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bharath's avatar
10:23 AM
12 August 2009
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(12) Comment(s)     (23) like it

Khajuraho

Posted By bharath

Our guide was a pleasant fellow who came along with us only after asking us how much we were willing to pay. On the way to the temples he felt an explanation was in order. “You are not foreigners, so why I should bargain?” Who can argue with logic like that? We could only nod our heads in agreement.
The air was heavy and as I walked, I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead; it was not the ideal time to visit Khajuraho. The temple complex was indeed impressive and the architecture was absolutely amazing.

Khajuraho, a set of medieval Jain and Hindu temples were built between the 10th-12th centuries, by the Chandela kinds in India. Radhika, being an architect explained to me about the how the temples adhere to the shikara temple style (tower over the sanctum) and to a panchayatna plan (worship of 5 deities). The temples are made up of sandstone and used precise mortise and tenon joints and were held by gravity.

Our guide a veteran by now with over thirty years of experience was busy explaining all the significant details of the external structures. He was eager to explain all the details and we were interested. The only problem seemed to be the heat which seemed to stifle all your thoughts. As we entered the section with erotic carvings, our guide proceeded with his explanations with renewed vigor. Unfortunately our reactions seemed rather muted as we barely had the energy by now for basic movement.  What did shock me though was when he proceeded to explain the significance of a particular part of the temple with “and this is Man versus Loin”. Pleased at my reaction, which basically involved choking on the bottle of water I was drinking, he then continued with his explanation about Man versus Loin. As further explanations burst forth I realized Man Vs Loin was a rather tame man versus lion. Just when things were getting interesting!!

What did take me back were the details in all the carvings. The work is more intricate than anything I had ever seen. It is also a misconception that the temples only depict erotica…only 10% of the carvings depict some erotica.


What was also interesting was the fact as the guide put it. “All put back in hoge pog way” So for the next 40 minutes he proceeded to point out everything that was “hoge pog” in the restoration. I agreed with him. “Hoge pog” was the only way to explain them. 
By then I was not in a state to even remember my name; the humidity was sapping energy and time.
Well aware of the situation post our guided tour, as I sat with our guide and asked when the best time for to visit was. He said, “Weather nice till March then up heats” and looked back and said “it up heats now”. To which we both looked up at the sky and nodded in agreement.         
         

 

 

 

Posted by

Vamsee

12 August 2009

uh-oh! I don’t know what I was expecting, but this post was a little disappointing…both in pictures and text.

I am sure it was hard to hand around in that humid weather. Take rest and come back with more posts tomorrow.

Posted by

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

12 August 2009

Good Description and good snaps !! Please take few snaps with the Cedia in the Foreground !! TGDC wants their Share of marketing as well ....get tuned for that….that would help you to score more .........upload minimum of 5 snaps a day. regards

Posted by

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

12 August 2009

hey guys,
Like Vamsee said, i was a little dissappointed at this post. i was really looking forward to your visit to khajuraho and sumhow i expected more.
And also, please try and put in a few more posts about all your experiences…..maybe pics of the pouring rain you were driving in or how it was to drive in the rain?
Leena

Posted by

ram

12 August 2009

This is one jaw dropping photo shoot you have done. I am taking some hints already ;o)

Posted by

maya matthew

12 August 2009

never been to khajuraho but I’d like to get hold of your guide when I do. What a treat.
Great pictures for a place that’s been touted for the erotic sculptures which constitutes only 10% of the sculptures - 10% that’s been photographed to death! Guess that’s what happens when you get type cast.

Posted by

Arvind Passey

12 August 2009

Award-winning blog post… only if there were an award for ‘how not to blog’!!

All that we know about Khajuraho is from lines like these:
“The air was heavy and as I walked, I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead; it was not the ideal time to visit Khajuraho.”

“The only problem seemed to be the heat which seemed to stifle all your thoughts.”

“By then I was not in a state to even remember my name; the humidity was sapping energy and time. “

Rather disappointing text.

...and the pics?... couldn’t get worse.

I have been to Khajuraho…and believe me, it is a wonderful experience… none of the philosophy that actually belongs to the creation of these temples is mentioned. All that this blog tells me is some shapeless meandering verbose gurgling of an uninformed mind!

Posted by

Praveen

12 August 2009

Bharath… on the verge of sounding like a add man… take more red bull… or the Sobe Adrenalin Rush.. (10 times the wings..)... like i told you before the trip… having said that..
And knowing you both.. when you guyz go to an amazing place… you are so enticed.. that you take about 3 hours to shoot. a million of images in every nook and cranny you need a lot more time then most to brood over the short list.. im surprised at how fast you put this up.. you would have typically taken anywhere between 4 days and 4 months.. but i guess you were in a lot more pressure werent you ?

Posted by

Gaurav Deshmukh

12 August 2009

I second that Praveen. Knowing these guys, am surprised too, that they actually manage to shoot, download, browse, select, edit, then browse some more, and select some more images to process.. then write a blog! phew! All in a day’s work.

But, most importantly they remain sane at the end of it all!!

Bharath, hats off to you and radhika for your perseverance!

Really liked the post and the fact that its all done in black and white. smile Just 10% you say? Hmm.. interesting. Glad that you shed a light on the not-so-often-talked-about 90%.

Cheers!

Gaurav

Posted by

Gaurav Deshmukh

12 August 2009

coming back to the post again and again! smile
Love the play of light in the second image. Simply brilliant!!

Posted by

Dilip D'Souza

12 August 2009

Not disappointing at all. Got a sense of what it was like to visit the place, this time of year. Mental note to meself: don’t.

Your guide reminds me of the guide we had at Konark (http://u.nu/9ukt). Maybe they share notes, when it comes to erotica.

safe drive!

cheers,
dilip.

Posted by

Rajat

12 August 2009

Frankly, I have mixed feelings about this post.

Unlike others who have commented here I have not known you guys at all before the time I read your first blog about wine and people and became fan of yours, this blog definitely looks like coming from someone else and not you guys.  This post shows how much this TGDC has drained you.

Second thing that is somewhat interesting and somewhat shocking is the contrast it has with any other post that I have read / pics that I have seen of Khajuraho. Though I must admit that second pic in the blog is amazing. It teaches me a lot about angle and lighting. Also I want to state that the way you use (sometimes overuse) the B/W effect is very very interesting. I need to learn how to do that.

Lastly the pics actually took me back to a trip to temple ruins of Halebid / Belur (I have never been to Khajuraho and any previous blog / pic of Khajuraho never seemed so close). It is really interesting that Belur temple (ruins from Hoysala dynasty) have almost similar (probably to only those 10% that you have mentioned) carvings and the most interesting part about these carvings are that they seem more intricate than normal wooden ones yet they are done on black stone (the toughest kind to carve on). Do take a look at the samples that I have posted on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=belur&w=32475995@N04)
I will try to upload some more as I have almost 100 - 200 of those. Almost every nook and corner of the temple had one exquisite carving done.

Rajat

Posted by

Manu

14 August 2009

Brilliant compositions, use of light and exposure! The carvings in this temple are brilliant. You have pointed out well that this place is not just a “porn in stone” monument that lots of people make it out to be. It seems to me that the people who built these temples belonged to a mature society where everything including sexuality had its place.
Fast forward 1000 years and now we don’t know how to decouple sexuality and vulgarity in our heads. We are not even comfortable talking about it as illustrated by your guide. We live in a country where we are soon going to have the biggest population in the world and birth control measures are failing because of lack of sex education and awareness. Talk about going backwards!


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