crowd around a shop that was a gold/silver store and apparently had 60,000INR worth of jewelry stolen and the locks changed.  It was the gossip of the town for that day.  I couldn't help but feel that the burglar was amongst the crowding peering on and thought of Chris Rock's "heard you got robbed".  The temples are laid out on some beautiful grounds, with well manicured lawns, bushes and flowers and there are about 11 temples in the complex.  Each is extraordinary, and dedicated to various Hindu gods, but the Vishvanath and the platform that contains the Kandariya Mahadeva temple and two others were the most impressive

broke down bus on way to Khaj

.  My pictures and any temple books simply cannot do justice to this place.  You must see it in person as from afar you are blown away by the size and beautiful style of the sikhara-based temples.  Up close, you are more blown away by the insatiable detail of the temples.  Every single row is carved with something - not an inch of space is wasted.  What from afar seems like nothing more than decorative trim, in actuality is a row of sandstone carvings depicting day-to-day life or a procession full with elephants and horses.  It is magnificent.  Of course, Khajuraho is also known for its erotic sculptures.  With the exception of a few, they are nothing more than very loving and beautiful depictions of an important aspect of life on earth.  Many people have theories as to why they are there - to emulate the Kama Sutra, but I believe that they depict everyday life and perhaps were sculpted with tantric in mind, which receives the same respect as yoga in terms of attaining and honing the energy in the universe.  

Here's a funny little side story, that would repeat itself in Orccha.  Indian tourist attractions have resident prices, which are absurdly cheap and foreigner prices, which on a relative basis are expensive.  In Khajuraho, it was 10INR vs. 250INR ($5).  Ankit and I walked up, with our Mario and Luigi staches, and both spoke a bit of Hindi (Ankit speaks some and understands well; I learned enough to pretend to speak Hindi) and when the man spoke to me in Hindi, I replied that I only speak Tamil as I'm from the South.  We both got in for 10INR.  Zoe tried to say her family was from Kashmir and she lives in the UK, but this was to no avail.  In Orccha, many people even directly told her that no one will believe you.  It was pretty funny, though she was slightly miffed.  Some may say we are cheating our own country, but as the kids of immigrants, I feel like our families paid their dues and if you don't like it, well then, you can get the f*ck out (God bless Eddie Murphy)

Ceiling of temple entryway

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We returned to the guest house to meet Rakesh, as the previous day I had arranged for us to accompany him to his family's home for lunch.  This was a truly great experience to see such kind, hard-working, education-focused (the family has no schooling, but Rakesh went to school, has learned Japanese and some French and plans on continuing his education once he has saved up some dough) village people.  His father is a rikshaw driver and all of his sisters (a couple of whom were married and one with a very small baby, Sateesh) were home for the holidays.  They live in a small one level flat, where the terrace serves as the living room and kitchen.  We enjoyed chapati, some daal and vegetable subji and it was magnificently good.  The women gave Zoe a bangle and the mother was so thrilled to have some more mouths to cook for.  They are a beautiful family and we were fortunate that they would have us at their home.  Ankit will send them some framed photos of us and of the family, which I'm sure they will very much appreciate. 

During lunch, we talked a lot about village life, how the caste system is very much still alive (Rakesh is a dalit, which means non-Brahmin) and the difference in education between government schools and private schools (that most kids cannot go to)

Child in old Khajuraho village

.  After lunch, Rakesh took us around his village, so we could witness all of this first hand.  The old village is segmented into four sections - one for each major caste.  They are distinguished by each section having its own well and government-built water pumps.  No member of another caste is allowed to drink or use water from another's well.  I don't have to explain here how I honestly feel about this, but I had to keep in mind that it is village life and it will take much longer for change to occur.  What is most frustrating is kids are all innocent and play amongst each other at school, so if it weren't for indoctrinating by the parents, the caste system would dissapear overnight.  I can only hope that it will be a matter of a couple of generations before the change I have seen in the cities also occurs in the villages. 

As an aside, while it allows for opportunity, the system is almost propagated by the affirmative action quotas that reserve a certain amount of university and government seats for non-Brahmin people.  It is amazing how similar the systemic racism is to what used to and still currently exists in the United States.  As Fela Kuti once said, "I don't understand why blacks hate and oppress blacks".  The same could be said of what continues in India and somewhere Ghandiji is very disappointed in what happened to the nation that he fathered.  After all, all Indians are Harijan, or children of god.

We stopped at a private school that is funded completely by private donations in the old village.  It was a wonderful school where all the children stood up when the three of us walked into the classroom and sat down only when we told them to sit down.  Zoe graciously had brought a ton of school pens and distributed them to the classroom - the kids were ecstatic

Erotic sculptures

.  The school provides uniforms and, upon completion of the canteen and three more classrooms, hot meals to all the kids who come from all of the castes.  The teachers come from different villages and work for very meager salaries.  While many would consider it a school lacking in proper facilities, all you really need are kids who want to learn and a teacher who loves to educate.  It is a wonderful place and I hope the good work continues.  In the office, we saw a map of North America in Hindi, which allowed Ankit to tell Rakesh where both of us were from and lived. 

We had to jet back to the hotel to collect our bags and catch a bus, so we said our goodbyes to Rakesh, Ankit gifted him a NY Mets hat (and we briefly explained what they were) and we took our final photos together, for now.  Weary of touts, we were reserved when we first met Rakesh, but he turned out to be a wonderful, kind and generous soul and I hope for nothing but the best for his family and him.  Someday, I hope to return to Khajuraho to see the large house that he wants to build for his family across from their current home. 

