Melkote was a trip decided very quickly over an evening chat. 4 bikes and 8 people; we met near Bangalore University at 5:45 AM on 19th of January 2008, a Saturday. I enjoyed the back seat watching the sunrise, as we rode to Mandya. We stopped for breakfast at Mandya. A rightward Deviation to Melkote is about 2KM after Mandya. On our way we took several stops to interact with farmers who shared their stories with interest.

At Melkote, we first went to Cheluvanarayana swamy temple. In front of the temple was an Iyengar, who was marketing his food stall and asked us to have lunch. Melkote is known for the Iyengar Pulivogre. He also told us about the places we could visit. Cheluva narayana swamy idol is very beautiful indeed. One would not want to take the eyes off such a pleasant looking idol of lord Vishnu. Badrinarayana temple is another small temple opposite the main temple.
Yoganarasimha temple is on top of a hill. About 1000 steps would lead you up there. Both these temples are 900 years old and are extremely beautiful with lot of stone carvings depicting stories of Vishnu.

The view of the entire village from top is truly mesmerizing. The lake Kalyani at the base of the hill is a good relaxing place.

We rode back and had tasty Pulivogre, Sweet Pongal and Curd rice at the iyengar’s place. The food is cooked at home and sold here. He also gave us some back ground of the temples. It seems, a jain king who ruled here had two daughters, one of whom was terribly ill. Ramanujachar was requested to arrive and cure her. He took her to Tannur lake and there cured her out of the disease. In turn the king offered him gold, but ramanjachar asked him to follow his vaishnava principles and convert to a Vaishnava king. The king was renamed to Vishnuvardhana. Ramanujachar stayed there for several years and preached his new followers.
Another famous story about the temple is of the utsav idol which was stolen and then found in Delhi, in sultan’s house being worshipped by his daughter. Lord Vishnu himself came in dreams of Ramanujachar and informed the idols location.
This is a major difference I have seen in traveling in India or anywhere else; every place has stories to say, villagers have interesting information about their ancestors and I think this is what makes it so good to be in these places and to be part of history.
We next rode to Danush koti. A cutout in a rock, in which the natural spring keeps water filled, is believed to have been created by Lord Rama’s arrow. While we were there millions of honey bee from nowhere flew in to cover the entire place with black spots. We had to hide behind a rock to save ourselves.
The next stop was Akka-Thangi Kere. Water in one of these is salty and other sweet. Next stop was Raya Dwara – A grand entrance that never got completed. Myth is that the King wanted a grand entrance built within a night. But as the sun’s first ray fell on the incomplete masterpiece, the time was up and till date it remains so.

I recalled the song from film Guru – Barso Re, shot here. The Sanskrit academy was closed. The library has a wide collection of oldest scriptures.
We took a narrow back route from Melkote to Tannur Lake. It’s a neat place to hang around. We took a boat ride.We watched the sunset and returned through Pandavpur-Mandya-Bangalore route.

We stopped at Mandya again for food. Reached Bangalore University at 9:30 PM. Dispersed from there to our homes.
It appeared to me like I had lived 2 days in one. What a long day it was; lovely places; interesting history; enthusiastic villagers. Few back routes that we took have not seen buses yet. Few paths are only meant for bikes and they pass through the real village life.

As usual the time period between two posts is very long. So, I start writing again,promising myself that this time this will not be the case anymore.

As you must have already guessed by the title of the post I intend to talk about food, and since you can also see ” Part 1″ written alongside, there will be more stuff on similar lines.Anyone who knows me even remotely knows that I love to eat. I am not one of those who are very adventurous and will try out anything and everything that is served in front of them.I like to keep it safe and eat stuff that at least has something which I have tasted in the past or have some sort of confidence in.That ways I am always in a position to compare what I have eaten to some previous gastronomical experience of the same kind.The Best that I Have Tasted series will have my thoughts on what I think is the tastiest of that particular kind of dish. Although I am a non-vegetarian, I do have some all-time vegetarian favourites, so I think we should have an equitable distribution between the categories and to prove my case I will start with an all time favourite of a lot of people , The Samosa.

Courtesy : Flickr : DraconianRain

Now as most of us know, the Samosa is a deep fried, triangular patty shell which has a savory filling which might consist of potatoes, peas, onions , cottage cheese, chicken or in some cases even ground beef. Needless to say, for people who like eating fried food and who are okay with stuff dripping with oil, the aforementioned concept can only mean taste heaven. And the best part it is made well at quite a few places. So, the way it is cooked and the ingredients put vary from place to place. However, there is one particular place which makes it better than anywhere else.

