[The most magnificent
temple in this complex is the Lakshmana Temple, whose walls are studded with beautiful
idols and images of as many as 600 Hindu gods, animals and sensuous couples,
which remain unchanged. Ms. Horwitz described them as "sinuous figures
cavort, hunt, make love, make war, make music, smile at themselves in mirrors,
twist, turn, wiggle and dance - all in level after level of horizontal friezes
encircling the edifices."]
By Raksha Kumar
 |
Devlin Barrett/Associated Press
An intricately carved temple in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh in
this Feb. 13, 2008, file photo.
|
When you pass the sign that says "Welcome to Khajuraho,"
you enter a different land. The roads become broad and smooth. Lush lawns and
tall green trees line up on both sides of the street.
And, most strikingly,
sex and eroticism are no longer taboo. Khajuraho - which is at the heart of
Madhya Pradesh, a state called the "Heart of India" -- is famous for
its 1,000-year-old temples full of highly detailed erotic art and stone
carvings, which draw millions of visitors each year.
In 1968, when Elinor L. Horwitz visited the place for
The New York Times, four Indian Airlines flights a week to Khajuraho from New
Delhi had just been scheduled. There was only one place to stay overnight, a
$6-a-night government bungalow, which also served the only tourist lunch in the
area, a $1 affair that included "bland soup, hot curry and custard."
Recently, India Ink
traveled to Khajuraho to see what has changed and what has remained the same in
the four decades since.
In 1968, Ms. Horwitz
observed, "of the original 85 temples, 32 baroque marvels remain intact in
their 1,000-year splendor." Built between 950 A.D. and 1050 A.D., under
the generous patronage of the Chandela Rajput kings of central India, the
temples of Khajuraho have been grouped into three complexes based on their
geographic location: east, west and south.
The western group of
temples is the best preserved and was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in
1986. These temples are inside a huge compound, and a ticket is required for
entry. Once inside, massive green lawns are interspersed with ancient temples
dedicated to different gods.
The most magnificent
temple in this complex is the Lakshmana Temple, whose walls are studded with beautiful
idols and images of as many as 600 Hindu gods, animals and sensuous couples,
which remain unchanged. Ms. Horwitz described them as "sinuous figures
cavort, hunt, make love, make war, make music, smile at themselves in mirrors,
twist, turn, wiggle and dance - all in level after level of horizontal friezes
encircling the edifices."
The purpose of these
sculptures is still being debated among scholars. Devangana Desai has written
three books on Khajuraho, including "Erotic Sculpture of India: A Socio
Cultural Study." She contended that erotic sculptures around places of
worship of any society would require an explanation.
"What is the
rationale of erotic depictions in religious art," she asked. "What is
their thematic content? Is erotic sculpture confined to temples or particular
religious cults? Could esoteric tantrikas display their own secret practices?
This inquiry is concerned as much with the question of religious sanction as
with the sociological factors generating the permissive atmosphere and mood for
the depiction of sexual motifs."
Tourists who visit the
temples have similar questions. Hans Mahler, 27, an antiques store owner in
Germany who was visiting the temples wondered aloud how the Hindu society of a
thousand years ago could be more open than the German society today.
Even if the sculptures
haven't changed, pretty much everything else has. Today, there are several
flights to the town from many cities every day, bringing in almost as many
visitors as the Taj Mahal -- more than 2 million visitors during the peak
tourist season, between February and April and between September and November.
The small airport at Khajuraho is also getting a facelift.
Unesco, or the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is not only giving
this heritage site financial assistance for the upkeep of the sculptures, but
is also instrumental in drawing foreign tourists to these artistic temples.
Those foreign tourists
will find the town has changed to cater to them. Several restaurants boast of
specializing in country-specific cuisine. Pizzerias are sprinkled across the
town, as are Korean restaurants. A guide who could speak six international
languages was trying to draw the attention of foreign tourists in front of the
temple complex.
