Mandwa Mahal and Bhoramdeo Temples, Travels in India

Mandwa Mahal and Bhoramdeo Temples
(A visit on Tuesday, July 14, 2015)
Continuing our trek around Chhattisgarh, India, about 17-18 miles away from Kawardha, near a large lake and its dam, through the hills, tribal villages, and herds of cows, we headed toward the first of two temple visits. The village of Chairagaon lies there, among green trees and alongside very low foothills of the Maikal range. At each turn of the roads are goatherders, cowherders, but as there are hardly any people living in the area, one only saw these plus an occasional car or motorbike on the road.
Here is a link to what it is like while driving through the cows!

Mandwa Mahal is a small Shiva temple built in 1349 by Fani Nagavanshi King: Ramchandra Deva, after his marriage with the Kalchuri Haihaya Queen Ambika Dev'i. The temple is facing West. It is known as the Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh due to its resemblance to the famed temples of Khajuraho and that group of monuments.

It has several sections including one underground which is the "inner sanctum", accessed by steep stairs. Inside this, was a holy man sitting with candles, garlands, oils, and flowers.                          
One can make a prayer in the inner sanctum and leave an offering for Shiva or go outside to the stone figure and leave offerings and prayers.

Around the rear of the temple, one can see many roughly-carved figures of erotic couples in many positions of the Kama Sutra. The sign at the entrance to the temple ground stated that this represented a type of worship and influence of the cult of the contemporary period. The sign was so badly chipped, rusted, and destroyed that it can barely be read.

Next, we went a few miles further and came upon the Bhoramdeo temple complex. The area approaching the road to the temple had blockades and old advertisements for the temple. Apparently, the government is/was trying to make it into a tourist destination. A short walk from the parking area took us to a lovely lake with giant lily pads, swan boat rides, and a few vendors selling their wares in front of the temple.

The Bhoramdeo temple is a stone temple dedicated to a form of the god Shiva and built during the reign of Naga Vansi, king, in the early 11th century. The temple was built by Lakshman Dev Rai in the Paramara style of Malwa. Various kinds of art (I read "Vaishnava, Jaina, and Shaiva sculpture styles") are all found in the temple houses on the grounds. The temple itself is also said to be in Nagara architecture.

The temple complex is named Bhoramdeo after a ubiquitous tribal god Bhoram deo (a form of the Shiva god). As you approach and see the temple for the first time, it is quite striking! Large trees cover the grounds and some of the temple, bathing all but the tallest structures in shade.One can see how it was left to the elements for centuries without being widely discovered in the quiet solitude of central India. The main entrance faces east and the lesser two face north and south.

                     
The entrance sign reads: "The temple is equipped with a sanctum antechamber, a three-porched square assembly hall, a super structure of seven horizontal and vertical segments, four ante "fixesin". There is a superstructure above the porches and the antechamber. Outside along the sides of the temple, there is "a riot of images" depicting sex, war, dance, and music and this is supposed "to represent the ephemeral world of senses, giving way to the darkness, silence, and emptiness of the chamber (sign says "bomb chamber") inside where communion with God takes place".                        
                      

Entrance to one of the lesser temple side structures (below)

                     

There are other small structures on the grounds that resemble 8th century brick temples of Chhattisgarh. There are a few small statues and images around the temple grounds that were assembled mostly from the Chaura village and represent 12th to 15th century. 

Then, there are some erotic statues and symbols of Shiva that are said to be from the destruction of the Khajuraho temple of the 10th-12th century. There are so many pieces that the Bhoramdeo temple is also nicknamed "The Khajuraho Chhattisgarh" as with the Mandwa Mahal structure.   

Sacred phallic Lingua surrounding an egg

Sacred lingua covered by a cobra's head - you can see where offerings have been left                              

According to the Director of Archeology & Culture and culture board in Kawardha, this temple is "one of the finest flowers of Medieval architecture". 
There was a gigantic Shiva statue on the hill across the lake, but it was VERY obscured by tree cover so I didn't get any photos of it. After leaving the temple grounds and making our way back to the ambulance in which we had come, we saw a large herd of cattle and could hear their bells. I treasure this video and I wish we could have stayed longer.
Video of grazing cows and their bells
Some had bells on their tales and others around their necks....bells of all sizes. It was beautiful and calming to hear them! It almost sounded like a faint gamelan orchestra coming to order, but also reminded me of the Buddhist temples in Katmandu, Nepal, where there is an occasional cacophonous time of instruments in between chants and prayers. This was more gentle and lovely though, and brought images of a distant time and the onset of quiet evening on the mountain in waning half shadow.

Mungeli, India 2015

A Visit to Mungeli, India - Mission trip - Summer 2015
I've returned to the Christian Hospital Mungeli  and the Rambo Memorial School
This year, the internet was less consistent than last year so I emailed myself these blog posts and am just now getting around to posting them! 

It's Sunday in Mungeli and I'm back in my room after a trip to the local church down the road followed by a walk into the town. It is SO HOT! I needed a cool down break under some fans and with some water. I arrived in India last Thursday (MSY--AMS--DEL) and spent the night in the boiling hot & stuffy Delhi airport on a reasonably comfy bench until my early AM flight to Raipur. I was so sleepy that I got off the plane in Nagpur and thank goodness they checked my boarding pass and told me I needed to get back on board! Arriving in Raipur, I waited for my friend Kahala and the driver to come and pick me up for the ride to Mungeli. When they came, it was decided to stop at a grocery for some necessities some of the other visitors to the Christian Hospital needed and so picked up some lunch to go while we were there. The drive to Mungeli was full of a million annoying stops and so bumpy I'm surprised all my internal organs made it intact! The driving is actually pretty scary here. One must drive at top speed, dodging cows, dogs, people, motorbikes, cars, and huge trucks. Often, when passing another vehicle, it's an outright game of chicken, seeing who will give in to getting back in his lane. The other consideration in all this is the road quality. New Orleans, I hate to tell you this, but the state of Chhattisgarh has you beat, by a factor of about a million. The craters in the road are sometimes as big as your car and dangerously deep. You can usually dodge them, but if you accidentally go through the wrong one, you may destroy your car or truck. If people slowed down slightly, it would help, but I learned last year that everyone here is used to it all. I gave up worrying about it and just tried to trust that we'd make it. I figured the driver didn't want to die today so would be at least a baseline level of careful. Seatbelts might help. Maybe.

