One of the wheels of the chariot(r) One of the entrances into the temple.
The Konark Temple is open to all, there are some Hindu temples that do not allow non-Hindus to enter for religious reasons.
The Konark Sun Temple has a unique history. A temple that is a tribute to Surya the sun God. Built like a chariot with wheels pulled by 6 giant horses. Much of the temple is under reconstruction and so many of the horses have been removed and are being worked on. The wheels are significant.. because they are built as time pieces. Ancient sun dials that are so detailed they can tell up to the minute because of the little notchesof each wheel.
I know this information becauseKamola took us there on the last day in Bhubeneswar. What he did not mention was that he hired a guide to give us the “7 day tour” versus the one hour tour. I do not think that I am old enough or mature enough to have had the “7 day tour”. The guide went into extreme details about the architecture of the temple and the reasons for each sculpted area. This temple was a procreation tribute. Meaning that it is where most Hindu would come for an ancient version of sex education. The guide took us through every sculpted Kama Sutra statue ( hundreds). There was no getting away from him. He would keep yelling at Kit and I “Madam, madam..please please!” Which in translation, meant we had to stand very close to him (he insisted on being a close talker) and we would get every detail of every statue while I was trying to keep a straight face as he emphasized the English words that he knew well...and he knew quite a few very well. He was about 80 years old and only had 3 teeth.
By the time Nallasivan, Kit and I were done, and the guide had left us, we were crying we were laughing so hard. We had barely held it together during his talks. Nallasivan emphasized that it was the climax of our trip to the Orissa state.
In class we had just gone over five year action plans with the leadership teams from the states of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal. Kit last comment was that she would expect to see my five year action plan. I told her that I think I needed the five century plan to go over all of the material our guide had shared.
On a serious note the architect of the temple was stunning and sad at the same time. The 120,000 workers worked day and night to complete it. They were threatened that if it was not complete in 15 years (please keep in mind there was no heavy duty machinery to lift the highest sculptures and stones to the top…sand would have been used), all 120,000 would be killed. The fine detailing and the ingenious time pieces are marked by marble sun goddesses that indicate the times of day (sunrise, midday, sunset) Each sculpture has a different expression and symbol. Kit told me that at the Taj Mahal, the archictects when they were complete their work would have their thumbs cut off. This was to ensure that they would never replicate their design anywhere else.
Every beautiful piece of history has some tragic story behind it. Kamola is an amazing host and friend. We had to say good-bye to Nallsivan last night, it was very sad and emotional. We will be heading to Delhi today. I will try and organize my other flights when I get there. There was another bomb in the Assam state and all trains have been postponed in and out of the main area. The bomb is nowhere near me but it was on a train, and the Canadian government is not advising train travel in India at this time. So please note I will be flying to Tamil Nadu and Goa. Flights are fairly reasonable and I am getting some assitance from AIPTF
much love,
t
ps.no picture of complete sun temple... have to get some pictures from Kit
By the time Nallasivan, Kit and I were done, and the guide had left us, we were crying we were laughing so hard. We had barely held it together during his talks. Nallasivan emphasized that it was the climax of our trip to the Orissa state.
In class we had just gone over five year action plans with the leadership teams from the states of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal. Kit last comment was that she would expect to see my five year action plan. I told her that I think I needed the five century plan to go over all of the material our guide had shared.
On a serious note the architect of the temple was stunning and sad at the same time. The 120,000 workers worked day and night to complete it. They were threatened that if it was not complete in 15 years (please keep in mind there was no heavy duty machinery to lift the highest sculptures and stones to the top…sand would have been used), all 120,000 would be killed. The fine detailing and the ingenious time pieces are marked by marble sun goddesses that indicate the times of day (sunrise, midday, sunset) Each sculpture has a different expression and symbol. Kit told me that at the Taj Mahal, the archictects when they were complete their work would have their thumbs cut off. This was to ensure that they would never replicate their design anywhere else.
Every beautiful piece of history has some tragic story behind it. Kamola is an amazing host and friend. We had to say good-bye to Nallsivan last night, it was very sad and emotional. We will be heading to Delhi today. I will try and organize my other flights when I get there. There was another bomb in the Assam state and all trains have been postponed in and out of the main area. The bomb is nowhere near me but it was on a train, and the Canadian government is not advising train travel in India at this time. So please note I will be flying to Tamil Nadu and Goa. Flights are fairly reasonable and I am getting some assitance from AIPTF
much love,
t
ps.no picture of complete sun temple... have to get some pictures from Kit
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