Well, this was the first ever hired guide in my life. I refrain from talking a guide and prefer reading the boards instead. However, that morning, he walked right in front of my face and even I managed to crack a good deal with him. So, there was my guide “Mr. Bideshi Swain”. Well, I asked his name at the very end of the tour and confirmed it couple of times, and you may understand why.

I reached there at the sunrise to capture the very first light falling on the temple shrine, however, my bad luck as it was a gloomy morning. Nevertheless, I has lot others to capture. While the major structure is under conservation, the main section of the temple was close in 1903. As my guide was talking about all the tiny visible details carved on the existing structure, he left few others for imagination as a part of the story. The architecture is indeed symbolic, with the chariot’s twelve pairs of wheels corresponding to the 12 months of the Hindu calendar, each month paired into two cycles (Shukla and Krishna). Sadly few of them are damaged now.

If you look carefully, all the tiny carved sculptures says a story and if you are a historian, it is surely self explanatory. Now as we start, the carvings depicted the morning routine one must follow, the ideal/good behavior chart, the daily life, etc. Now comes the interesting part, Mr. Swain was pretty loud at his vocal notes and the levels were modulating with sunrise to sunset stories. While you do all the work (physical labour) with sunrise and by sunset comes the lust. We all are well aware that physical intimacy is a basic need of life and part of the life chakra (the wheel of life). And so it was depicted. The sculptures depicted monogamy, polygamy, homosexuality and other forms of sexual intimacy among partners. We both being men, he did not shy about telling me every detail of it. However, his voice was at the lowest note possible, as if he is talking to himself. I surely gave me a good laugh by the mid of it. But ironically, how it’s still a taboo.

It is still very difficult to understand and accept, that a country which has been so evolved and progressive in it’s history, has no window for it now. And it is it’s own custodian who as moulding it at their own convenience.

For more pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJqPesFIgA/?taken-by=jajabor_diaries

My Guide, Mr. Bideshi Swain