Aug 13, 2004 03:50 PM
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(Updated Aug 13, 2004 03:52 PM)
It was an otherwise pleasant train journey from Chennai, but for my racing mind and pounding heart. The very thought of putting foot on one of the world?s most talked about and celebrated architectural wonders was sending jitters through my spine.
How should I react? Should I maintain a calm demeanor and behave as if it doesn?t matter at all or should I seem more architecturally inclined, trying to see the finer lines of structural designing? The latter seemed a little canny; maybe I would be sending wrong signals. ?Everything is in the mind,? is something I strongly believe in. So why not imply it here. I knew exactly then, how I should behave in Khajuraho.
There is nothing embarrassing about Khajurao. Though some come here for cheap thrill, the architecture here has a deep-rooted history and is much more than what it just appears. Life, in every form and mood, has been captured in stone. It is a bold portrayal of man?s deepest hidden passions and desires. When you cast a glance at them, each piece comes alive eager to share a story, eager to share history.
Between 950 and 1050AD these temples took shape. Of the 85-orginal temples only 22 have stood the test of time. There is a legend attached to these temples. Hemwati, the beautiful daughter of a Brahmin priest, is said to have been seduced by the moon-god and the child born of this union was Chandravarman. He later went on to form the Chandela dynasty.
When established as a ruler, he had a vision of his mother imploring him to build temples that would reveal the deepest of human passions and desires. Thus the world got the temples of Khajurao. Similarly, there are many versions to these explicit and erotic sculptures.
While some historians claim that one of the doctrines of Hinduism tells sexual love is the form of energy, the depiction in temples is but natural. Some others claim that these temples were built as a celebration of Shiva?s marriage with Parvati, which is why the atmosphere is so romantically and sensuously charged.
It was here that I realized the biggest misconception about Khajuraho. It is so easily passed off as ?fully erotic.? The sanctums of these temples have the most revered of the Hindu and Jain Gods. There is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Surya and the Jain Tirthankarras. The next range of sculptures depicts people in acts of everyday life such as working, listening to teachers, waging battles and so on. So next time you talk Khajuraho don?t pass it off casually. It is worth imagining the sculptor?s chisel and his mastery to bring to the world such fine architecture.
Where, we didn?t even have the capacity to save at least half the crafted temples, is?nt it a shame to talk so loosely about them?
My visit to Khajuraho taught me more than just art appreciation. It made my conviction all the more strong. ?All is in the mind and it depends how we perceive it.?