It is a small shack , located in the heart of Heavy Engineering Corporation township Ranchi. For quite some time now, HEC has been declared a failed proposition, making huge losses consistently, outdated production techniques which have no hope of being revamped and absolutely no development in infrastructure. The general level of dilapidation lends a very subtle undertone of gloom to your mood when you get there. All in all, not a very inviting place to go to. However, right in front of the community hall Sector 2, there is one place which always has some bustle around it, ” Devanti Chat” and it makes the best samosas I have ever tasted and I am pretty confident that once you try that out , you will agree as well.
The first time I ever heard about it was in class Vll , when a few of my friends who used to stay in HEC said that there was this new place which makes better samosa than any other they have eaten before. Curious, I persuaded my Dad to come with me and buy some. It took some pestering , but finally managed to get him there. He bought me two and then….
I couldn’t have agreed with my friends more!! That was actually the tastiest samosa that I had ever eaten..or should I rephrase it and say that it is the best that I HAVE ever eaten. The patty is fried just right, and the filling inside is an amazing blend of mashed potatoes and spices, served with red “chutney”, it is a kaleidoscope of tastes as soon as you put it in your mouth. And it just doesn’t end there, if you want them to make it even better, they will serve it with chhola and onions, thus transforming it into an awesome snack. And I am surely not the only one who has had this feeling after tasting this delectable bit of fried heaven, people form traditional “samosa strongholds” like Allahabad and Banaras have also been astounded by the brilliance of Devanti. I have been a regular there since Class VII, and the best part is that the taste has remained the same. Many a times we see cases where eateries start to do really well and then they decide to expand and ruin everything. Fortunately that has not been the case and it still is the same place in front of the community hall serving unbelievable stuff. At times, the entire lot is finished off in less than an hour. This consistent excellence has also had a positive impact on the competition as they have had to improve their standards just to stay in contention. Ah!! What a sublime example of “Culinary Economics”!!
So , if you ever want to go to Ranchi , and if you are even remotely interested in eating fried stuff, Devanti Chat , Sector 2 HEC is the place to go. One bite of that majestic creation and I am sure you will keep coming back!! All this is making me hungry, where’ my food??

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH ASSORTED VEGGIES in a CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:
Angel hair pasta: ½ packet
Assorted veggies: (diced)
Zucchini- 1 No.
Onions- 5 Nos.
Garlic- 5 cloves
Broccoli- 1 small head
Baby Corn- 1 punit
Mushrooms- 1 punit
Sun dried tomatoes- ½ a jar
Olive oil- 3 tbsp
Cream- ½ liter
Chili flakes
Salt and pepper

Method:
In a pan sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil till golden brown.
Add mushrooms, sauté until they are cooked.
Deglaze with cream, add sun dried tomatoes and simmer.
Cook pasta in another pot. Cook till al dente. Just 2 minutes before you drain the pasta add broccoli to the pasta. Drain.
Sauté zucchini, baby corn add to the cream sauce.
Add the pasta, broccoli to the sauce and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Serve warm and garnish with parsley!

About the Author:
A pastry chef by profession and also a TED fellow, Kishi Arora, spends her day dreaming up ways to tickle surprise and indulge the taste buds of discerning foodies in Delhi.

Kishi started ‘Foodaholics’, a popular Dessert shop. Now Foodaholics extends consultancy services to organisations and enterprises involved in food business. For an exotic desert customized to your tastes place your order at www.foodaholics.in

The three part series on Khajuraho ends with this post where we continue to explore some of the most beautiful monuments in this town. This includes the Southern group of temples and the Jain temples.

Located about 400 meters south-east of Ghantai temple, Jain group of temples are enclosed within one modern wall and maintained by a Jain trust. There are three main temples, which are directly under maintenance of ASI.

Parshvatnatha Temple – This is the largest temple among the Jain group. This is a sandhara temple, having ambulatory around its sanctum. Although it is a sandhara temple, the transepts with the balconied windows, which are so characteristic of the developed Khajuraho temple style, are absent. External walls only has perforated windows to admit light inside. The temple was built between AD 950 and 970, in the time of King Dhangadeva. It has an inscription mentioning a certain Pahila, who was respected by Dhagadeva. This temple was dedicated to Adinatha, the first Tirthankara, however now it houses image of Parshvanatha which was installed in 1860 during some renovation work.

It is still unclear why a Jain temple contains images of Krishna, Rama, Balrama, Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva on its exterior walls. Many fascinating figures of apsaras are found on the exterior wall. They are caught in the act of wearing an anklet, applying eye make-up, and writing a letter, among others. The temple has a rich variety of vyalas with faces of parrots, lions, elephants and other creatures. The doorway guards, wearing crowns, are Jain Indra and Upendra, not to be misunderstood with Vishnu’s guard. A sculpture of parents of Jina is placed in the maha-madapa. The door-lintel of the maha-mandapa bears a ten-armed image of yakshi Chakresvari riding on Garuda, while that of the sanctum shows figures of jinas. There is magic square on one of the door jamb, which states the presence of magical mathematics at those times in India.

Adinatha Temple – This single-spired, nirandhara temple is situated to the north of Parshvanatha temple. This temple consists a sanctum and vestibule. There are chaitya-style decoration on its tower. The wall niches of the walls house Jain Yakshis – Padmavati, Chakreshvari, Ambika, Manasi, and others. The door lintel bears the sixteen auspicious symbols that Jina’s mother dreamt of at time of the conception.

Shathinatha Temple – This is the principal Jain shrine at Khajuraho. This temple complex, with many small shrines, consists of components of older temples and sculptures from Ad 1027 and earlier. The main sanctuary houses a 4.3 m polished icon of a standing Shantinatha bearing a dedicatory inscription dated AD 1027. An interesting twelfth century sculpture of dancing kshetrapala is present at the entrance to the sanctuary. There is a marvelous sculpture of a Yaksha couple on the right as one enters the complex.

Jain Museum – This museum is located at the site of Jain temple group. Admission fee is Rs 5. It houses various Jain images found at and near Khajuraho

The Southern Group of Temples

Chaturbuja Temple – Located 3 kms south of Khajuraho, near Jatkari village and airport, this is a west facing temple. This nirandhara temple is dated to AD 1100. This temple has a sanctum, antarala, mandapa and mukha-mandapa. This is the only local temple which does not have erotic images. This temple has Vishnu image in its door lintel and houses in its specially built sunken sanctum one of the most majestic icon of northern India, a 2.75 m high statue of an unusual ascetic form of Vishnu. This charming god, with matted hair and ornaments, is chaturbhuja (four-armed), hence the name of the temple. In the northern niche is rare image of the esoteric goddess Narasimhi, with a lion’s face and a human body. Images of Ardhnarishvara and Surya are seen in the southern and eastern niches.

