Ranakpur: Let's just call it the "Wow Temple".

What do you do when India's 2nd largest Jain temple stands between you and your next scheduled stop? Easy, you hire a car and break up your drive with the coolest rest stop ever. The massive temple located in Ranakpur, midway between Jodhpur and Udaipur, is built entirely of marble and boasts 1444 carved columns with no two alike (well, maybe a couple are alike but no two are identical).

We were there when the doors opened to visitors and stayed for what felt like minutes, but was probably closer to hours. I walked around completely awestruck, marvelling at the workmanship and artistry of each column, trying in vain to absorb each and every detail.

As with the temples at Khajuraho, it was incomprehensible to me that prior to my research on India, I was not familiar with this site. And it is wonder-of-the-world level amazing! Were the temple anywhere else, it would be a major star attraction, but my theory is that India possesses such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to architectural beauty that some things are unjustly left by the wayside.

I was walking around trying to discreetly eavesdrop on a Spanish tour and was pulling it off until the guide starting explaining that there were hidden erotic carvings that the artists had done without the knowledge of their patrons. He pointed out something about a woman and a goat and I spontaneously burst out with a "¿Que?" and a "¿Donde?" With my cover blown, I engaged in a conversation with a lovely woman from Spain, who expressed the same sense of bewilderment. She told me she preferred this temple to the Taj Mahal and could not understand why all the fuss centered exclusively on the cream puff in Agra.

It is hard, nay, impossible for me to put into words how spectacular this palce is and I am aware that the photos don't come close to doing it justice, either. Instead, I can only share my feelings upon leaving the temple. As we continued our drive towards Udaipur, it struck me- hard- that our time in India was dwindling and I was not ready to leave, not by a long shot.

If a tiny mountain-side town like Ranakpur could be the home of something so utterly breath-taking, what other surprises did India hold? Like a lovestruck teen, I spent the rest of the drive fantasizing about all the things I would see and do if only I could change my flight and spend an extra month traipsing through the Himalayas.

To not build up any unnecessary suspense, let me just say that, although I tried, I was not able to change my ticket (insert American Airlines sucks sentiment here). But the message was clear, India is a place to be explored slowly and patiently. I have no doubt that anyone who does will be rewarded richly by sights as unbelievable as this one.















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