Kharjuraho
We flew from Varanasi to Khajuraho, home of one of the many Unesco World Hertiage sites in India.
As our tour manager keeps saying, India is a land of myths and legends. Legend has it that Khajuraho was founded by Chardravarman, son of the moon god, Chandra. (Just an aside for the non-yoga people, one of our yoga poses is Half Moon Pose or Ardha Chandrasana). Chandra descended and saw a beautiful maiden. Historians tell us the temples were built between 950 and 1050. Twenty-five of the 85 remain and they are beautiful. Khajuraho is out of the way and the jungle took over this area. Both of these facts probably helped keep this place safe from the Muslim invaders that destroyed many temples during their rein.
The sculpted outsides display artistic stonework portraying gods, goddesses, warriors, musicians, and animals. Most surprising themes are woman and sex. A local guide, Govind, gave us a short history lesson and pointed out many of the panels depicting sex acts, gods and goddesses. Once done with the guided tour we were free to walk around, go into the temples and take photos.
At one point I was approached by a man who asked me for a photo. I thought he wanted me to take a photo of him but he wanted a photo taken WITH me. So, we stood together on the steps of the temple and a person in his party took a photo. On our way out, three young men approached us and had a similar request of both Lorene and me. Two from their group stood with Lorene and me, the third guy took a couple of photos, then one stepped out and the photographer stepped in and the guy who stepped out took a couple more photos.
