A huge thank you to you, Jean Marie and Corinne, for your active participation—I feel less alone thanks to you 😉.
Alright, back to it then!
KHAJURAHO the erotic!!
With a title like that, I’m sure I’ve piqued your curiosity !
Well, you guys will just have to be patient because I’m gonna drag this out a bit!
So, if you’ve been following along, we’re leaving Chitrakoot this morning for a 250 km drive—about 5 hours by local standards!!
It starts off calm on country roads.
After 2 hours, we stop for chai in our driver’s tiny hometown.
Loulou chats about toothbrushing with his café neighbors (oh, the state of that café!!), we watch villagers go about their day, and some gorgeous monkeys come say hi and strike a pose—so cool!
We arrive in Khajuraho, a small Indian village... with a brand-new, massive airport (almost as big as Bordeaux’s).
It feels really weird in the middle of nowhere, and we figure the area must be super touristy (you’ll find out why later!).
That evening, we head out to explore the village.
Three tuk-tuks are waiting for us—we pick Birrend, the one who runs toward us the fastest (nooo, I’m kidding 😛).
We end up in a cute, spotless little village.
After Chitrakoot, “the filthy,” it’s a nice change!
Turns out tourism has its perks sometimes (especially when there are no tourists right now, haha).
As soon as we step out, we’re swarmed every few meters:
"Hey, come see my shop!" "Uh, no thanks, I cleaned out your buddy’s store yesterday—I don’t need anything, haha!"
"Want a tuk-tuk?" "No thanks, your friend Birrend’s already giving us a ride."
"Want a book on the Kama Sutra?" "No thanks, my wife already knows all the tickles!" And they die laughing!!
Anyway, one silly joke, a big smile, and they leave you alone—even wave hello the next day!
The next morning, we meet Birrend for breakfast.
He introduces us to his nephew Soni, a 17-year-old student who wants to spend the day with us to practice his English (yeah, we’re *that* good ).
He’s adorable, so of course we say yes.
Off we go, the four of us, to Raneh Falls.
40 minutes by tuk-tuk through greenery and then the forest.
And when we arrive—well, we realize we’re *so* lucky!!
The rain we had two days ago? We can thank it—there’s an amazing rush of water, which isn’t always the case, far from it.
So, beautiful, noisy falls, a grand canyon (not the US one, but still pretty cool), all surrounded by multicolored rocks (basalt, sandstone, granite...).
All in all, a really cool hike.
Back to the village, heading to the temples the whole world comes to see—and honestly, we get why!!
There are 22 left scattered around the village, built in the 900s (yes, over a thousand years old!!) and in absolutely exceptional condition (thanks, UNESCO!).
We’re not usually into old stones, but we were blown away by the incredible detail of these sculptures.
The friezes on all the temples show scenes of daily life—mostly war, and a bit of rest.
And what was rest in the 900s? Well, sex!
That’s why these temples are so famous—their beauty, sure, but also the erotic scenes, which are apparently unique.
The first one we found—yikes... a man "taking care of" a mare (apparently representing soldiers’ sexual frustration during war!!).
Uh, no, I’ll spare you the photo—I’m afraid the puritans would roast me .
There are others much softer and prettier, but they’re only a tiny fraction of what there is to discover here.
All in all, it was amazing.
After that, Soni suggests we meet up in the evening to take us to a "party."
As usual, we have no idea what or where, but we say yes because with these two, we’re in good hands. And we’re glad we did!
They take us to the only temple still used for evening Puja ceremonies (there’s one every day, morning and evening).
We go inside, guided by Soni, who’s the "assistant" to the ceremony master.
It’s not very big, black with soot, with a huge metal tube in the middle where everyone who enters places their hands and forehead for a few seconds.
With Loulou (the only white people, as usual), we feel like two elephants in a china shop!
We’re terrified of messing up, barely dare to move an ear, but everyone smiles at us.
Five guys start drumming and clashing cymbals—it’s as loud as a rock concert!!
Then they clap in rhythm, sing, take the "host" (a coconut), do the collection (maybe the one thing all religions have in common!!), and then put a red dot on our foreheads, just like everyone else.
It lasts half an hour, then we head out.
Soni and Birrend are eager to hear our impressions and are so happy to see our joy and hear our thanks.
One question comes to mind:
"Soni, what exactly does that big cylinder in the center represent?"
"Well, Shiva’s lingam," he says with a little smirk.
"Uh, the lingam??"
"Yeah, the thing men have but women don’t!"
Uh-oh, I think I get it, but I’m still not sure. I go for it and point at Loulou’s crotch with a confused look, and he nods with a big smile!!
No way—I’m dreaming!! Indians, so modest and "uptight" about sexuality, bow down every day to Shiva’s phallus !!
Okay, this confirms it—I’ll never understand this country!!
After such a great day, we happily buy a nice (soft) erotic statue from Soni’s brother’s shop.
He was thrilled, and so were we.
It’ll look great, that stone statue from Khajuraho in our living room in Landes.
Though, who knows, it might be a plaster statue made in China—but honestly, we don’t care. That kid was too cute.
Actually, when we left, my cheerfulness got the better of me—I gave him two kisses on the cheek.
Oh, the poor guy, I think I shouldn’t have—he turned bright red!! (And thanks to you, Marien, I realize I "humiliated" him—ugh, I feel so bad!!)
Now it’s time to say goodbye.
I can tell you, I’m not ready to leave for "unknown lands" because I already have a huge lump in my throat from leaving those two guys (yeah, I know, I’m such a softie!!).
Luckily, we’re saved—now we’re friends on Facebook 😛
