kama sutra

khajuraho, india


three young men are sitting on their respective mattresses in a hostel in varanasi on a saturday night, watching the hbo presentation of 'forgetting sarah marshall'. why? well, the movie is a personal favorite and it was best to take it easy with a 5 am boat tour the following morning. cultural differences were evident as hbo shows commercials here, even one for a morning-after pill (?!). disappointing, yet unsurprising, was that there was censorship. it was expected that the more profane scenes would not be shown, but the real curveball was that shots involving innocuous kissing were blocked.


fast-forward two days to the beautiful town of khajuraho, known for its distinct temples created almost exactly one millenium ago. the dozen or so sandstone and granite structures, varying between 20-40 meters in height, are neatly spread out upon an area no larger than a couple square kilometers with well-manicured lawns around and between. the interior of the temples feature a raised platform, central recess, and a statue of the deity it is dedicated to, but the main attraction is the exterior. the outer walls are covered in thousands (per temple) of intricately carved figures ranging from a few inches in height to a meter. most are beautiful but fairly conventional for those who have a temple or two under their belt: carvings of soldiers, battle, local animals, and flattering images of gods. but in and amongst these more traditional images are a few that would certainly be banned from a midwestern libraries bookshelves or two.


there's the slightly suggestive couple standing hip-to-hip that makes several appearances. there are a few coquettish glances etched in stone. but then it gets steamy. that girl is sitting like....wha? and then what are those two girls doing with his... oh. wow. there are passionate scenes between couples and depictions of orgies that would make the members of motley crue blush. there's even bestiality!


i will admit that i dedicated more time to these temples than i gave the individual structures in palenque or macchu pichu. but what is so interesting is the juxtaposition between these two days. one millenium ago, there existed a culture that seemed to be cloaked in fewer inhibitions, while presently even a kiss between two consenting, clothed individuals is too suggestive. a poll i saw in the times of india showed that 72% of indian respondents believed that homosexuality was a disease. there are still arranged marriages and enough husbands shame their wives into suicide that it is a well-documented phenomenon. that's not to say that these temples are sufficient evidence that all was free and fair back in the day. but it is a reminder that in a world rife with poverty and inequality, we spend a little too much time worrying about seeing a female's hoo-haws or a male's pee pee. i can't help but see the parallels in my own country where too many people are way too concerned about gay marriage or abortion, and not enough about seeing that their fellow citizens can go to a doctor.