India 2

One of the amazing things I did in India was to see an ancient Hindu temple. This was my 4th trip to India and the first time I had the opportunity to see a temple or building that I'd studied in my art history courses in college.

We visited the Konark Sun Temple in Orissa. Dating from the 13th c., the entire temple is covered in detailed sculptures carved in sandstone. The design is a chariot, pulled by 6 horses with 12 unique and exquisite wheels.

Sadly, proximity to the ocean and air pollution have not been kind to this temple. This is the only remaining horse. My mother-in-law remembers more horses standing from when she visited 10 or so years ago.

Here is one of the wheels.

I adore the graceful female sculptures from Indian art. They really capture the feminine form well.

You can see a lot more of my photos from the Sun Temple here on Flickr. And the rest of my India photos are also on Flickr.