Duladeo Temple – This Shiva temple is locally called as ‘Duladeo’, refers to a local tribal myth of Dulhadeva who, like the corn spirit, is wedded and slain amidst marriage celebrations, as part of fertility rituals. This is the last temple in the chronology of Khajuraho temple, built in about AD 1130, possibly constructed by Chandella king Madanavarman. This temple displays marked changes from earlier Khajuraho architecture. This is a nirandhara temple consists of sanctum, antarala, maha-mandapa and mukha-mandapa.

Bijamandala Temple – This is the recently excavated temple at Khajuraho, situated near the Jatkari village, not far from Chaturbhuja temple. The plinth that has been unearthed is 34 m long, which is larger than the 30 m plinth of Kandariya Mahadeva, so far the biggest temple at Khajuraho. This suggests that the excavated temple would have been the largest one at Khajuraho. Photography is not allowed here and excavation is still on.

Food and Accomodation – Khajuraho has many hotels suiting everybody’s budget. Though Khajuraho is a very small town, but all the major hotel chains are present at this location. Hotel Taj Chandela, Jass Trident, Lalit Grand Temple View, Best Western Greenwood, Usha Bundela, Radisson, Clarks Khajuraho are some of the 5 star hotels in Khajuraho. MPSTDC runs two hotels in Khajuraho, hotel Jhankar and Payal. Hotel Siddharth has some rooms facing the Western Group of Temples. Most of the luxury hotels are near the airport and little far from the town. However if you don’t have your conveyance then it would be convenient to stay in some hotel situated near or in the town. All the major Indian tourist and travel sites allow online booking of most of the Khajuraho hotels.
Raja Cafe, located in front of Western Group of Temples, is the best and most economical place to eat in Khajuraho. This restaurant has a Swiss cafe at ground floor and a restaurant on first floor. Blu Sky restaurant, located near Raja Cafe, is another ok kind place to eat. They have a restaurant on second floor.

How to reach – Khajuraho is situated 49 km east of Chhatarpur, 44 km north-west of Panna, 65 km south of Mahoba and 175 km south-east of Jhansi.
Air – Khajuraho is also connected to New Delhi and Varanasi via air with daily flights. Airport is about 6 km far from main town. Most of the luxury hotels are loacted on the road to the town.

Rail – Khajuraho is connected with New Delhi via rail track. UP Sampark Kranti (2448) runs from Hazarat Nizamuddin station via Mathura, Agra and Jhansi.
Road – Khajuraho is connected to Jhansi, Agra, Gwalior, Bhopal and Indore. You can also get buses to Satna, Panna and Chhatarpur. Chhatarpur is the main bus stand nearest to Khajuraho.

We were looking at some of the monuments in Khajuraho in our earlier post. This post explores some of the temples around the historic town .

Vishvanatha Temple – This is the third largest temple, others are Lakshmana and Kandariya Mahadeva, at Khajuraho. This was built by king Dhangadeva in AD 999. The inscription at the temple talks about the two Shiva lingam installed by king Dhangadeva, one lingam of stone and another of emerald. The temple was known as Markateshvara, the lord of emerald, at that time. The emerald lingam was missing when the temple was rediscovered. As per the inscription, the architect of the temple was Sutradhara Chhichchha, who was well versed in Vishvakarma architectural tradition.

Two elephants are placed at the entrance of the temple on southern end and two lions at northern end. The temple is constructed on high raised jagati (platform) which is approached by a fleet of steps. This temple has mukha-mandapa (porch), mandapa (assembly hall), maha-mandapa (dance hall) with transepts, antarala (vestibule), garbha-griha (sanctum) with ambulatory around it. This is a sandhara temple This is the only temple at Khajuraho which had a Nandi pavilion in front of the temple. Originally this temple was a pancha-yatna (five shrines complex), like Lakshmana, however only two subsidiary shrines have survived. This temple is a sandhara temple, with ambulatory around its sanctum. Khajuraho’s earlier representation theme of an apsara removing the scorpion from her body can be seen here on sanctum wall. The niches of the sanctum wall has Shiva’s manifestations: 1) Andhakantaka, subduing Anadhaka demon, 2) Nataraja, cosmic dancer, and 3) Ardh-nareeshwar, half-male and half-female representation.

This was the first temple at Khajuraho where we see the peculiar arrangement of sapta-matrikas around the exterior walls of the temple. These are placed in counter-circumambulatory manner. The similar arrangement was later adopted in Kandariya Mahadeva temple.

Nandi Shrine – This pavilion faces Vishvanatha temple and houses Nandi, the mount of Shiva. This square pavilion is supported on twelve pillars. The Nandi image is 2.2 m long and 1.8 m high. The pyramidal roof of receding tiers of pidhas with an almost plain circular ceiling of overlapping courses.

New Temple – This is a very new temple at the site which was built by Maharaja of Chhatarpur some hundred years back. There is noting of much interest in this construction except the dome of the roof. This dome indicates the Muslim elements in the construction.

This the end of Western group of temples inside the ASI enclosure. Now we will see temples around this group in near vicinity.

Statue of Bhairava – Out of the above enclosed compound, on the way to Matangeshwara Temple, stands a 1.98 m high colossal statue of Bhairava. It is coated in red lead and is still in worship today. From the architecture style, this statue seems to be of early-tenth century. In 1865, Cunningham wrote that the statue was found while digging for stones to build a cenotaph for Pratap Singh, Maharaja of Chhatarpur.

