Khajuraho, April 22-23, 2008
We arrived into Khajuraho early enough in the afternoon so that we could hit the pool, which was very nice coming off five days of 100+ degree temperatures. As we have gotten to the last few days of our travels, we have started discussing parallels and other closing thoughts from the year. We thought it quite humorous that on our second night of the year, we fell asleep to a sound and light show at the Egyptian pyramids, and here in Khajuraho, with just a few nights left in this trip, we fell asleep that evening to a sound and light show of the temples of the Chandela kings.
A first century professor in Varanasi (to where we would travel next) wrote the Kama Sutra, an explicit guide to love making. The architects of the Chandela temples were quite taken with the book, as all of the 84 Kama Sutra positions and other images of daily life are expertly chiseled into many of the 22 remaining temples (out of 85 that were built in the few hundred years around 1,000 AD). We visited both the Western and Eastern temples on the morning of the 23rd, but not before getting up early to go to the home of a local yogi for a very memorable experience. Carson explains:
Today we just had to wake up early to go to “barfing yoga”. I will explain the barfing part to you later in the story. Well, we all thought it was going to be relaxing and peaceful and quiet, but it was just the opposite of that.
When we got to his house, the dog started barking. We thought it would stop in a minute, but it lasted all through yoga. So it was definitely not quiet.
We barely got to do any yoga; really, it was just a demonstration. The yogi wanted me and my brother to stay with him in India and he would teach us yoga; you probably think that sounds kind, but you first have to meet him.
Now for the grand finale, the barfing yoga! Well, what happened was he took a piece of thin cotton cloth that was 40-50 feet long and about 4 inches wide. He rolled it up into a cylinder (think a cloth toilet paper roll) and stuck it into a pot of hot water. Then he started putting it into his mouth. He started to swallow it and then his face turned to a burning hot red fire. He started to sweat and cough but then he was to the end of the roll (he swallowed the whole thing!). He then stated to pull the “string” out, and when it was out he immediately went outside and barfed.
I lost my appetite. My mom and brother were about to barf. My dad was grossly stunned.
Yes, even though we saw 1,000 year old exotic temples, the barfing yogi (or as Scott calls him, the “Regurgi-Yogi”) will definitely be the memory of the day. After the temples, we got another quick dip in the pool before heading to the airport, and our flight to Varanasi.