In a 1973 essay from Khajuraho, Anees Jung wrote in
The New York Times that these "legendary" temples had very little
impact on the lives of the people living in Khajuraho. That was about to
change, she wrote, with the opening of a the "Khajuraho Motel, the first
hostelry expressly for automobile drivers in this land of richly carved temples
and mahua trees."
"The people who
live in Khajuraho are not the same as those who built the temples," the
curator of the Archeological Museum in Khajuraho told Ms. Jung. "They have
been living in the village probably for only 200 years. Not one of them can
sculpt in stone. Otherwise, they just live in the village and work on their farms
and small businesses. They are quiet, unpretentious people, whose lives go on
apart from the splendor of the past. The temples are just a natural part of
their lives. What will probably affect them is this motel and tourism."
The curator was right.
Today, the economy of Khajuraho is driven only by tourism. It has become a town
that never sleeps, with restaurants and bars open until late in the night. And
according to a resident, the aspiration of most young men is to become a tour
guide.
Khajuraho also has
many five-star hotels and luxury accommodations, like the Radisson, the Lalit
and Hotel Clarks, all of them built in the past decade or so. For many years,
the only decent place to stay used to be Hotel Jhankar, a Madhya Pradesh
Tourism initiative. This hotel is still popular as it is located in the center
of the town, close to all three temple complexes.
Amid the
transformations that have changed the face of this little town, thousands of
years of ancient Hindu iconography and sensual sculptures seem to be the only
constant.
HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: Even as
journalists vehemently protested Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's yesterday's
statement that the arrest of Maoist cadres for murdering journalist Dekendra
Thapa would affect peace process, the prime minister today appeared defiant.
The prime minister reiterated that the murder case of Thapa should not be
addressed by the administration.
Media reports were rife
today that the prime minister even 'instructed' the local police and judicial
agency to halt legal proceedings in Dailekh where five Maoist cadres were
arrested on Saturday on charge of murdering Thapa.
Federation of Nepali
Journalists, different associations and unions of mediapersons, opposition
parties, including the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, today strongly condemned
the prime minister's act of halting the legal proceedings.
An FNJ team led by its
Chairman Shiva Gaunle also submitted a memorandum to the prime minister this
evening, which Prime Minister did receive, but stood defiant, plainly refuted
media reports and reiterated his statement that 'blowing individual cases could
hamper the peace process', much to the chagrin of journalists.
Prime Minster
Bhattarai, issuing a statement, said, "If we start picking up individual
cases, no one will be spared — neither the Maoists, NC and UML nor the security
bodies."
FNJ Chairman Gaunle
said, "It is an irresponsible and helpless statement from the prime
minister. It is not appropriate at all — neither constitutionally nor
politically. It is not only about journalists; such statements are sure to
shake the entire nation."
Gaunle added that FNJ
would wait and see how the judicial proceedings move ahead and would launch a
movement if they are halted. On the arrest of Nepali Army Colonel Kumar Lama in
London, Prime Minister Bhattarai said, "Arresting and charging Lama in an
unauthorised way is very much objectionable."
One of the five accused
of murdering Thapa has already admitted to the crime and said they had buried
the journalist alive some eight years ago. National Human Rights Commission too
condemned the government obstruction in the legal proceedings. FNJ and other
journalists' associations had organised a protest rally in Baneshwor for about
half an hour this afternoon.
NPU
condemns govt move
KATHMANDU: Issuing a
press statement, the Nepal Press Union on Wednesday condemned the government
move to obstruct the legal proceedings against the murderers of journalists
Dekendra Thapa. "We are ashamed to have a prime minister who wants to save
those criminals who buried one of our fellow journalists alive," said NPU
Chairman Kiran Pokharel. Press Chautari Nepal General Secretary Bishnu Rijal,
in a statement, said, "The move is objectionable and against the principle
of separation of power. Is it a prime minister or a guerrilla that kills
innocent people and seeks justice through kangaroo court?" said PCN.
Editors' Society and other different organisations also condemned the
obstruction in judicial proceedings. — HNS