Matangeshwara Temple – This temple is out of western group enclosure, situated by south of Lakshmana Temple. This is the main temple in Khajuraho which is still in use. This has one of the largest Shiva Lingam, 2.53 m and one meter in diameter, in India. The external walls of the temple are simple without any images. The roof is pyramidal and from style of architecture, it is dated to 10th century by art historians.

Chausath Yogini Temple – Walking along the Shivsagar Tank towards the village, you will find this unique open sanctuary temple. This was dedicated to the Chausath (sixty-four) Yoginis, goddesses. Unlike other temples at Khajuraho, which are built in fine sandstone, this temple is constructed with granite stone. This is considered as one of the oldest temple at Khajuraho by scholars, dated to AD 900. The sanctuary located on low rocky mount, contained sixty-seven cells, out of which only thirty-five have survived. One cell is larger than all others. Each of smaller cells were for sixty-four Yoginis, while the central larger one for Durga-Mahishasuramardini, inscribed with label ‘Hinghalaja’. When Major Cunningham visited this sanctuary, he found three images in situ, the goddess Hinghalaja in the principal cell and the two Matrikas Brahmani and Maheshwari in the cells flanking it. These images are now in the museum at the site. This temple is the earliest Yogini shrine in India. It is different from other shrines as this is constructed on square plan instead of circular plan of other similar temples.

Lalguan Mahadeva Temple – This shrine is situated on the bank of the Lalguansagar lake. The way to find the temple is not that easy so get help from local people as this shrine is located deep inside the village, about half a kilometer from Chausath Yogini temple. This is a west facing temple with a simple plan consisting a sanctum and a porch. The porch is now more there now. This shrine is dated after Chausath Yogini, dated AD 900-925. This temple is also constructed with granite stone, like Chausath Yogini.

Shivsagar Tank – This is the main tank at Khajuraho and possibly the same large lake as mentioned by traveler Ibn Battuta in AD 1335.

The Eastern Group of Temples
These temples are about 4-5 km from the western group of temples. You can either take an auto rickshaw, bicycle or a taxi to visit these monuments.

Hanuman Temple – On the way to Jain temples from Gol Market, this newly built, white washed shrine houses one of the earliest inscribed images of Hanuman in India. This 2.5 m high image has short dedicatory inscription of 316 of possibly Harsha era (AD 922), the oldest inscription of Khajuraho.

Brahma Temple – This temple, of simple plan and design, is situated at the banks of Khajursagar lake. It currently houses a four-faced lingam and thus mistakenly called as Brahma temple because of four heads. However the temple was dedicated to Vishnu as the image in center of the door lintel. This temple is constructed with granite stone, except its pyramidal roof which is constructed in sandstone. The main door has images of Ganga and Yamuna on either side, a typical architecture motif of Gupta’s time. This temple is dated to AD 925.

Vamana Temple – Located some 200 meters to the north-east of Brahma Temple, this temple was built between AD 1050 and 1075, enshrines Vamana, dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. This is an important temple as there are not many temples in India dedicated to this form of Vishnu. This is a nirandhara temple, no ambulatory around its sanctum. It has a sapta-ratha or seven-projection sanctum, antarala, maha-mandapa with transepts, mukha-mandapa. The sikhara, tower, of the temple is not encumbered by subsidiary sikharas and is embellished with a fretwork of chaitya arches. In contrast to local temples, erotic scenes are absent in this temple. The main niches of the sanctum contains , in lower row, Vaishnava images of Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana.

Javari Temple – Located about 200 meters south of Vamana Temple, this temple is dedicated to Vishnu as well. It is called ‘Javari’, due to ‘javara’ (millet) growing in nearby fields. This is a nirandhara temple consisting of sanctum, anatarala, mandapa and mukha-mandapa. This temple is an architectural gem and indeed remarkable for its ornate and slender makar-torana and soaring outline of sikhara.This temple was constructed in between AD 1075 and 1100.

Ghantai Temple – This Jain temple is commonly known as ‘Ghantai’ because of chain-and-bell motifs carved on the pillars of the temple. The walls of the temple have collapsed, what only remained are the pillars of the mandapa and its ornate ceiling, lintel and doors. According to historian Krishna Deva, its pillars are ‘among the finest pillars of medieval India, known for their stately form, restrained ornamentation, and classical dignity’. If this shrine would have been preserved then it would have been the grandest temple at Khajuraho. There are sixteen auspicious symbols of the dream of Jina’s mother on the upper lintel. The centre of the main lintel represents the Jain goddess Chakreshvari riding Garuda, which suggested that the shrine was dedicated to Adinatha.

The last and concluding part of this series will showcase some of the jain temples and the temples in the southern group .

Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India is one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in India. It is located on the banks of Khudar Nala, a tributary of Ken river. Khajuraho’s ornate temples are among the most beautiful medieval monuments in India. Khajuraho was recognized as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1986 for its ‘outstanding universal value’ and ‘human creative genius’. Despite the tourist traffic, Khajuraho preserves the ambience of a village and at the same time offers the most modern facilities to the visitor.

Devangana Desai (Khajuraho – Monumental Legacy, Oxford India Paperbacks, ISBN-978-019-565643-5) wrote very romantically about Khajuraho. She writes, “The first impression that a visitor gets of Khajuraho is overwhelming: Huge mountain-like temples, free-standing in open space, each square inch covered with sculptures. On coming closer, greeted by whistling birds and parrots, one enters a medieval world inhabited by gods and goddesses, celestial maidens (apsaras, surasundaris), mythical animals (vyalas, makaras), warriors, dancers, and musicians, all carved on the temple walls. Each temple is a monumental three-dimensional sculpture itself”.

