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It was quite amusing when the vendors tried to outdo each other while selling copies of the Kamasutra in multiple languages and erotic magnets that make you wonder “is that even possible?” Sure, it was awkward at first. Growing up with conservative Indian sensibilities, I didn’t know how to react when a middle aged hawker tried to sell the regalia of erotic art. And that’s when I first heard Chhavi say “Welcome to Khajurao”.
I had always wanted to go to Khajurao, since it is so close to Delhi and is a UNESCO heritage site. But I had never gotten around to it. So when I set foot on the clean and compact station, I felt a mediocre sense of achievement.
We started off with the Ken Ghadial Sanctuary, which to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on. I don’t mean to brag but I’ve been to several sanctuaries as a kid and had access to areas where normal tourists aren’t allowed. But I would’ve definitely missed out on the supposed Grand Canyon of India, had Chhavi, my travel partner, not been insistent. The area was vast and had a massive green cover. Our guide, the polite Mr. Pyarelal, happily clicked our pictures with the Raneh waterfall in the background. The rain gods hadn’t been too kind this year so there wasn’t much water in the river and the waterfall wasn’t as heavy. The blazing sun might have burnt my skin too. Nonetheless, the wide range of landscape that the place offered ensured that the visit wasn’t a disappointment.
After not buying any souvenir (surprisingly, since I’m a shopaholic) from Ken, we headed off to the Western Group of temples only after stopping at Beej mandal for a while. This unfinished temple, which looks almost exactly like the ones in the Western Group of Temples, apparently has the biggest foundation among all temples at Khajurao. But after being destroyed at the time of construction, it just serves as an excavation site for archaeologists. Having been to just one excavation dig in our entire life, we tried to make sense of the tools used for excavation that were displayed on the board. We looked at it for less than a minute and decided to move forward.
We were famished by the time we reached the main market and so we decided to eat something quickly. The market is full of enterprising salesmen who are keen to draw your attention to their shops. It’s quite distracting really, at least for a person like me who likes to buy things that I don’t even need. But I guess I was hungrier than I thought since I headed straight to Madras Coffee House for a hot meal.
I must say the food was quite delicious and after eating just the right quantity of egg dosa, fried idli and filter coffee, I was ready to see the temples, something Khajurao is famous for. But being the person that I am, I was tempted goodies the vendors offered. But it definitely wasn’t a waste. I not only brought magnets and playing cards, I even bought two beautiful sarees made out of bamboo cotton which happens to be a speciality of this place. Before now, I had no idea fabric made out of bamboo existed.
After going crazy with the whole shopping, we finally step foot at the temple. Matangesvara Temple was the first one that we covered since it did not require any entry ticket and it is the only temple where people come to pray. It is definitely a brilliant work of art. The astrologer, who sits outside the temple offering to read your future for a small price, adds a nice touch to it. While it more famous for having the largest lingam, towering over eight feet, in North India, I personally liked how intricate the exterior architecture was.
I was already impressed by the Matangesvara Temple and then I got acquainted with the Western Group of Temples. They made Matangesvara look quite dull in comparison and I’m not talking in terms of erotic illustrations. The details carved out in the sculptures are just marvellous. These temples have illustrations on all the sides of various events in life that includes war and celebration and erotica just forms a small part of the larger illustration.
It is amazing how skilled the architects must have been to build such amazing structures without the usage of any modern conveniences. The sculptures definitely paid attention to minute details and every fold is beautifully carved out in the entire wall. In comparison, the interior is quite plain, damp and almost all of them smell like bats. I did get used to it after a while though.
The whole tour of these temples took us almost two hours and at some temples, the guards were kind enough to tell us stories about the temple and how they came to be. The complex is quite clean and the garden looked pleasantly green. I was glad that there wasn’t any littering and people threw all their trash in the dustbins.
I do appreciate the complex temple architecture but I’m really not a keen observer. So after a point, the effect of the hot sun and exhaustion combined, it got a little repetitive. But we did see the entire Western Group of temples.
Since we just had one day, we decided to skip the Eastern and Southern Group of temples and jump straight to the Sound and Light show. Since we had almost two hours before it started so we headed to the Blue Sky Café. It was quite an average restaurant but we just wanted to kill time. It did have a nice view of the temples and we saw the sunset while sipping nimbu paani. It also had a cute little treetop hut with just one table where we could’ve sat by paying a little extra. But it wasn’t really worth it since we had the entire restaurant to ourselves. We actually spent the first 10 minutes trying to find someone who would take our order.
Before this, I had only seen the Sound and Light show at Golcounda fort at Hyderabad and even though I was around 10 at the time, I still thought it was impressive. So I guess I had the same expectation from this one. But I was disappointed, partly because the sound system was not very clear and partly because of the crying babies who made it hard to hear and annoying mosquitoes that were busy sucking the life out of me. Time passed really slowly and I doubt anyone else would’ve been happier than I the minute it was over.
Before heading to our guesthouse, we decided to have dinner somewhere. We headed to Raja Café since it looked popular and half the crowd from the show was heading there and it did turn out to be quite delightful. Even though we had ordered different dishes, they tasted exactly the same. But I did not mind at all. Based on my previous experience of visiting MP, I didn’t think I would be eating non-vegetarian food at all. I was just glad there wasn’t any poha sprinkled with pomegranates, which I had eaten for breakfast every day the last time I had visited MP. The ambience of the restaurant was pretty cosy as well.
We called our faithful autowala who had driven Chhavi around on her previous trips to Khajurao and headed to our guesthouse, Yogi Ashram. It’s ideal for people looking for a cheap and safe place to stay. But I don’t think I could have stayed here with my mother or my sister since they happen to be OCD about cleanliness. The polite owner with his friendly dog kept us company and told us about the bigger plans he has for the guesthouse which includes conducting yoga sessions to eventually train certified yoga trainers. I guess if everything else fails, I can always come here to train to be a certified trainer. The rooms are comfortable and the food is decent. It seems a little secluded but the well maintained garden with healthy looking trees gives it a very homely feeling. And it’s barely a kilometre away from the main market.
Even though we spent just one day in Khajurao, I did not feel like I was leaving too early. Yes, one more day here would have been great. I could’ve had more masala chai under the big tree, wasted more money on souvenirs that I would’ve eventually stashed in some corner of my cupboard and visited the other temples as well. And I haven’t discounted the idea of coming back again for the Dance Festival in February. But no matter how lovely and peaceful the place was, one day was enough for me. So after having delicious paratha and chai, Chhavi and I headed to our next destination – Orchha.
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