To enter the temple, each person has to buy a ticket worth twenty thousand Indonesian rupees. We bought five tickets, so one lakh rupees were spent. If this currency was taken from us in Indian Rupees, then we would have had to pay five hundred rupees, which is not so much, but after hearing one lakh rupees, our mind sat down. This is the temple of the ancient dynasty of Bali. There are ancient hut-like temples within it. These range from one storey to eleven storeys and are called Meru. Their height is about forty-fifty feet. The size of the hut with the base and the balcony is the widest, the width of each floor above it decreases. The topmost hut has the size and the least width is the visor. Their balconies have been decorated like tall grass of black color.
Tourists are allowed to see the temple from outside. A paved corridor has been built around the main temple complex for the convenience of the tourists. Tourists can walk around this corridor and take pictures of the idols of the deities built on the exterior of the temple. In the temple premises, some people were sitting as a group and worshiping. It is a beautiful natural place and covered with dense vegetation.
Tableau of Life
A large pavilion is situated as soon as one enters the entrance of Taman Ayun Temple. In this, a tableau of Bali's cultural and public life has been presented through statues. In one scene two men are shown fighting with a rooster and two men are seen watching them fight with a rooster. One of these rich men is sitting on a chair holding something like a chilam in his hand. The other person is indicating to start a fight by raising his hand. On one side is a pair of oxen with a plow on their shoulders. One of these bulls is of black color and the other bull is of white colour. Nearby is a dancer in a dancing posture.
Open Museum of God Idols
Hundreds of statues have been kept in this temple complex, out of which many statues made of stone seem to be hundreds of years old, while some idols made of clay are of modern times. Various types of flowers, musical instruments and weapons are engaged in the hands of these idols. The clothes of many Apsaras are similar to those of Indian and Greek goddesses. Some of these statues are of winged lions and some are of winged nymphs.
Statue of humans with Aurangutan faces
Many anthropomorphic statues located here resemble monkeys, chimpanzees and aurangutans, despite their faces being like humans. Seeing them, it seems that humans with this type of face must have been found on this island! We have seen such human figures in many other places on the island of Bali. They have little clothes on their body, turbans like forest dwellers on their heads, puffy faces, round and thick nose, big teeth located inside the lips, muscular arms, strong thighs and laughter is seen on their faces.
Round Eyed God
There are small platforms in the temple premises, on which idols of gods and goddesses of different shapes and sizes are placed. The eyes of some of these deities are round like a ball. They seem to be very ancient, even if they are about a thousand years old, it is not surprising. What message did the sculptors leave for future human beings through these sculptures, nothing can be said! The stone-shaped platforms on which these idols stand are also very old. The idols placed on some platforms have been eroded by rain, storm and the tremors of time, like the Shivlings kept in India, have turned into round-long Pindis.
Deepa's devils
There is a small zoo of colorful birds in the temple premises itself. Birds of different sizes and colors were making various rumblings in their cages. My one and a half year old granddaughter Deepa was very happy to see these birds. All the birds were making different types of sounds. Deepa also tried to imitate the birds and tried to explain to us with her gesture that look how many types of birds are there.
Friendship with Balinese
With great difficulty we brought Deepa out of the bird's wing. Here some men and women were weaving baskets of bamboo poles sitting side by side in the shade. Deepa had seen this kind of work being done for the first time. She got down from the lap and ran towards them and sat on the lap of a woman who weaves baskets. She tried to talk to them in her awkward vocabulary as if she wanted to ask how do you weave such beautiful baskets! We were also surprised, how quickly and how deeply the environment has an effect on children!
Colorful snails, turtles, birds and fish
When we came out of the temple, we found a huge fair held outside the temple. This fair was held on the occasion of Gulangan. Its appearance was similar to that of an Indian fair, but the material sold in it was very different from that of Indian fairs. In this, colorful snails, turtles, birds, fish and chicks of many types of birds had come to sell. Many of these birds and fish were naturally brightly colored, but most snails, turtles, birds and fish were artificially colored. When Deepa saw them, her happiness could not be overcome. He wanted them all to play and we weren't ready to get any of them. After looking carefully at a cage of small birds for a long time, Deepa started making chirping sounds like them.