Konark Sun Temple, Orissa

Konark Sun Temple dates back to the 13th century and it is one of World Heritage Sites. It was built in a form of the chariot of the Sun god (Surya) with twelve pairs of wheels and seven horses pulling it. It has amazing stone carving decorations all over the walls. The first thing you notice at the entrance are giant lions that are crushing elephants that stand on the top of human bodies. Next, you see elegant carvings of different dance poses and musicians -- that's were dance performances used to be held. Later statues of humans and divine figures in different erotic poses derived from Kama Sutra start. I don't know whether to believe it, but our guide was telling us that the reason for the erotic statues was very low population of Orissa state after several wars. If that is the case, all I can say that it worked brilliantly! Achieved the goal and then some more... :o) There are also numerous detailed war and daily life scenes including animals as well as floral and geometric patterns. Unfortunately, the temple suffered a lot of damage when Orissa was attacked by a Muslim king in the 16th century, but you can picture it's glorious past. Worth a visit!

Traditional martial arts performance in Konark, Orissa

While visiting Sun Temple in Konark (state of Orissa), we were lucky to get to see a performance of traditional martial arts - Paika Nrutya. Paika means battle and nrutya means dance, so this form of dance is an enactment of a battle. A group of men wearing traditional clothes and playing drums were enthusiastically cheering and shouting while building different human pyramids and performing other feats with what looked like a heavy wooden wheel. Traditionally village warriors used to perform this dance to pump themselves up before going to battle. Both the sight and mood were just great!