india – The Timber Trawler

Musings in Malwa: Mandu

Right on the heels of the Aurangabad affair, we took an overnight bus that rocked and rollicked its way to Indore, where we learnt that the self-drive car that we had booked much in advance was no longer available. Fortunately, a cab through the hotel concierge became available on short notice. It was now time to explore a couple of prominent places of Malwa, a historical region in Central India, that flourished under the Mauryas, Guptas, Paramaras, and later the Malwa Sultanate. So off we set for Mandu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate, 100 km away from Indore, via Dhar.

Our relief was short-lived, as the driver, a sexagenarian, instead of taking us through the spanking new highway, chose older run-down roads, probably to save on toll charges. What ensued was a race against time, given the fact that winter had commenced, and the monuments would close early. As we headed towards Dhar, I kept ruing the fact that I had not tried harder for an alternative self-drive option. Nevertheless, we finally entered Dhar after a 2-hour drive, something that should have taken only an hour via the highway.

Dhar is a historic town, a prominent center of power and culture, founded in the 9th century by the Paramaras. It flourished under King Bhoja, renowned for his patronage of learning and arts, and a legendary figure who is the subject in the frame story of the Singhasana Battissi (the 32 tales of Vikramditya’s Throne). Dhar later became part of the Delhi Sultanate, the Malwa Sultanate, and the Maratha Empire. Its architectural heritage includes the Dhar fort and the Bhoj Shala, an ancient Sanskrit learning center, purported to be patronized by Bhoja himself. Dhar’s rich history reflects a blend of Hindu and Islamic influences.

Moving on, we snaked up a gentle slope to reach the top of a vast flat top hill in the Vindhya range, welcomed by a gate in a thick stone wall that once fortified Mandu. Mandu, erstwhile ‘Mandapa Durga’, flourished under the Paramaras in the 10th century, but reached its zenith after being made the capital of the Malwa Sultanate by Hoshang Shah of the Ghuri dynasty, followed by the rule of the Khalji dynasty. The legacy of the Malwa Sultanate lives on in structures such as Hoshang Shah’s Tomb, India’s first marble mausoleum, and Jahaz Mahal, an engineering marvel. Mandu’s romance is immortalized in tales of Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati.

By 3 PM, we were finally inside Mandu’s fort walls, woefully late, only to learn that access or at least the visiting hours would be limited due to a G20 event involving foreign dignitaries! At break-neck speed, we made a tour of the Jahaz Mahal, where we were told we had only about an hour, before access was stopped to the public to cater to the dignitaries. Jahaz Mahal was built as a harem by Ghiyas-ud-din Khalji, a patron of the arts, to resemble a ship afloat the artificial water bodies surrounding it. A two-storeyed structure, it also features a small pool with flower-shaped outline on each storey.

The Jahaz Mahal, the Ship Palace, at Mandu, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Khalji between 1469 and 1500 AD.

In the vicinity is the Hindola Mahal, a meeting hall structure resembling a swing, due to its sloping sides. Alongside it are other structures, forming part of the royal complex, such as the Champa Baodi, a well that once held water smelling of champak flowers, sitting beneath and accessed through a mesh of subterranean passages, and the Hammam, the Turkish-style royal bath, adjacent to the well. Gardens, and other structures such as the Jal Mahal on the Munja Talao behind Jahaz Mahal, and the Taveli Mahal on the Kapur Talao in front of Jahaz Mahal, complement the splendour of the royal complex.

The Hindola Mahal, Swing Palace, a meeting hall

Driving further south, we passed by Hoshang Shah’s tomb, the Jami Masjid and the Sagar Talao to reach the southern edge of the hill, about 4 km from the Jahaz Mahal complex. This region houses the Baz Bahadur Palace. The last ruler of the Malwa Sultanate, Baz Bahadur’s liaison with the musically-inclined shepherdess, later queen, Roopmati became the stuff of Malwa legends. He built the adjacent Rewa Kund, a lake connected to the Narmada river, revered by Roopmati as a mother. When Baz Bahadur fled facing a debilitating defeat at the hands of the Mughals, Roopmati committed suicide believing her beloved to be dead.

