INDIA-A LAST LOOK

Looking back at my travels, I’ve done close to 3,000 blogs and this effort was disjointed and irregular. I’ve missed events, lost or misplaced pictures  and today I’m laughing about it. I thought I’d blog pictures that I didn’t fit into any narrative, like the Bengal tigers, snatched from the film we saw. Aren’t they magnificent animals?

 

We learned a lot about the Hindu Gods. The great Mahatma Gandhi was  much admired,  But I never mentioned his seven dangers to Human Virtue:

Wealth without work; Pleasure without conscience;  Knowledge without character; Business without ethics, Science without humanity; Religion without sacrifice and Politics without principle.

They resonate with me.

We learned a lot about weddings;  the groom rides a white horse, an elephant or a black horse. What about people who don’t have a horse? This groom can afford to hire a horse and carriage and decorate it. But, I never found out how even poorer people get married?  Maybe next time.

And wouldn’t you just once like to ride free and unfettered on top of a car or truck? As a farm girl growing up, I had that experience. And many times rode in the back of a pick-up. In California even your dog can’t ride untied in the back of a pick-up.

OAT is such a great company to travel with because of the great off-itinerary items included in the experience.  Though my cricket  lesson was canceled, one of the employees posed with his cricket racket for me. A cricket serve and return is like a baseball pitch. You can’t see it unless it is coming at you at 112 miles per hour. I missed the lesson, but enjoyed the match.

And I have to wonder, will I ever enter a bus with a crowd of people waiting to get on, and look for a vendor holding belly dancing beads or some other fascinating item you can buy nowhere else?

I’m an art nut and an artist. I took pictures of art everywhere.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Art isn’t only about paintings, prints, sculpture and fabric wall hangings. What about this doorway in the Palace Hotel?

And this carved door into Agra Marble Company.

Bronze carvings on the hip of a hippo at Chandela.

And a foot rest on the end of our bed at our last hotel. Some flights were early. Others were late in the night.  We got to enjoy a professional sari fitting. A yoga class designed to remove tensions and let go of all cares. I marked down every posture he taught us.  I learned to breathe out loud. Ahmmm. Ooohhh. Mmmmm.

The gift shop had an interesting assortment of things.

These shoes have tread miles of India. A country I’d recommend for its wonderful traditions; its diverse and colorful  people. People here are warm and giving; they speak 607,000 languages. It is hard for me to imagine. My nearby town of Stockton has 22 ethnicities, which means great food.

At the airport in Dehli I saw something I’d never seen before. A smoking lounge. Paid for by Camel cigarettes my guess.

Even a decorated camel is art.  Those of you who know me, know I have to get my art “fix”. And, I did.

Alaviha. I’ll let you guess which of the thousands of languages it is. It means, goodbye.

 

KHAJURAHO

It’s a chilly morning when we arrive at the Hindu temple complexes. They were unearthed by British archaeologists and British Victorian values were shocked by these intricate carvings.

The temples were built between the ninth and tenth century A.D. and the widespread culture that built them dominated central India at the time.

As we approach the building, carvings are everywhere. This repaired section shows a bit of what life was like. Elephants were trained to work. Horses too.

High on the walls, are multiple sections of beautiful carved figures. Without the ability to measure them, I’d estimate they stand 18 to 20 inches in height.

One of the Hindu God’s is an elephant headed deity with many arms. Everywhere on the wall,  the trunks and tusks of elephants, human arms and hands, the most fragile parts were broken over the years.

In this intimate scene, the elephant seems to be observing with enjoyment.

There were several evidences of bestiality. Here an aroused dog. Other more graphic carvings with horses and elephants and humans could be seen, if you could locate them.

 

I think many of the scenes are about being clean and ready for intimacy.

It appears as though this mother is showing her daughter how to comb and groom. Mother has a comb and looks into a mirror while daughter looks on.

 

In this intimate scene, the child chooses not to watch. But children were indoctrinated into sexual activities at a young age.