Lakshmi Temple

For many, the name Khajuraho is synonymous with erotic sculptures, however these erotic sculpture are less then one-tenth of total sculptures in the temples. Sometimes, Khajuraho is also associated with a religion where free love was in practice. Some people also associated it with the extreme Tantric sect, Kapalikas. D. N. Lorenz, a leading authority on the history of the Kapalika sect, dissociates this sect from the Khajuraho temples. None of these popular beliefs really define the character of Khajuraho. There are hundreds of images of divinities, many holding manuscripts and several in yogic posture in the temples. Khajuraho was not a royal playground, but a place of worship and religious discourse, where many sects received patronage. These temple were constructed for purpose of worship. We see evidences of existence of Brahmin, Jain and Buddhism religion in Khajuraho.

History – The antiquity of Khajuraho has been traced back to prehistoric times, as artifacts belonging to Middle, late Stone and Neolithic industries have been unearthed here and near around area. However, there is no written evidence of township of Khajuraho prior to AD 900. The temple construction activity at Khajuraho began from AD 900 onwards when local chieftains of Chandella family amassed power and wealth and rose as major dynasty in northern India.

Jagadambi temple

The Khajuraho temples were built over a period of 250 years (AD 900-1150) during the rule of Chandella dynasty. As per a local tradition, there were eighty-five temples in Khajuraho; but now only twenty-five remain in varied states of preservation. Except for a couple of them, the temples are not used for worship today, though they were originally built for this purpose. Abu-Rihan al Biruni, who visited India with Mahmud of Ghazni, speaks of the realm of ‘Jejhuti’, with ‘Kajuraha’ as its capita. Ibn Battuta, who visited India in AD 1335, refers to Khajuraho as ‘Kajarra’, where there is a great pond, about a mile in length, near which are temples containing idols that the Muslims have mutilated. By the sixteenth century Khajuraho went into oblivion, it is even not mentioned in any Mughal records. Ain-i-Akbari mentions a nearby fort town of Kalanjar, but nothing about Khajuraho. The whole town had been engulfed under the forests.

In 1813, Lieutenant William Price presented a paper at the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the Sanskrit inscription found at Mau near Khajuraho. From this inscription, for the first time historians’ attention was drawn to Chandella dynasty. In 1838, Captain T.S. Burt visited Khajuraho, when one of his palakiwala told him about exquisite temples of Khajuraho which are all under forest. He published a colorful account of the western group of temples in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Vol. VIII), which attracted the notice of art lovers and antiquarians. The first British officer wrote:’…before finally taking the leave of the seven temples, I shall state my opinion, that they are most probably the finest aggregate number of temples congregated in one place to be met with in all India, and all are within a stone’s throw of one another.’

Varaha Temple

Monuments – The temples at Khajuraho are the best specimen of Nagara style, north Indian temple architecture style. The main elements in Nagara style are mukh-mandapa (entrance porch), mandapa (assembly hall), maha-mandapa (dance hall), antarala (vestibule), garbha-griha (sanctum) and pradakshina-path (ambulatory around the snactum). Not all the temples have all the elements, however every one will always have two or more out of these. The identification of the temple construction time is determined based upon the elements used, the sculprures architecture, the grandeur of the tower height.

Erotic Images – Before we start a tour of monuments, I would like to state some facts about the erotic images in Khajuraho. Convention of depicting erotic images was not invented by Khajuraho sculptors but most of the contemporary temples in India contains these kind of images. However these images are quite large, about a meter in height, in Khajuraho compared to other temples, which attract the immediate attention of the visitors to these. On other temples such images are located on smaller rows of the plinth, usually below the eye level. But we should also remember that erotic figures are only one-tenth of the total images at Khajuraho.

There are several hypothesis to explain the presence of erotic figures on the temples. As these motifs appear in the art of all three main religious sects, Hindu, Jain and Buddhism, so it might have come out of fertility cults. fertility cult involved sexual practices or its symbolic representations. Another explanation comes from the earlier vastu literature, Shilpashashtras and other authoritative texts on temple art talks about the auspicious aspect of erotic figures. People sometimes try to relate Khajuraho with Kamasutra.

Vatsyayana composed this sex manual in AD 600, however Khajuraho does not seem to have any relation with this text. Khajuraho’s sculptures were not primarily created to illustrate the various postures described in sex manuals. Some of themes, depicted in Khajuraho, are very far from imagination of applying those in to practice. Another explanation came by association Khajuraho with Tantrik sect of Kapalikas. This tantrik sect expressed their philosophy by erotic art. However this explanation is not tenable as there is no proof of association of this sect with temple management.

Devangana Desai has wrote an authoritative text on erotic art in India. She writes about Khajuraho, ‘..the architect has placed erotic sculptures on the wall portion between the two balconies in the three major Hindu sandhara temples. Here, the architect has employed puns and intentional language, called sandhya bhasha. This is a code language used by esoteric religious practitioners and Tantric texts to conceal their doctrines from outsiders. This enigmatic language employs erotic terminology to convey non-communicable experiences, which cannot be expressed in ordinary language. For instance, when one reads: ‘A washerwoman clings to the Yogi (ascetic) on his neck’, it is found to be erotic if taken literally. But in the code language of the Tantras, it means that the washerwoman, i.e. Dombi = kundalini energy, has ascended to the chakra (subtle center) of the neck…’

Lakshmana Temple

Twenty-five survived temples at Khajuraho are grouped into three groups: 1) the western group, 2) the eastern group and the Khajuraho village, 3)the southern group.

