Customer Reviews

Sculptural Art of Khajuraho

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It's informative and well-written, too. The text starts with an historical primer on the Chandellas who created the temple complex. It ends with a few pages discussing the cultural and historical context in whicht the temples were built. The middle section of the book, by far the largest part, gives detailed descriptions of each different temple at the Khajuraho site. Although the text is thorough, pictorial plans of the site and of each temple would have helped in visualizing the details.

It was a fair trade-off, though. Fewer architectural details made room for more photos, all in color. The gallery starts with exterior shots of the temples, then works its way into details of some of the famous niche carvings. These are beautiful stone renderings of everything joyous in life. The authors give a progression of pictures, gradually easing the Western mind into a non-Western idea of what deserves holy depiction. Early on, we see a standing couple (p.42), richly arrayed, graceful and handsome, and obviously happy to be together. Other friezes show communal celebrations, like parade of musicians (p.72). Toward the end of the book, the sculptural scenes become more passionate. Some show single figures in ecstatic dance (p.142). Others show couples (or triples, or more) in ecstatic erotism. These works cover the range of sexual contact, imcluding hands (p.181, 191), mouths (p.186), and even animal (p.185). Coital works span the familiar (p.171), unusual (p.177), athletic (p.180, 189), and frankly improbable (p.178). All are sculpted with sensitivity, sometimes with arresting beauty (p.175).

This book is the best introduction I know to the famous temple art at Khajuraho. These temples are world treasures. They venerate the creative force in the universe. They celebrate the ongoing flow of creation that sustains the human world, and they celebrate the urge to create the appears in all of us. It gives a profound and possibly unfamilair face to what is holy - the human face.

//wiredweird