My first day here, I had to rest immediately and I later went to dinner to meet two girls from Denmark and four Americans (from Butler and Eureka colleges). They are a terrific group and we shared dinner in the guest house.
The next day, Friday, I had NO jetlag because I had beena wake for so long and slept like the aforementioned boulder! I attended the chapel at 7:30 AM and I was so surprised to receive such a fantastic welcome! The nursing students were all there and many remembered me from last year's visit!!! They are SO SWEET!!!!! At the end of chapel, I was introduced and one of the girls gave me a beautiful garland of marigolds!!!

Christian Hospital Mungeli

We left chapel all together to go downstairs and see the new medical equipment that had arrived. It's high definition and to be used for their Urology work.

                                           

I was asked to bless the new medical tools so I said a prayer asking for blessing and longevity of use as well as for God to guide the hands of those who use these new tools. 

Dr. Anil Henry, the wonderful head of Christian Hospital Mungeli and a great surgeon, said a few words about the equipment and showed them to everyone. 
This was followed by DELICIOUS jelabies and spicy samosas. Jelabies are soft, honey-filled pretzely swirls of goodness. 

Samosas are little fried pockets of potato and onions and heavy spices. They give me heartburn, as most of the food here does. I also had taken my first Doxycycline pill (for Malaria prevention) and those tend to give me heartburn as well so I stayed with sampling the jelabies :-)

It was time for morning rounds in the hospital. Last year, I did this a few times and would stop back by sometimes in the afternoon to see some of the patients. The morning group consisted of Dr. Henry, one or two other doctors and nurses, and some of the visitors. I noticed there were several malaria patients this year, including one with cerebral malaria who was not doing well. Malaria is endemic to this area and is especially rampant during monsoon season. About halfway through the rounds, I actually began to feel quite ill. I thought I was going to have to throw up so I quickly left ICU and headed outside. The EXACT same thing happened to me last year on my first day. The Doxycycline gave me severe heartburn and some nausea and I did throw up. This time, I didn't throw up, but I realized I needed to eat something quickly or I would. You're supposed to take Doxy with either food or a milky substance and I had simply had a couple of crackers. I think that's why I didn't throw up though - at least it was something. So, I went to the guest house, where I stayed last year and where the Danes and American students are staying. It's also where Tripdte, the cook, makes Masala chai and meals. I ate an egg and felt immensely and immediately better!
After breakfast, I sort of made my own "rounds" and saw lots of familiar faces, visited the nursing students' classrooms, and came back after lunch for a nap, still exhausted from reflux and ok, maybe a tad bit of jetlag. I went in the early evening to work on singing with the nursing students and had great plans. The American students came too and we waited almost an hour, but no one came. We think the message didn't get through and that's my fault because while I made a small announcement, I didn't find the person in charge of their schedule. No matter, we went back to the guest house for dinner and had some fun conversations.

me in the middle w/ Issac and Grace, fellow missionaries

Saturday, I attended morning chapel and had breakfast. I visited various departments until lunchtime and then went back to my room to rest instead of eating. That Doxy is a MEAN and TERRIBLE medicine. In the afternoon, I contacted the school and then did some work for projects at home. Early evening brought a super fun time with the first-year (and four of the second-year) nursing students! We warmed up, something they've never done before! It made them think I am totally crazy, but I could tell from their giggles that some were enjoying being silly with their voices :-) Next, I talked to them about the differences between head voice and chest voice and when to use them. After I demonstrated it a few times, they did it with me. It will be a constant reminder during the next couple of weeks. I introduced two songs that the second-year students learned last year and they did them with pretty good success. Then, I talked to them a little about the functions of music in worship. We sang one of the songs I taught them and since we had reached the end of the hour, called it a night. 

My lovely nursing students!

Today, Sunday, my roommate Kahala and I went to the Mungeli church which is a Disciples of Christ congregation and attended their morning service.

Mungeli Christian Church

It was quite lively and about two and a half hours. I really enjoyed hearing so much of the Hindi language and getting to meet some of the townspeople, but I didn't understand a single word of the sermon and it was difficult to maintain concentration. There was a praise band and while it's not necessarily my preferred style of music, it was very moving to hear everyone singing together and wonderful to see people smiling. Afterwards, we walked the rest of the way into town and did some errands and looked around.

We ended up at a new store to buy laundry detergent and several people wanted to take a picture of me and with me and wanted to hand their babies to me for pictures. I did do some group photos, but handling babies was so not going to happen. I remember this happened at the Taj Mahal last year. I suppose I do look extremely different, being so pale and with a mess of red hair! it was a bit much today though so we left and came back to the hospital. This evening, we attended the hospital chapel and then went for dinner in the guest house. Tonight after dinner, all of the missionaries got together and went through our visit prayerfully and sang a few hymns. That was super nice. This particular group of missionaries is bonding very well.
Monday holds my first visit back at the Rambo Memorial School to see some social studies presentations, meet with some teachers, and to get started teaching some music classes. I think that I may be heading to Bilaspur on Tuesday afternoon  after school to see some temples and then eat at a roadside restaurant on the way back!