Western Group of Temples – The most important and magnificent temples of Khajuraho are situated in Western group of temples, which were included in the World Heritage Site in 1986. They are now within an enclosure and under maintenance of ASI.

Lakshmi Temple – This is a west facing temple and situated in front of Lakshmana temple. It houses now an image of Brahmani, but originally it housed Vishnu’s mount Garuda. The temple is constructed on high raised platform and contains a mukha-mandapa (porch) and garbha-griha (sanctum sanctorum). The shikhara (tower) is not very high compared to other temples in the compound. This temples is approached by few steps on the platform.

Varaha Temple – This is also a west facing temple and situated in front of Lakshmana temple. This temple is like an open sanctuary with a pyramidal roof. It enshrines a massive solid yellow sandstone monolith of Varaha, Vishnu’s boar incarnation, measuring 2.66 m by 1.75 m. There are more than 675 miniature figures in twelve neatly carved rows on its body. These figures depict all measure divinities of Hindu pantheon, including Ganesha, sapta-matrika (the seven mothers), sapta-rishis (the seven sages), dikpalas (eight guardians of space), nav-graha (nine planets), the river goddesses, the seas, the Rudras, and different forms of Vishnu. There was also an image of earth goddess, however it is missing now except only a feet is remaining attached to pedestal. This image dates about AD 950 and perhaps installed by Chandella king Yashovarman as a celebration for his victory over Pratihara overlords.
The similar Varaha is also found at Eran, where it is well carved all over the body, but it is carved in red sanstone. Another Varaha is found at Mahabalipuram, but its body is not carved and the mouth in downward direction.

Lakshmana Temple – This is one of the most refined and well-planned temples, not only in Khajuraho but in all of India. This is a sandhara (with ambulatory in sanctum) temple and pancha-yatana (five-shrined) complex with one central shrine and four subsidiary shrines at the four corners. This temple contains all main elements of a typical north Indian (nagara style) such as mukh-mandapa (entrance porch), maha-mandapa with transepts, antaralya (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum). As per an inscription, king Yashovarman built this temple to enshrine the Vaikuntha image that he acquired from his overlord, the Pratihara king, who in turn got it from the ruler of Chamba region. This Vaikuntha image is 1.3 m high and has three faces, lion, man and boar. Pancharatra scet of the Kashmir school worship Vishnu in this composite form. This inscription is now fixed in the porch of the temple. This is the only temple which preserves the sculpture panel on the platform, depicting everyday life: a royal hunt, battle, dance, musicians, erotic scenes, traders etc.

The temple is entered via a arched gateway, adorned with makar-torana. This is the only temple in Khajuraho which sanctum door jambs depicts the incarnation of Vishnu on its jambs. Matsya (fish), Varaha (boar) and Vamana (dwarf) on the left jamb and Kurma (tortoise), Narasimha (man-lion) and Parashurama on the right jamb. On the circumambulatory path around the shrine, you can see Varaha on south, Narsimha on west and Hayagriva (horse-neck) in the north cardinal niches. The door lintel of the sanctum shows the nine planet divinities.

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple – This is one of the greatest monument in India and tallest among Khajuraho temples. The tower of the temple reaches to the height of 30.5 m. It was possibly built by King Vidhyadhara, in about AD 1030, after his successful combat against Mahmud of Ghazni. This temple is built on a high jagati (platform), approached by a fleet of steps. Entrance is through a grand makara-torana which leads into a intricately decorated mandapa, used for scared dances. This temple comprises all essential elements of north style architecture (nagara style). It consists a mukha-mandapa (entrance porch), followed by a mandapa (assembly hall ), maha-mandapa (dance hall), antarala (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum sanctorum). This is a sandhara temple, consisting of circumambulatory around the sanctum. The tower of the temple has a series of graded 84 replicas of itself, which cluster around the central peak and create the effect of a mountain range. This seems like the representation of Mount Kailasha, abode of Shiva as per Hindu mythology. Directly beneath the central peak is located Shiva lingam in the sanctum. The unique feature of this temple is that all the different parts of the temple has their own towers, all smaller than main and receding to the main tower, which make it somewhat restless in movement, but unified in theme and design.

Inside the maha-mandapa, there is a unique four-footed (chatushpada) Sadashiva image. Sadashiva is considered to be the ‘unmanifest-manifest’ aspect of the Supreme Shiva, is pivotal to the Shaivite religious system. His four feet refers to the four parts of Shaiva system that builders of this temple followed. In the three cardinal niches of the sanctum wall are depicted Shiva’s manifestations: 1) subduing Andhakasur (blind demon), 2) Nataraja (cosmic dancer), and 3) Tripurantaka (destroying three cities of demons)

On external walls of the temple are shown various images of apsaras, dwarfs, various images of Shiva, eight dikpalas (guards of space). This temple also has snake god, goddesses in the corners where the rain water flows. This is similar to famous Arjuna’s Penance in Mahabalipuram where snake god, goddesses are carved in a slit where the water flow during rains. Alexander Cunningham, first director of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) counted 646 figures on the exterior of the temple and 226 figures in its interior.

There is a unique counter-circumlocutory arrangement of images of sapta-matrikas (seven mothers) on the exterior of the temple. When you go clock wise from the entrance, you start with Ganesha and then finds seventh Matrika Chamunda. You meet first Matrika, Brahmani, only when completing the round with Veerbhadra image. The placement of Matrikas can be explained on the ground that the Matrikas themselves cirumambulating the abode of Shiva led by Virabhadra, followed by Ganesha. It seems that they encircle the temple in a kind of protective mandala (circle) around it.

