Sexual Pose at Khajuraho of India Temple

The Khajuraho temples were built during the reign of the Chandelas. While some show marks of a Shaivite sensibility, others clearly manifest the influence of Vaishnaism, Jainism, and tantrism. These temples have an architectural character distinct from that of any other group of temples elsewhere in the country. Instead of being contained within the customary enclosure wall, each temple stands on a high and solid masonry terrace. Though none of the temples are very large, they are still imposing structures because of their elegant proportions and rich surface sculpture.

The Khajuraho temples and History India arts of sexual now grace the posters of the Indian Tourist office, and numerous films have been shot at the temple grounds. It is with these temples in the background that some of the greatest exponents of Indian classical dance have performed for admiring audiences. But it is in discussions ranging around the cultural construction of sexuality that Khajuraho has featured prominently. The sheer eroticism of the sculptures is often pointed to as evidence of India's libertine past. Thus, gays and lesbians have found in Khajuraho evidence of the enlightened attitudes of the pre-modern Indian culture, while others point o the allegedly baneful influence of the Islamic and British presence in India, which is supposed to have led to repressive sexual mores. But few have asked what Khajuraho tells us about everyday notions of sexuality, or what inferences we are to derive about Indian sexual mores and practices from these temples.

[ Source : sscnet.ucla.edu ]

Mysore Zoo Popular Attractions in India

Mysore Zoo is one of the city’s most popular attractions. It was established under royal patronage in 1892, making it one of the oldest zoos in the world, and since then millions of people have enjoyed its wonderful animals and spectacular grounds. The zoo has a very successful breeding program and houses animals from more than 40 different countries. There are many native Indian animals as well, including Royal Bengal tigers, white tigers, elephants, giraffe, fallow deer, Himalayan black bear, Guar (Indian bison), white peafowl and Indian rhino. The zoo is also home to many other exotic creatures from around the world like Branary sheep, giraffe, hippos and gorillas.

The zoo also encompasses Karanji Lake, which attracts several species of migratory birds during the breeding season including painted storks, pelicans and darters. Other attractions include the Zoological Garden with 35 species of exotic ornamental plants and 85 species of trees from India and abroad.

The Mysore Zoo is open on all days except Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The entrance fees are Rs. 20 for adults and Rs. 5 for children. (Below 5 years is free)

Who is Gay in an Indian Context? What is Gay? Who is Homosexual?

About three-quarters (72%) of truck drivers in North Pakistan who participated in a recent survey published in AIDS Analysis Asia admitted that they has sex with other males, while 76% stated that they had sex with female sex workers. Are these 72% gay? Homosexual? There is sufficient anecdotal evidence to indicate that in the other countries of the sub-continent, similar levels of male to male sexual behaviors exist as part of a broader sexual repertoire. Are these males bisexual?

In working with sexual health issues in India and in listening to the rhetoric of UNAIDS representatives, international donor agencies, the Indian medical profession, and many Western and Indian gay men, an assumption is often made that same-gender sexual behaviors must mean the person is a homosexual, or gay, while male to female sexual behavior must mean that the person is heterosexual.

In these discourses, procreative "heterosexuality" is seen as 'normal." While other behaviors are seen as perverse or foreign. However, these constructs seem to have little contemporary or historical validity in India (and even to some extent in the West). This reductionist ideology is a recent invention from the 19th century, which has consequently acted to reduce the rich diversity of alternate sexualities (Foucault, 1978; Weeks, 1986; Katz, 1995, Herdt, 1994).

Closer analysis of these debates seems to me to indicate a confusion among the terms sexual behavior, gender, identity formation, and cross-cultural validity, and within such confusion there may well be elements of neo-colonialism, racism, and Western imperialism.

I was interested to hear Dede Oetomo, a gay activist in Indonesia, say at the Vancouver International AIDS Conference in July 1996 that perhaps "importing" Western constructions of gay identities into Indonesia was creating a social tension whereby local homo-affectionalist and homo-social structures were being destroyed for the fear of being labeled "gay."

The debate on sexualities may even at times be perceived as a form of neo-colonialism whereby Western sexual ideologies have "invaded" Indian discourses on sexuality and identity by professionals, laypersons, "straights" or "gays," and whereby indigenous histories and cultures become invisible.

Much same-sex sexual behavior involves non-penetrative varieties, mutually indulged in frameworks of friendships and sexual play, while in other situations urgent sexual discharge and sexual "need" is the significant factor.

However, the denial of variation in history in many Western and Indian discourses had given rise to a prevailing construction of sexuality, where a "procreative and penetrative" sexual ideology is the only "sexuality" that is seen as relevant. Perversely, any other form is categorized as deviant and Western.

[Source from; globalgayz.com]