Las Vegas Show Girls 2

Let us look in on the girls, Bambi Darlin and Candi Kane, at their Summer House. Bambi is at the computer chatting with Georgia and Jan about their new assignment for Goddesschess.

Bambi: Oooo la la! Candi, I love the new costume you designed. Wait there while I get the camera, so I can get pictures of you and your newly designed Elegant Yet Sexy Outfit for the new and improved on-line Goddesschess Catalogue, Autumn/Winter issue.

Candi: (While posing as Bambi snaps away with the digital camera) I am glad you like my new design. Move over Victoria's Secret....

Bambi: Candi, flip your long blond hair and show us those pearly white teeth with one of your famous, come hither boys, smiles. . . Now give me your famous "Enticement Look," the one you learned in your Kama Sutra class?. . . now take the sword out of the scabbard. . .that's it. . . now hold the sword like the Queen's piece from the Harry Potter Wizards' Chess Game. . . Great! Perfect! Now, throw the boys a big kiss. . . that should do it! I'll get these off to Pimander, our Dragon Webmaster, right away, and have him do his magic with these pictures for the new edition of the catalogue.

During the impromptu photo shoot, a cute little Chihuahua dog, carrying a miniature stuffed toy Chihuahua in its mouth, trots into the room and sits down next to Candi, waiting patiently to be noticed.

Candi: Oh, Kasparov! Come here, Kaspy, come to mommy. That's it, baby! (Kasparov wiggles in delight as Candi gives him an ear rub). I need him for an aphrodisiac cooking recipe.

Bambi: You need him for a recipe??? You're not planning on cooking the dog...Gulp...are you?

Candi: Goddess No! I guess I should explain myself better. Oh, by the way, have you seen the ear muffs and rubber gloves? I know I laid them down in here somewhere. . . I need them for the recipe too.

Bambi: Ear muffs, rubber gloves, Aphrodisiac Cooking, a dog with a stuffed toy dog, and a sword? I'm confused. What are you up to?

Candi: The Camelias, Gardenias, Jasmine, Lilies, and Lotus are blooming in our Garden of Pleasure. Ummm, the fragrances are intoxicating.

Bambi: Yes, I know our Garden of Pleasure is beautiful this time of year. I especially like the Hibiscus, Roses, Spikenard, and Chrysanthemums. But, enough of that, what are you up to?

Candi: I am having a romantic picnic in our Garden of Pleasure with my new sweetheart later tonight, and I want to try out a few of my new aphrodisiac cooking recipes with him. They are guaranteed to put a smile on any man's face, which in turn will put a smile on my face, if you know what I mean. . . giggle, giggle. That reminds me, I need the Satranji rug that our sweet Gerhard sent to us last year. I need it for the picnic this evening.

Candi Thinks:

Satranji rugs were very popular for hundreds of years, but fell off in export from India during the 1940's. Now, this ancient art form is enjoying a resurgence of popularity:

SATRANJI: It is one kind of cotton carpets which are made in Indian since the medieval age. Archaeologists says this was used as for playing chess as the chess board. The carpet is strong, soft and durable. People prefer this product because it is washable and relatively light weighted from the jute and coir product. The weavers of satranji works very laboriously to design new pattern and eye catchy color combination to fullfill the demand of the customers.

The English term cotton itself perhaps originates from the Sanskrit word for it viz. Karpasa. The Greek term Karpasos and the Latin term Carbasus have evidently been derived from Sanskrit. "Karpasa", "Karpasos", "Kasparov", the name of my little dog.

While cotton was often used to weave satranji, wood and jute were also traditionally used. Jute fibre is also woven on backstraps or pitlooms to make shopping bag (Domar bags) and Satranji (floor covering). Jute is made out of hemp, and the importation of hemp is presently illegal in the United States. After all, we can't have American chessplayers getting high from smoking bits and pieces of their jute satranji. Here is an advertisement (February, 2003) from a Thailand classified ad bulletin board advertising hand-made checkered jute carpets (Satranji) for sale:

Handi Crafts VILLAGE CRAFTS

100 % hand made jute checkered carpets(Satranji).