Mahadeva Temple – This is situated on the same platform as Kandariya Mahadeva. It houses an important sculpture of Shardula (a warrior and a lion), a favorite theme in Chandella time. However this was Shiva temple as an image carved centrally on the lintel of the sanctum. The sanctum is perished but porch is intact.

Jagadambi Temple – Located in the north of Kandariya Mahadeva, this temple shares the same platform. This temple was dedicated to Vishnu, as reflected by the central image of the sanctum door and from images in cardinal niches as well. However now it houses an image of Devi, and worshipped by villagers on festive occasions. The temple was built between AD 1000-1025 and is famous for graceful sculpture on its exterior walls. The temple is consisted of a mukha-mandapa followed by maha-mandapa and garbha-griha. This is a niradhara temple, thus having no ambulatory around the sanctum.

Chitragupta Temple – This is only Sun temple at the site, built around AD 1000-1025. This is a niradhara, without ambulatory around sanctum, temple. This temple consists a mukha-mandapa (entrance porch), maha-mandapa (dance hall) with transepts, antarala (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum). The image of Surya, in sanctum, is 2.13 m high and he is shown wearing an armored coat and boots. His chariot is shown pulled by seven horses. The exterior of the temple contains two bands of sculptures and uppermost small row contains erotic figures and teacher-disciple groups. There are some seventy ascetic figures carved on the balcony panels of this temple. There is an interesting eleven-headed Vishnu image on its south wall niche.

Parvati Temple – This small shrine is heavily restored and now houses and image of goddess Parvati standing on iguana (horse). However the sanctum door has an image of Vishnu which indicates that this shrine might be dedicated to Vishnu earlier. This temple consists only a garbha-griha (sanctum) and mukha-mandapa (porch). The porch is completely lost now, and only a plinth has survived out of sanctum.

We will read about more monuments in the next series of posts

Hampi – The land of heritage and a perfect place to relax

Hampi is one of most popular Indian destinations among the younger travelers and backpackers. This medieval town is recognized by UNESCO for its architectural wonders and is a favorite with the locals and non-local travelers alike. While most of the famous architectural sites and monuments are on one bank of the river, the other bank is increasing its popularity with the hippie crowd as laid back holiday location. The first time traveler would take a guided sight seeing tour during the day and smoke up on the other bank at night. But Hampi has a lot more to offer.

1. Free climbing. Hampi is surrounded by rocky hills making it almost a boulder desert except for the gift of Tungabhadra river flowing to make it sustainable. The rocks around Hampi are a feast for climbers during day time. You can try a different direction each day and be assured to have surprises each time.

2. Rent a bicycle. Despite being the grand capital of Vijayanagar empire, today’s Hampi is indeed a small town with many interesting architectural sites and hangout places scattered around a 10 kilometer radius. The sites are close hops from each other yet not the best walk- able route. Be sure to carry a water bottle as a sunny ride in the hills could leave you gasping for breath.

3. Sunset. Be it the setting sun amidst rocks or behind scenery of hills and river, this place offers some great sunset views. Photography is a calling factor for many visitors while some artists can also be spotted painting the landscape.

4. Morning dip in the river. Civilization developed on the banks of Tungabhadra river. While you reach Hampi on the city’s banks, calmer and better places to stay are a 5 minute Coracle ride away on the opposite banks. Most of the guest houses on the other bank would have a pathway down to the river. How can clear flowing water cleansing your feet not refresh a tired traveler’s mind?

5. Enjoy the laid back night life. There are no pubs playing loud music or discos to dance away the night. Guest houses usually have an attached restaurant serving a wide menu of dishes. After dusk, this part comes live with each guest house playing different music or a movie. Guests can be seen stretching out on beds on the floor and eating off a low platform serving as the dining table.

6. Paddy fields. Rice is the major crop around the north Karnataka region and Hampi is surrounded pre-dominantly by Paddy fields. In the months of August to December, which also happens to be the peak season for tourism, the seedlings of paddy surround the entire place with light green. The naïve beauty of the place adds that extra rustic essence to your travel. So don’t miss the walks through these fields.

7. Become a foodie. Try the local cuisine. The specialty of this under developed little Indian town is really the variety of cuisines you can try. While the meal at Khanawali (restaurant serving local meal) would make its way to a traveler’s a to-do list, do try the variety on menu cards at some renowned places and you will be surprised at the choices. Just like pasta is never the same in USA as in Italy, most of the dishes might ring a bell and not be what you expect, but I vouch the taste wouldn’t disappoint.

8. Day trip to the sites. Medieval architecture and its intricate carvings might be selling point of the dynasties that ruled Hampi, but there are a lot more sites with monuments beyond the mention of the guide book. The sites are spread out all the way till Badami and Pattadakal, which are upto 3 hours away and can be covered in a day trip. Group car rentals work out best for these sites as the public transport is not too frequent during the day.

9. Yoga, Meditation or Just be with your soul. Some cafés also have a person teaching Yoga or the art of meditation during specific times of the day. You could take a session of an hour each for a few days. Also parlors offer Ayurvedic massages. These are very relaxing especially to beat the heat and weariness.

10. Buy Indian clothes. If you are staying any longer than 2 days, you should probably consider doing this. You can buy pre stitched garments readily sold in small shops or buy cloth and get your design stitched by a local tailor. Though the traditional women’s clothing in Karnataka region is Saree, Salwar-Kameez is the more popular Indian outfit. This is a knee length tunic teamed with loose fitting pants to allow maximum air circulation in the tropical climate. Also popular female clothing are balloon Pyjamas (similar to Arabic Harlem pants) with bright Indian prints. Ideal clothing for young men is a Kurta for the top (loose pull over in comfortable cloth) and Pyjama (loose pants). Each garment shouldn’t cost more than $5 each.

