The profusion of erotic sculptures
at Khajuraho is confusing; do they represent
the lax morals of a decadent society,
are they an aid to sex education, or do they
point the way from the base, i.e. lust,
to the sublime? Are they an attempt to
procure salvation for the mythical Hemvati,
or are they intended to ward off
evil spirits? If the latter, they have
certainly succeeded in keeping the legacy
of the temples alive over a thousand years,
despite their being isolated for
centuries. These sculptures are from the
north-facing middle and upper bands of
Vishvanath Temple.
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Similar, marketing gimmicks
and tourist-based touts flourish in the areas around the temples.
You will find shops selling
Persian trousseau, to Jaipuri art, imitation jewelry at exorbitant
prices - every pink stone
is a ruby, and blue is sapphire - brass wear, and Chanderi cottons,
and balloon pajamas that
are definitely hands down from tourists who want to shed some
extra weight from their
luggage. The tourist culture is so prominent, and the “dollar-rates”
so common, that when I asked
a fruit-seller about the price of some ornamental fruits,
he quoted a price of Rs
450 for 6-7 plastic fruits. Even Nik-Nish in Shipra Mall, in Noida,
is selling plastic ornamental
fruits at a lower cost!
I guess the only reasonable
souvenir that you can bring home from Khajuraho is a hard
-bound Kamasutra book that
is more highly priced in book stores in other cities.
And even if you don’t plan
to buy one of these, you may be actually harassed into
buying it through touts
running after you with arm-loads of the Kamasutra in all
languages. And you even
get miniature versions costing as less as Rs 50..more....
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