It was well past 5.30 pm, when we reached Roopmati’s Pavilion, the final destination of the tour. Sitting at the absolute edge of the hill, the simple structure attributed to Roopmati, served as a viewing post in times of invasion, providing views of the Narmada Valley in the erstwhile Nimar region. The sight of the Malwa landscape replete with its plains punctuated with little water bodies and the top of the flat hills awash in the twilight, provided a fitting end to a whirlwind tour of a shining gem of India’s heritage with its blend of Afghan, Hindu, and Mughal architectural influences.

Roopmati’s Pavilion at the fort’s southern edge

How to visit Mandu and Dhar

Dhar and Mandu can be reached only by road from Indore or from Ratlam. Indore is connected by flight, train and road, whereas Ratlam, which lies on the Delhi-Mumbai railway line, is connected by rail and road.

Mandu is 2 hours from Indore, whether you go via Dhar or not – the route via Dhar is longer in distance but takes the same time as the non-Dhar route.

Mandu is so vast that you could easily spend two days with an intervening night at any of the hotels and resorts. You can squeeze in Dhar either on the onward or return leg, if you are interested.

Think of Mandu as a place to see things in three clusters:
1. The Royal Complex comprising Jahaz Mahal, Hindola Mahal, etc., in the north
2. The Village area with monuments such as Hoshang Shah’s Tomb, the Jami Masjid, and Ashrafi Mahal, in between the north and the centre of the fort area
3. Rewa Kund Group with Baz Bahadur Palace, Rewa Kund and Rani Roopmati Pavilion at the extreme south of the fort area

Apart from the above, you also can see the Sagar Talao at the centre of the fort, the Darwazas (gates) on the fort wall, 6th century Jain caves, multiple minor structures, little forts, and an echo point, where you can hear your own echo if you shout with an appropriate intensity.

Guide fee at the Royal Complex: Rs. 450 for a group of 4-5 people, as of November 2024.

Better to complete your visits of the monuments by 5 PM, although you do have access to the Jahaz Mahal at 7 PM for the Light and Sound show.

Jodhpur Journal: Three Discoveries At the Edge of the Thar

In October, during a brief illness, I got hooked on a book I had picked up in Udaipur in 2019 – Rajasthan: An Oral History, written by Rustom Bharucha, based on his conversations with the late Komal Kothari. Komal Kothari, who spent most of his prime documenting the folk music instruments, oral traditions and puppetry of Rajasthan, was instrumental in popularizing Managaniyar and Langa musicianship globally.

Komal Kothari’s insights into the relationship of the Rajasthani populace with their geography, natural elements, especially the arid stretches, their folk deities and folk traditions, as well as the intriguing interrelations amongst the various Rajasthani communities, left me in a trance. It was as if dormant connections to a distant past of mine were suddenly awakened. Besides, Komal Kothari lived in Jodhpur.

Now, since my 2019 outing to the Thar, Jodhpur had remained crouching in a corner of my mind. Mentions of Jodhpur anywhere, be it on social media, or television, or cinema, or by a friend, would stir long-repressed longings to go back to the city cradled in swathes of red-coloured escarpments. In two previous outings, everything that had to be seen in Jodhpur was already done and dusted with. Or, was it?

Nevertheless, in mid-November, my parents and I set off on our first-ever self-drive trip to Jodhpur via Salasar and Nagaur. What would follow was a spree of educational experiences: two involving things I had discovered about Jodhpur since our last outing, spurred somewhat by my reading during the intervening pandemic. And, a third we would just stumble into, and be pleasantly surprised by, despite my initial reluctance to indulge it.

A Living Museum

In an abandoned rock mine, on the low hill ranges encircling the western outskirts of Jodhpur, now covered with a blanket of grass and shrub, punctuated with the inimitable trio of ker, sangri and kumat trees, is located a unique interpretation of a museum. Arna Jharna Desert Musuem, literally meaning ‘forest and spring’, was the brainchild of Komal Kothari, who envisaged it as a showcase for the daily life of the regular desert folk.