People make places is a maxim that I often believe in . Very often a journey is made endearing or inspiring because of some people you meet on the way. Sometimes its just a few minutes of interactions , but very often they make such a lasting impression

The boy lamas at Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement at Coorg told me their stories about how they had braved the cold, harsh landscapes and the Chinese to make their way down to India. They were probably of the age when most kids down here play cricket on streets with gay abandon. Some of them had even lost their parents in the journey or had left them behind in Tibet .

I met forest guards in the jungles of Karnataka who narrated stories of how they protected themselves from man and beast. In the fishing camps of the river Cauvery, dynamite is often used to kill the Mahsheer fish by poachers and some of the naturalists I had met in the local resorts were former fishermen who are now brand ambassadors of conservation. I met Naik who had even gone to court to file a case against his own brother who was a fisherman once upon a time. Today, both the brothers conserve the Mahsheer, the game fish sought after by anglers all over the world.

Such tales of inspiration and courage are at every nook and corner of every journey . Passion is another quality that I see in ordinary people which make them lead extra ordinary lives. These are men and women who leave the comfort of their homes to follow their hearts. I met a local , Swamy in Kamalapura near Hampi who runs a stationery shop. His passion for birds and bears and photography has transformed him into a conservator and he manages the forest guest house.

I met a Jain Kuruba or a tribal who collects honey in the forests of Karnataka At a time when most of his colleagues were braving the bees and the bears to collect honey, he went on to study English in a local school and even educated his wife and kids. Today he works in a luxury resort entertaining guests .

However this story belongs to Dorjee who drove us around Ladakh last year. Ladakh is more about people than landscapes and if you have not interacted with the local people, then your trip has not been worthwhile. Dorjee belonged to Zanskar, where his wife and children stayed. He spent six months a year in Leh, making money for the entire year when he returned to Zanskar for the off season and bitter winter. He was full of energy and he had a never say die attitude. Tough and strong, Dorjee would brave anything . He introduced us to ladakhi culture, told us about his family and sang Ladakhi songs to us. However he was not just a travel companion

It happenned on the fag end of our Ladakh trip when we were returning to Leh via Tso kar . It was to be our last day in Leh.We had just entered the Taglang la pass at 17,500 feet when it just started to snow. It was early September and I was experiencing snow in ladakh for the first time. While I started taking photographs , Dorjee frowned. Coming from a man who would throw caution to the winds, the frown meant trouble. He urged us to get into the jeep and we barely crossed the pass when the snow storm started. We continued for a few minutes when Dorjee spied a truck on the opposite end struggling its way. Dorjee stopped saying it would be a bad idea to continue and just then we realized the truck had stopped. A bus with the local police force arrived behind us wondering why we had stopped. They analysed the situation and said there was nothing to be done until the truck moved or the storm quelled. The snow filled up the roads steadily as more vehicles piled up on either side. It slowly became an hour and Dorjee told us how dangerous it had been in earlier situations. We asked him for options. He shrugged saying either the truck had to be thrown into the valley or we have to wait and it could be days if the storm didnt subside . Suddenly he lost patience.

He stepped out into the storm amidst or protests and didnt return for another 50 minutes. Then as I saw through my binoculars, Dorjee was single handedly removing the snow from the road with his own hands and some crude instruments he picked up later. He barely wore anything to protect him from the cold except a cap and a thin jacket. Soon some locals joined in and they shoved the snow away so that the road was cleared, even though the storm continued though the intensity had come down.

Dorjee later told me that the truck driver was afraid his vehicle would skid, but he would do nothing about the snow. However Dorjee didnt just save the day – he just displayed what a Ladakhi spirit is..” madam, all of us locals..we fought in the kargil war..do you know that ..? was his parting shot as we drive down hill.

Trip advisor.com has put together a list of Top travel destinations in the world. Destinations are awarded in several categories, ranging from Top destinations in U.S, Europe, Asia – Top outdoor adventure destinations and so on and so forth

There are 9 destinations from India that feature in Asia’s top 25 destinations – Munnar is No. 2 on the list!  Club Mahindra has resorts in 5 of the 9 Indian destinations that feature on the list. These destinations are best enjoyed by Club Mahindra members at Lakeview Munnar, Snowpeaks Manali, Varca Beach, Goa and Royal Demazong in Gangtok and Kangra Valley in Dharamshala

Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice Awards are based on the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions from travelers on TripAdvisor.com. The winners were determined by a combination of travelers’ destination comments, favorite places, and overall destination popularity on Trip Advisor.

 Below is a list of the Top 25 Asian destinations as judged by Trip Advisor in its Travellers Choice awards 2010

1. Tokyo Prefucture, Japan
2. Munnar, India
3. Siem Reap, Cambodia
4. Kyoto, Japan
5. Naha, Japan
6. Andaman and Nicobar islands, India
7. Manali, India 
8. Hampi, India
9. Goa, India
10. Hoi An , Vietnam
11. Luang Prabang, Laos
12. Udaipur, India
13. Yangshuo County , China
14. Singapore, Singapore
15. Biei – Cho, Japan 
16. Nara, Japan
17. Miyakojima, Japan
18. Kobe, Japan
19. Gangtok, India
20. Bangalore, India
21. Chiang Mai, Thailand
22. Dharamshala, India
23. Lijiang, China
24. Taipei, Taiwan
25. Maldives