We took a largely uneventful bus that took eons west to Jhansi - a useless train junction town (apparently with a fort).  We intended on reaching Orccha that night, but instead went to the town in the morning of the 22nd

Erotic sculptures 2

.  Orccha is a small town - though not as quiet as Khajuraho - that has several old Mughal palaces/forts (in bad condition as compared with Rajasthan and Agra) and a few temples.  Interestingly, it is the only place where Lord Rama is revered as a king, because he allegedly visited the town at some point, and the temple for him is actually in an old Mughal building.  We spent our time in the Mughal palaces/forts, scampering around the multi-leveled place.  It greatly reminded me of walking around Tiger Fort over Jaipur and screaming "Mortal Kombat" with Sachin in 2004.  Those were good times.  In circling the top level of the fort, the ground had eroded, exposing a one or two-storey drop, so I had to scale the gap by crossing a 15m bamboo beam.  Exciting, but thoroughly idiotic.  We met these cute kids - I absolutely loved the girl with the salute in one of these photos and twirled her all over the place - who were the ones to crack up incessantly at our Abbott and Costello routine of School Pen, Rupee and Photo. 

We made it back to Jhansi in time to catch our train in the never-travel Sleeper class to Delhi.  It was a day train and cheap, so we figured why not.  A bunch of Indian Army guys were on the train on their way from Maharashtra to Kashmir.  They turned out to be really nice dudes who offered us bhel, peanuts and sweets and we, in very broken Hindi/English, chatted about their families, where they were going and where we were going.  They were captivated by Ankit's copy of Midnight's Children and he tried to explain the basic premise of the book.  We then meet these three Punjabi Sikh kids (their family was elsewhere on the car), Manu (18), Nishu (12) and Kanu (10 or so).  They were really nice kids, Manu is an aspiring engineer looking to go to Canada or Oz for university and is very much in love with his girlfriend.  Nishu is a good bowler, but because his folks emphasize education only, he can only play cricket in the local parks

Famous sculpture of woman washing her foot

.  Kanu was a spoiled, but nice kid, who was a bundle of energy and did not lack for self-confidence.  He was capitivated by my iPod, our books, my camera and our locks on our bags.  They were definitely from the upper class in Punjab.  Manu's dad and Nishu's dad (brothers) are stand-up comedians who have appeared in Bollywood films.  That was a first - especially since I first heard that Manu was a hard-working student enrolled in engineering!  Manu, Ankit and I enjoyed comparing our various cultures and, in particular, the dating scene in the US.  Manu, I'm sure, will see us (or at least Ankit) when he travels to North America.

At some point along this journey, Zoe got off the train in Agra to meet her friends and go to the Taj Mahal.  We were supposed to rendez-vous in Delhi, but it didn't work out, so I will have to see her again whenever our next travel paths cross.  Typical Indian trains, we arrived four hours late to Delhi.  We were staying with Jana Aunty, my mom's sister-in-law, and felt so bad that we were arriving so late.  She's however one of the coolest aunties on the planet and was insulted that we were even thinking of staying in a hotel because it was so late when we called.  She had some delicious chicken and rotis ready (Ankit made his very own kati roll) and vodka and mixers waiting for us.  The three of us stayed up late into the night talking about my life's changes, education (she is a long-time education and social policy professor and advocate, who has done some amazing things as high as the Parliament level in this country), politics, castes and village life.  Did I mention she is one of the most interesting and cool aunties on the planet.

The next couple of days were in Delhi before I said goodbye to Ankit on Oct 24 and then headed on a blitzkrieg tour of the country to visit various family for Diwali and my birthday, but the rest of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and back to Delhi is for the next blog entry

Gossip of the day, the robbery

.  My last day in India on Nov 2 will be spent watching the last day of the India-Australia test live in Delhi!  After day one (10/29) and the dominant partnership of Sachin Tendulkar (68) and Gaurav Gambhir (149 not out), India is up 296/3 in the first innings of the key third test.  I should be seeing the Indian spin bowlers try to stave off a hungry Australia trying to stave off an embarassing rout on the final day of the match. 

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Note: Words are much easier to put up here than pictures given the state of some internet connections, so frequently, many of my entries will retroactively have pictures added.  Be sure you go back and check the older entries out, if interested.  Thanks to everyone for your comments/emails; while I'm loving being out on the open road, it is necessary for my well-being to have the contact with loved ones back home. 

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Hanj and his Shyam	Hanj and his Thali at Agrawal	Jain temples in south of Khaj	Jain Thirtanker
Kandariya Mahadeva	Ladies sculpture	Mario atop Mughal palace	Mario, Kanu, Nishu and Manu on train to Delhi
Mario, Rakesh and Luigi	Meadow where I watched sunset	Mughal palace in Orccha	Private school in old Khajuraho
Rakesh and his family	Rakesh's sister and her son Sateesh	Sateesh's aunts and him	School kids in Khaj village
Sculpture 1	Shiva temple from Mughal palace	Sikhara of Jain temple in south of Khaj	Sikhara on one of the Western temples
Sunset in Khajuraho	Temple lion	The kids near the palace in Orccha	Trickster riding a cycle too big for him
View of Rama temple from Mughal palace, Orccha	Vishwanath Temple in Western Temples	Women washing next to water buffalo	Zoe and me at Kandariya Mahadeva
Zoe, Luigi, Rakesh the Met and Mario

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