It was mid-August and the break too tempting. An extended weekend can be availed off by taking just a day’s leave. So, 11-th-16th August, ’06, perfectly set the tone for our Khajuraho travel.
But the biggest jolt was the hotel booking. All major hotels refused booking saying that they were completely booked for that particular weekend and most travel agents said they catered to the NRIs or the foreign tourists.
So, clearly, we were in double minds; is there really something worthwhile or people go there just with the hope of seeing erotica.
We undertook a train journey from Nizamuddin to Mahoba by the Uttar Pradesh Sampark kranti, which runs bi-weekly. From there, we took a local road service bus to Khajuraho. Incidentally, Mahoba is the nearest railhead from Khajuraho.The 65- kilometre stretch took us 3 and a 1/2 hrs bumpy ride.
Off course, one can travel from Jhansi, which is around 185 kms and Bhopal which is about 470kms from Khajuraho. Khajuraho is very well connected by air from all the cities. It’s also connected by rail and we hear that soon, maybe by 2008, there will be a station at Khajuraho.
Khajuraho is a sleepy hamlet in the district of Chhattarpur in Madhya Pradesh. The village economy thrives only on tourism and mainly foreign tourists, who are lured to the place for cheap thrills in the form of erotic sculptures and Kamasutra. But Khajuraho temples are beyond all this. They are the timeless classics etched in stone and have survived the onslaught of the ravages of more than a 1000 years. They are just awesome and magnificent.
The name Khajuraho comes from khajur or date palm tree which abounds the place.
legend has it that moon was enamored by the beauty of a lady bathing on the banks of Ganga and made passionte love to her. She was unwed and gave birth to Chandravarman, who was the founder of the Chandela dynasty. He was asked by his mother to build the temples in atonement.
History says, the temples were bult by the Rulers of the Pratihara dynasty.
One really has to search for erotic scultures in the temple architecture but they were essential as they are a part of our everyday existence and to enter the deity, one has to be out of all the carnal desires.
There are the three sets of temples, the western group, which has been under the Archaeological survey of India now and are being renovated, the eastern group or the jain temples and the southern temples.
There’s a son-et-lumiere but it’s slightly haphazard and not complete with information.
Khajuraho also has some beautiful places in and around the village like the Panna tiger reserve, the Ken Ghariyal sanctuary, the Raneh Falls and the Pandava Falls.
Khajuraho should not be mistaken for kamasutra and should be a must visit on every Indian’s travel itinerary as we can know about our heritage.
And lastly, the govt. should do more to preserve the history and the fine architecture with the help of locals.