Surya's Sun Temple at Konark
Puri is a procrastinator's paradise, but after a couple of days finding my bearings, I decided I just had to ease myself out of the restaurant-by-the-sea experience to explore the biggest tourist attraction in the area: the Sun Temple in Konark. A World Heritage site – always a good pointer, especially in India, home to loads of the things – it's a gorgeous sandstone building, smothered in intricate carvings in the way that Hindu temples often are. However, Konark's carvings have a subject matter that is a world away from the seriousness of many other temples: Konark specialises in the (t)horny subject of sex, and other equally essential aspects of life.
According to the guides, 'all life is here', which might go some way towards explaining the high population of India
From intricate carvings of monogamy in a whole range of positions, to polygamy with varying numbers of women, up to polyandry and plenty of erect penises, Konark was fascinating. Created in celebration of Surya, the Sun God, it is aligned east-west and takes the form of a huge chariot, with carved wheels down the side that double as sun clocks. Eric and I took a guide, who delighted in pointing out particularly interesting sculptures, such as the dog licking a woman, and the man with an infected manhood all bundled up in a bandage; he managed to impart a lot of information, despite his heavy Indian accent1, which made it hard to understand some of the more technical references to sex, an ambiguous enough subject in plain English.
The intricate detail of one of the 'wheels' on the huge chariot-shaped temple
Konark was well worth the visit, even if there were plenty of touts chanting, 'I show you erotic sculpture, very sexy postcards, very nice, just looking, cheap price,' all day long. But then again, there were plenty of tourists, mainly Indians, and where there are tourists, there are the trappings of tourism. Indian tourists, however, are a sight in themselves: smart2, well dressed and polite, they seem to fail the test when it comes to respecting their historical sites. Despite the barriers stopping you from approaching certain areas of the monument, there were plenty of Indians scrabbling over the fragile sandstone; as a result the site is policed by people with whistles who blow like crazy whenever they see anyone climbing where they shouldn't. They don't actually do anything, but they do make a lot of noise...
And the bus journey there and back proved that the Indian concept of 'full' is equalled only by the Indonesians'. Jammed on the back seat, I thanked my lucky stars that I'd learned to control my claustrophobia. What a shame my sense of smell is still acute: having your head jammed up someone else's armpit for an hour on the bus isn't my idea of heaven.
1 English is the lingua franca in India (often it's the only way for two Indians from disparate areas to communicate), but it's not so much English, more Inglish. Take the bobbling accent of the Indian living in England and make it thicker, and you end up with a wonderfully musical sound, something like a muddy tide lapping against a dock pile.
2 Middle-class Indians are exceptionally well turned out. The men have their standard shirts and trousers, well pressed but drab, but the women are sheer celebrations of colour, with wonderful sarees, golden earrings and necklaces, bangles and ankle bracelets, and a sense of style that's unique and effective. Their hair is always clean and tied up neatly, whether in a bun or the popular plaited ponytail, and is secured with exotic brooches, flowers or pretty hair bands. Seeing how these people live, it's a testament to them that they manage to look so smart, and it's a delight to behold.
