On to Orchha (Pronounced O-ch-a)

It was another early morning and another long day. We took the train from Agra to Jahansi, where we met our driver for the day. We then drove a half hour to Orchha. Leaving Jahansi, we passed a number of vehicles packed with a seemingly impossible number of people, people walking, people on bikes, people on mopeds, people in carts and the cows wandering along the road.

Orchha, located on the Betwa River, was the capital of the Bundela Kings from 1531 until 1738. They enjoyed protection due to a deal with the nearby Mughal emperors. We arrived in the town without any announcement. I did not realize that we were in Orchha until a guide opened the door and said hello. Neither Jon nor I remember him ever telling us his name. We exited the car, and walked down towards a Hindu Temple, which is decorated with pink detailing. There were the usual collection of beggars outside the temple and we were not allowed inside. We then walked though the town, with people selling flowers for offerings in the temple, sweets made of milk (also used for offerings in the temple), tourist junk, and some interesting pigments for decoration. After crossing a small bridge, with a cow just resting and a beggar woman, we were at the palace complex, which consists of three main parts.

The complex is entered through a huge gate that is studded with spikes, to protect from invaders that might use elephants to try to ram down the door. The oldest part of the palace, Raj Mahal was built in the 16th century and includes an open courtyard and some pretty arches. The middle section is called Rai Praveen Mahal and was built around a large “entertainment” courtyard in the mid 17th century for the ruling Raj to watch his favorite concubine dance. It is really only two stories, but has high walls designed to make it look like it is seven stories. This area has some gorgeous elaborate and detailed fresco paintings showing daily life in one room and the re-incarnations of Vishnu in another. These paintings were hidden from the invading Muslims by sealing the rooms. The remaining paintings were painted over with white and are lost.

The final part of the complex, Jahangir Mahal, has domed pavilions, ornate stone screens, decorations with stone elephants, a courtyard with a pool and an elaborate gateway. The Bundela king invited Jahangir (son of Akbar – see earlier entries) to come to Orchha and spent 22 years building this palace for his visit. Jahangir only stayed there one night. From the top story, there are beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and views of Chaturbhuj Mandir, a Hindu temple with tall spires.

We left the main part of town, after being persuaded to “just look” in the store of a “friend” and being hassled by child beggars, and had lunch at a nearby hotel, which also had a nice view of Chaturbhuj Mandir. After lunch, we drove four hours to Khajuraho. Along the drive, we passed fields interspersed by small villages that consist of a lot of people, a few crumbling buildings, a small shrine and a hand pump for water. While the amount of car traffic decreased, there were lots of people walking – many carrying huge bundles, often on their heads, as well as bikes, carts, cows, goats, water buffalo and even a few monkeys. The driver was a fan of using his horn and honked liberally at everything that we might pass, including the water buffalo, who paid even less attention to the horn than the people. We stopped briefly in the town of Allapura to use the bathrooms and were given a whirlwind tour of the hotel, which was a palace of the Maharaja, the local Hindu Temple, and a few blocks of the town. We arrived in Khajuraho just after dark. All that can be said for this hotel is that it appears clean. We have eaten dinner at an outdoor restaurant, during which we were entertained by an odd puppet show, and tomorrow morning, we will visit the temples of Khajuraho.