How not to waste time...

I still have no inspiration. The last two weeks have been a string of work in the office interrupted by spells of internet-surfing. These spells sometimes last a lot more than the 1 hour (maximum) I set for myself earlier in ‘My New Blogging Strategy’. I somehow have a natural talent for this. The really important things are not easy to start. I have to complete all the unimportant stuff before I switch to the really important stuff. Assignments that I have to handover for example, are important stuff, and as such will be left to the last minute, because I have to do the unimportant stuff first, …like tidying up my table, reading through piles of paper collecting dust in my in-tray for the last 3-4 months, putting a new entry into my blog…

And then I have to add some pictures to the blog entry. Somehow, I feel an update is never complete without pictures. Pictures sound like the easy thing to do, but they actually use up quite a lot of time. First you have to spend time choosing the nice ones, or the ones that will best capture the essence of a place or an entry, right? And if you are armed with a digital camera and have click-happy fingers like me, or Anu, you will have 34 pictures of one tiny restaurant, and 298 pictures of one tiny town (ok, I am exaggerating). And you have to choose 7 out from that.

And after that you have to check out the news. Because who knows what’s changed in the world, while you’ve been busy updating your blog, right? Is Lewis Hamilton still gonna be with the McLaren F1 team next season, have they uncovered anymore sex videos of famous people, is the naga jolokia still the spiciest chilli in the world, is Lindsay Lohan still alive…

I better get back to work. I shall now file all the dusty papers I have read so far from my slowly depleting in-box. I know I can still meet the deadline, I am super-efficient when it comes to last-minute-work. Years of training and practice made sure of that.

A Hidden Place

The Tombs of Kings of Orchha, by the river Betwa
What a name huh? Orchha… like some infestation of Orcs…

This is a peaceful little place tucked in northern Madhya Pradesh in the middle of India. Its name is Orchha (meaning Hidden Place), and it used to be the capital of one of the many independent kingdoms in India in the past. I like this place. It's cool (it was winter, ok?). I got to eat some ‘kimchi’ fried rice, some creation the local restaurants adopted from the Korean tourists I suppose (nice for a change, especially when you’re eating some sort of ‘dal’ or ‘roti’ every meal). It is fairly small, not crowded, not touristy and not too dirty. The one thing that attracted me most however, is the immense and almost-deserted Chaturbhuj Temple – that feels like something right out of the Prince of Persia. Give the Purple Scroll (50 rupees) to the Dark Acolytes (unofficial guardian-boys) of the Temple and they shall let you into the dark, steep and narrow staircases that lead you up to the scary upper chambers of the temple, with low and narrow pathways that open up to thin air, staircases formed by pieces of stone sticking out of the wall (and half of that broken), dark dank chambers, vertical drops straight down to the ground 100 feet below… and amazing views of the surrounding at the roof. If only I could climb the spires… where the Skeleton King of Orchha was said to reside…


Temple of the Skeleton King (kidding - Chaturbhuj Temple at night)


Gearing up to face the terrors within…


Castle Orchha


Palace of Emperor Jahangir (Jahangir Mahal)


The Dark Elves (construction ladies) of Jahangir


The Palace of Glass (Sheesh Mahal)

Sex at the Temples

Mahadev Temple, Khajuraho

These are pictures from Khajuraho in the state of Madhya Pradesh, a huge state somewhere in the middle of India. Khajuraho is a peaceful and rustic little village with not too many irritating guides. That is why this is one of my favourite places in India. Its main attraction(s) are a group of huge ancient temples which will put Playboy and Penthouse to shame. Don’t believe me, come visit yourself.


What ancient sculptors think about when they're at work... (not much difference from nowadays huh?)


Lakshmana Temple




Anu and the Vishwanath Temple, Khajuraho


Entertainment to suit the masses –
Bottom tiers (for the children) – procession of animals & everyday life;
Middle tiers (for young adults) – err…‘a pictorial guide to the kama sutra’;
Upper tiers (for senior citizens) – gods & deities


The Vamana Temple and I


Cycling in Khajuraho