DAY 24, APRIL 14, AGRA TO KHAJURAHO

ON TO KHAJURAHO

We took the fast train to Jahnsi.
And learned of a heroin from Jahnsi
As well as the Bandit Queen.
And saw a water pump like you've never seen,
Ox-driven and no wise fancy.


We got up early and, after breakfast, took a bus into town for our train ride of about two hours to Jhansi. This is the fastest train in India, capable of going 100 MPH. The ride was very smooth, at least as smooth as AMTRAK. It was clean, comfortable and air conditioned, though not nearly as spacious as the seating in AMTRAK.

From Jhansi we road we road our own nice large bus (like our previous two buses in India) to Khajuraho, with a stop at a restaurant in a village for a late lunch along the way. We arrived in Khajuraho about 4 PM. At 6 PM we took the walk (~3/4-mile) from our luxurious Radisson Hotel to the bazaar and back, had our happy hour at 7:15, and dinner at 8:15.

This hotel, unlike any other we've had, has FREE wireless Interntet connection for one's own laptop.

Khajuraho is a little town of only about 10,000. It is the site of the erotic sculpture in Hindu temples dating from ~950 - ~1150 AD. There are 85 such temples in the area. Some 28 of them are complete, the others being ruins of temples.

Judy Opsahl says these temples are very much like the Hindu temples of Angkor Watt, in Cambodia, the largest complex of temples in the world, but the latter are not as erotic as these.

This is very much out in the country. We drove over some very narrow country roads. Even the national highway we were on is barely wide enough to keep all wheels on the pavement at the same time.

As usual, on our long drive, Som gave us several “lectures” of information and long stories. In other situations I can understand him quite well. But on these occasions I only get maybe a third of it – just enough to be tantalized and wish I could understand all of it. Indian English is different than American English and British English. There is an accent. Words are pronounced differently. Soft sounds may be come hard sounds or vice versa. Inevitably, different syllables are accented than in American English.

So Som told the story of an Indian heroin from Jahnsi (Jansi Elani ??) who, during an anti-British uprising in 1857, tied her baby on her back, mounted a horse, and rode out of her palace into battle. And she is, to this day, cited as the symbol of feminine bravery in India.

And Som told an improbable tale of “The Bandit Queen,” who became the lady leader of a gang of bandits and later a member of Parliament, and was finally murdered.

Along the way we saw a statue of Jawaharlal Nehru and a statue group depicting the protest march lead by Mahatma Ghandi to make salt. Out the bus window, in the country, we also saw a “holy cow,” a decorated cow led by a man. People gain karma feeding the cow, and they pay the man.

We made a very quick stop in the country to photograph the home of a sort of faith healer with many flags that reminded me of the Buddhist flags in Bhutan. People come from great distances go get healed, believing that they can only be cured by such a man. Once cured, they come back and hang their flag.

We made a stop in the country to photograph what I'll call a Persian Wheel – because a similar machine in the Amber Palace was called a Persian Wheel. In the Amber Palace in was pushed manually. In this case it was driven by two oxen. In the Amber Palace it involved ceramic jars. In this case it involved metallic “buckets.” This is a water raising device. The well was deep and wide-open (no railing of any kind), a real safety hazard. Som remarked that he had no rope long enough. The oxen drive a wheel which drives a wheel which dives a “chain” with mounted “buckets” which scoop up the water in the well and dump it above the well. Then the farmer collected the water in big ceramic jugs to carry into the fields.

Som talked about politics and the election that is upcoming in two days. People of diverse religions get along just fine – until they are stirred up by the politicians, who turn one religion against another or one caste against another, and there is violence. The politicians fail to address the real issues but resort to personal attacks on one another, recalling their opponents' misdeeds of years ago. The young people are turned off by it all and most refuse to vote. And the average age of the population is about 35.

Bernie :-)