Khajuraho: Pronounced - Cause you're a hoe
I won't ever bother to do a list of interesting things seen and done here, cause there is only one thing to see in Khajuraho. Namely, temples covered in sculptures of naked people, mostly women, and couples performing some very impressive tantric sex feats. The people posing for these sculptures must have been very well practiced in tantric yoga to be doing this, and that, while on their heads.
But really, these impressive sculptures have one main theme.....sex.....and all sorts of it. I guess nakedness is also a theme, but the explicit depictions of couples and groups getting it on are what really catch your eye. 9 person orgy, man on horse beastiality, and couples copulating in ways you've never imagined, unless you have visited Khajuraho, are all represented. Did I mention these images are carved onto temples?
The temples of Khajuraho, beyond their most unique quality, really are very well preserved and impressive structures, and perhaps I exaggerated just a bit about how frequently explicit fornication is depicted, although, don't get me wrong, there is a lot. There are indeed depictions of bestiality and orgies, but those are infrequently found and somewhat hidden in the smaller details. However, couples engaged in tantric sex are a consistent theme among the temples, and placed with purpose.
I don't have my travel book right in front of my face, and I don't remember the proper terms, but essentially all of the temples with depictions of tantric copulation were comprised of both a corridor, or entry way, and the primary room which houses the main deity. At the point where these two parts of the temple meet is where the tantric depictions are. According to my audio guide, many scholars believe that this is suppose to symbolize an intense union between the divine (my word spell check just died, sorry not-sorry for the misspelling) and the worldly. The key is that the couples just aren't having sex, but tantric sex. Tantra is not just a kinky way to get it on, but rather an intense union in which two become one. Thus, these couples are suppose to mark where the divine and the world becoming one.
Beyond the temples, Khajuraho is a pretty small town, and not much else going on. There is the new part of the city, close to main group of the temples, which entirely caters to tourists, and the old city. I took a stroll through the old city, which is divided into four quarters, one quarter of each caste. This part of the city is mostly comprised of farmers and small business owners, and they still live life the old way. Grinding grains by hand, cooking in traditional clay ovens and pots, etc.
Overall, the temples are so unique, it's worth a quick stop to check them out, albeit it's bloody hard to get there and away......it's very poorly connected, and there aren't too many busses or trains to other major locations.