The museum began with a single concept of displaying an object that is inseparable from daily life across all communities – the broom. On display in a cluster of huts are many more elements of daily life – pottery, utensils, storage spaces, cooking apparatus. Also on display are aspects of folk culture and indigenous knowledge systems. For instance, a humongous collection of musical instruments used across Rajasthan curated by Komal Kothari himself through his lifetime.

The most intriguing exhibit is a contraption serving as a portable shrine, called the kavad. A cupboard-like structure with multiple folds that can be progressively unfurled to reveal layers of shelves, it houses deities and pictorial depictions of religious stories and epics. The shrine moves from one place to another, accompanied by the storyteller, invariably from the bhat community, where he would narrate stories of the gods, folk-gods or epics to the patrons. Oftentimes, in the past, the patron would have a hereditary relationship with the bhat.

Walk towards the rear of the cluster of huts through the tall grass, and you reach the edge of a ravine with a stream that turns into a waterfall when it rains. The set-up of the huts in a cluster in a vastly open space reflects the general pattern of how habitation exists in and around the desert. The museum is highly recommended if one is keen for a glimpse into daily life in the desert, and into how daily life practices and processes have evolved within the ecological constraints of the desert.

A snapshot of the cluster of huts in the Arna Jharna Musuem

A Nature Park

During the pandemic, I came across an interesting essay titled ‘Dying to Live’ in an anthology called Journeys through Rajasthan. Penned by the filmmaker-turned-naturalist, Pradip Krishen, it chronicles how a rocky desert landscape overrun by an invasive species mesquite (Prosopis Juliflora), colloquially called ‘bawlia’, was painstakingly transformed into a desert rock park through rewilding with desert-native plant species.

In fact, I had often wondered what lay behind the rocky outcrop holding up the Mehrangarh fort, and it turned out, it was this very park, the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park. On our 2019 Jodhpur trip, we had even driven past the park on our way to Jaisalmer, but I had little idea back then that it was anything remarkable. Not until I learnt that the area in and around Mehrangarh fort was the site of not one, but two Geological Monuments of India – Jodhpur Group–Malani Igneous Suite Contact and Welded Tuff.

The Malani Igneous Suite consists of a variety of rock formations which resulted from a volcanic event occurring 750 million years ago. However, one variety of orange-pink coloured flat-faced columnar rock formations called rhyolite, is remarkable in that the Mehrangarh fort sits atop one such formation. And so does the park, sprawling across eroded hills and valleys of rhyolite, sprinkled with bits of welded tuff, another rock formed during the Malani event.

The park welcomes you with an assortment of rock sample exhibits, sourced from the western part of the subcontinent stretching from the Indus basin through the Thar desert to the Kachchh, with most from rock systems formed tens of millions years ago to more than a billion years ago. The most fascinating exhibit is a 635 million year old sample from the ‘Sonia Sandstone Formation’ near Jodhpur, containing ‘trace fossils’, which are traces of movements and burrows in the mud left behind by some of the earliest organisms which had no hard parts that could fossilize.

Just entering the arched stone gate where the ticket counter is located, one comes across an array of desert microhabitats that acts as a nursery for desert native plants. From that point on, a flight of stairs leads down to a 500 year old rainwater canal that channels water to the Ranisar and Padamsar lakes, some of Jodhpur’s oldest water reservoirs, located at the opposite end of the park. The canal, called the Hathi Nahar (elephant canal), which serves as one of the four trails earmarked in the park, cuts through a welded tuff formation, and soon meets a path that leads to the aforementioned lakes.

Another trail runs along the ancient city wall that also serves as a boundary wall for the park, and yet another trail meanders through the rewilded forest comprising more than 250 plant species. From most points of the park, one is treated to exhilarating views of the profile of the fort from various angles. My favorite location was from the edge of the Padamsar lake. Or was it from just below the foothills of the rhyolite hill on which the fort is located? I am confused.