Email: bridgep@dhaka.net

Dated February 2003

The art form of satranji spread to both western and eastern Asian countries, where the word "satranji" took on various local adaptations as a "loan word":

SATRANJI: This word, which is still used in modern Indian languages, is a corruption of the word Chaturanga. This is so as the game of Chaturanga was in ancient times played on a piece of cloth, in place of the modern chess board. These carpets called Satranji were exported from India in ancient and medieval times. The word: Sataranji has found its way into many modern foreign languages including English. The Oxford dictionary defines it as an 'Indian cotton Carpet'. Interesting. . . it seems the Indian word "Chaturanga" (the ancestor of chess) was subsequently re-imported into the country a few hundred years later as "satranji", a Pahlavi (middle-Persian) word.

Candi Wonders: In how many Middle Eastern and Asian languages can derivative words from "Satranji" be found?

Bambi: It's in my bedroom, next to the bed. I have been using the rug to meditate and do my yoga and Kama Sutra exercises. The cotton is soft against my skin and the Sriyantra pattern, with the lotus and the four gates, is really beautiful and the symbolism helps with my meditations.... I wonder.... maybe we can find some more of these Satranji rugs and sell them in the catalogue?

Bambi: The beautiful Satranji rug Gerd sent is also for our research on the Origins of Chess.

Candi: I also need the Kama Sutra text with the "64 Arts of Love Making". By the way, did you notice the "64" - 8x8, a possible chess connection.

Sex in Ancient India

The sixty-four arts of love-passion-pleasure began in India. There are many different versions of the arts which began in Sanskrit and were translated into other languages, such as Persian or Tibetan. Many of the original texts are missing and the only clue to their existence is in other texts. Kama Sutra, the version by Vatsyayana, is one of the well-known survivors and was first translated into English by Sir Richard Burton and F. F. Arbuthnot.

Sex in Ancient Persia

Persia was an acculturation between all the peoples in it and surrounding it. Originally, Persia took directly from Mesopotamian deities and sexual culture. Ishtar or Istar was called Nana. Anahit became Tanata. These deities had the same sexual cults of their Mesopotamian counterparts.

The Persians also began to worship Ancient Indian gods and goddesses. The Kama Sutra or the sixty-four arts was rewritten by the Persians with a new Persian twist and slight differences to each of the sixty-four arts.

Candi Thinks: The Indians played games on the "ashtapada" board (in ancient times, a woven cloth), which is composed of 8x8 squares. Is it just a coincidence that there are 64-trantric lovemaking arts and 64-squares on the ashtapada board? Remember, there are EIGHT Primary Angas in Yoga Tradition... Traditional historians say that chaturanga was exported to Persia, where it became chatrang, played on a 64-square "board". Others, though, believe that chatrang was invented first, and was then introduced into India by the Arabs after the Arabs conquered Persia. The Mesopotamians and their predecessors, the Sumerians, played games on boards with symbols of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar). The Persians borrowed freely from other cultures, and maybe they mixed elements from the Mesopotamians (goddess worship and board games) and the Indians (sexual practices and board games) into a unique blend that became chatrang.

Bambi: Oh Candi! You may be right. I'll get this info off to Jan and see what she thinks about the "64 Arts of Love Making". Now, let's get back to the mystery of the Aphrodesiac cooking, sword, satranji rug, a dog with a stuffed toy, Kama Sutra, rubber gloves, and the ear muffs. I still don't understand what you want with all these things.

Candi: Do you remember the movie "Harry Potter, and the Chamber of Secrets"? It all started with a scene in that movie.

Bambi: I remember the movie very well, but I can't remember anything about aphrodisiacs, Satranji rugs, or a Chihuahua dog. Are you sure about the Harry Potter Movie? Maybe you have it confused with one of your favorite X-Rated movies? "The Goddess of the Golden Lotus" maybe?