The faces of the lovers are very distinct as though modeled by living subjects.

This scene shows masturbation by both female and male while watching a sexual act.

Some figures are just seductive and you can’t help but admire the beauty and grace of this carving. This is two men. Nothing was censured.

From this site, the positions as a whole are known as Kama Sutra.  Books have been written that have analyzed this religion in an attempt to understand it and how it came to be.

This sweet face resembles no other. It is clear there are no cookie cutter images.

Again, a child is part of the scene.

She lovingly strokes his forehead, but the other two figures role is uncertain. Other carvings evidenced  group sex with four persons and much voyeurism.

Seductive and uninhibited.

Some of the carvings are in hard to reach little nooks and aren’t as clearly detailed as others. The marble seems course. Which makes me wonder if they were carved on the walls?  Or carved on a table and mounted on the walls?

The answer to that question was never made clear to us

No matter how they were carved, the intent is clear.

We are no longer in the Victorian age and sex is a more open topic of discussion today.

Note:  Theo was not feeling well and opted to stay in the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.

There is no reason not to find the fountain of youth  if exercise has anything to do with it-and, in my opinion, it does. The so called “snowbird” resorts of warm winter climates like Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida  and Southern, California attract thousands of Northerners from the U.S and Canada of retirement age.  Drive the streets of Apache Junction, Yuma, Mesa, Maricopa or any number of other places and row upon row of  gated communities  are filled to the gills with retirees.  Activities vary but most have swimming pools, a club house, spa,  scheduled and special events. What’s not to like? The sounds of friendly gatherings, music, barbeques, people chatting with their neighbors, catching up with “the news” or having visiting grandchildren or friends in for a day is testimony to the homey, feeling of snowbird resorts like Country Side, (where we stayed last year), and Golden Sun where we are now.

Yesterday morning, I passed by the pool exercise group and attended a stretch exercise group for an hour.

I snapped this picture just as everyone was getting ready to leave. Provided is a wooden bar and weights of differing size. The stretches cover every muscle group from your toes to eyes. Invigorating.

I returned to the motor home for 45 minutes and then attended a yoga  class.  The instructor was humorous and had all of us laughing and sending bad vibes away. The one hour session ran over by 15 minutes and was so much fun, I would like it if  I had access to a class like this every day.  She teaches a  morning and afternoon class.

The schedule here is Tai Chi, Lap swimming, Floor exercises, Stretch exercises, Water exercises, Sweating to the oldies and Yoga, everyday or set days of the week.

The rest of the activity schedule varies. For instance, Monday: Women’s Pool (billiards), Shuffle Board, Round Dancing, Men’s B Leage Pool, Line Dancing, Craft Class, Potluck Social & Dinner, Texas Hold’Em, Ceramics.

Tuesday: Smell The Roses Hiking, Charity Quilters, Bridge, WWarII Vets Meet.

Wednesday:  Shuffleboard, Quilting, Golf, Mens Senior Pool League, Ceramics, Games.

Thursday: Women’s Pool, Women’s Pool League Bridge, Line Dancing, Cribbage, Texas Hold’em.

Friday: Hiking With Rex, Shuffle Board, Men’s A Legue Pool, WWII, Dance.

Saturday:  Nickel Bingo, Games

Sunday:  Couples Pool.

Those are regular activites with special events added in. The Dance on Friday nights is always live music.

A constant round of activities from which you can partake or ignore.  The resort at Country Side, as I remember, had more golf aficionados with there own, home-made golf course on vacant land across from the resort. Snake Hole Golf Course was blogged here January 13, 2011, if you wish to see it.

In 2008, we rented a less fancy place for $250 a month in Yuma to have my dental work done.  For us, we move in for a week or two, partake and leave. But, for those who like a permanent address for six months of the year for good weather and fun?  The choices are endless, and golden agers have found the fountain of youth. Exercise, friends, social contacts, sunshine, economy and bring your pet if you have one.