Candi: That is one of my very favorite movies, but I am serious, it all started with the Harry Potter movie, and the chess article we did about it and tessellations. Do you remember the hot house scene in the movie? It's where Harry and his buddies repot the Mandrake plants. They are all wearing rubber gloves and ear muffs, so they can't hear the cries of the baby mandrake roots as they are pulled out of the clay pots. And, do you remember the connection with Chess from the "Harry Potter and the Sorcorer's Stone"?

Bambi: Oh Yeh! I do remember the scene. If Harry or his friends hear the cry of the baby Mandrake roots they are supposed to become petrified. And I also remember the Chess connections. Ummm, I think I am beginning to understand what your getting at? But, what about the aphrodisiacs, sword, Satranji rug, and the Chihuahua dog?

Candi: Don't you remember that article that our dear Chief Sitting Bull, Ricardo Calvo, sent us, explaining that the Persian word "Chatrang" means "Mandrake". And that Chatrang was Persia's version of Chaturanga. And he also mentioned that some scholars believe that Chess originated from Chaturanga.

Candi: The Satranji Rug sent to us by our sweet Gerd is connected with Chaturanga. The word "Satranji", which is still used in modern Indian Languages, is a corruption of the word Chatrang. After the Arab conquest of ancient Persia, the Arabs went on to conquer India, and they reintroduced the Persian game Chatrang, which they called Shatranj, to India, along with the Satranji! Mandrake is also known as Mandragoras, which consists of 6 species from the Mediterranean to the Himalayas. The Greeks liked to use it for medicinal purposes, as did other cultures. The Chinese also used Mandrake as a local anesthetic. Mandrake is also known as the "White Dragon".

Bambi: Wow! The White Dragon! I am working on an article about Dragons...There is a Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon in the Harry Potter Movie? Hmmm... But, what about the aphrodisiac cooking, dog with stuffed toy, and sword?

Candi: Eee Gads! I almost forgot! I need a Clay Pot for the Mandrake recipe.

Bambi: Why do you need a clay pot? Why don't you use the pots in the kitchen?

Candi: The mandrake was supposedly made from the same clay "Adam" was made from.

Candi: No, Adam as in "Adam and Eve" and the Garden of Eden, or the Adam and Eve of the Garden of Pleasure.

Candi: Hey! Adam would be a good name for my dog. Here Adam! come here Adam!

Bambi: But I thought his name was Kasparov, for the famous chessplayer - or a derivative word from the Sanskrit "Karpasa" for cotton used in the Satranji. I am confused!

Candi: Hmmmm... He seems to like the name Adam better. Look at his tail wag. Oooh, my cute little puppy. Come here, Adam. Bambi, another name for Mandrake is "Love Apple", and it supposedly has fertility and aphrodisiac properties. Hey, did we discover a connection to Adam and Eve and Chess?

Bambi: Maybe we did. There is a big serpent, the Basilisk, apples, and a willow tree in the "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" movie. And don't forget about that wooden game board with the entwined serpent motif discovered at Shahr-i Sokhta. I'll bet good money there is a connection with the Adam and Eve story. Let's do some digging.

Candi: Bambi, I can't help you research right now. I have a savory rice pilaf simmering on the back burner for tonight's picnic, I need you to watch it for me while I am gone so it doesn't dry out or burn.

Candi: Ah...yes it does. The Saffron used in it is a famous aphrodisiac. In fact, it is the favorite of the Great Khans.

Bambi: You really did your homework on aphrodisiacs. I am impressed with your scholarship, Candi. You are to be congratulated.

Candi: I leave no stone unturned when it comes to pleasure...giggle, giggle. That reminds me, I've got to get going and dig up some Mandrake. My sweetie will be here in a few hours.

Bambi: While you are hunting for Mandrake I will get on the computer and see if I can find some more links to the Adam and Eve Creation Story and Chess.