Entrance of the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park

An Unusual Safari

All this while, I had been debating with myself and my parents whether we should venture into a heritage or village style accommodation for the remaining night. Searching online, I had zeroed in on one candidate, Bishnoi Village Camp and Resort, located 30 km to the south of Jodhpur, somewhere in between Mogra Kalan and Kankani. Circumspect for the better part of the two preceding days, yet encouraged by many stellar recommendations of foreign tourists, we headed off to the resort.

And boy, were we bowled over by the host, who showered special attention on us, given that we were the only guests for that particular night. Following a late evening safari through the nearby villages, where we visited the workshops of craftsmen showcasing pottery, bedsheets and durries, we were treated to a most satiating and authentic Rajasthani meal, which included, among many things, bajra (millet) roti, kadhi, and the delectable Ker Sangri fortified with kumat.

The next morning was a revelation of sorts, when we set out for a 7AM early winter safari to see the elusive blackbuck and the migratory demoiselle crane, colloquially called kurja. Imagine the surprise when we learned that we had been staying in the same area where the infamous 1998 blackbuck hunting which had offended the Bishnois, had occurred .

The Bishnoi community, in deference to rules set down by their founding guru Jambheswar, protects wildlife and vegetation, sometimes, with their lives. Testament to this is the 1730 AD incident from nearby Khejarli village, where a Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi along with her three daughters, gave up their lives protecting khejri trees from the felling attempts of the king’s soldiers, triggering a wave of such sacrifices in 82 other Bishnoi villages where tree-felling had commenced. With the final tally reportedly reaching 383, the king, eventually, had to ask for forgiveness and abort the tree-felling activity.

The blackbuck is even more sacred to the Bishnoi community, as Guru Jambheswar is purported to be reborn as a blackbuck. No wonder then that our safari included a stop at a memorial built by the Bishnois for the slain blackbuck. Then crossing the saline Luni river, the largest river of the Thar, and the only one that originates at Pushkar and ends in the Rann of Kachchh, we ventured into blackbuck territory. And lo and behold, in open spaces hidden behind curtains of bushes, we sighted a group of nearly 50.

However, as I learned, sighting blackbucks is not the challenge – it is just that the male blackbuck, which the layman has an image of in the form of a black upper body and white underbody, with long antlers, is rarer than the female blackbucks which have a brown upper body. Male blackbucks engage in lekking, whereby a single male takes control of a territory comprising multiple females and juveniles, driving away other males through aggressive means. It was interesting, however, to see two to three groups of blackbucks, led by their respective leading male blackbuck, mingling, while two male blackbucks at separate locations trudged through the forest, alone, in the distance.

With rapid urbanization, the wilderness available to species such as the blackbuck has rapidly shrunk. The forested area where we spotted the blackbucks, have, in fact, already been earmarked for future industrial development. It will not be long before the blackbuck population will be further impacted. Sadly, the convictions of the Bishnoi community can only do so much against this new advancing frontier.

A glimpse of the Bishnoi Village and Camp Resort

Details for Visitors/Guests

Arna Jharna Museum

Entry fee: Rs. 100 per person
Visiting hours: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

The museum also conducts cultural folk programmes on occassion.

Drive from Jodhpur to the museum is remarkable.

Rao Jodha Desert Park

Entry fee: Rs. 100 per person
Visiting hours:
March to September: 6:30 am to 7 pm
October to February: 7:30 am to 6 pm

There are four trails, out of which three are in the area below the fort, i.e. the area which has been vigorously rewilded, and a fourth is around the Devkund lake, which lies adjacent to the Jaswant Thada, a short walk/drive away.

If time was a constraint, I would do the Yellow trail, to get a more involving flavour of the rewilding done in the park.

In warmer months, the trails are best done in the morning or evening.

Unsurprisingly, the park is at its beautiful best during the monsoons.

Keep an eye on their Instagram page to keep track of guided tours and other organized events.

Bishnoi Village and Camp Resort

Blackbuck and Village safari: Rs. 3000 for a group of 4-5 persons

Barely Bright and Bovine Encounters at Bayana Fort

Somehow, circumstances lead me into situations where I land up in remote places on the verge of sundown. This time, it was at the base of a high cliff atop which sat the Bayana fort, with fortification walls stretching for miles and miles. I learned about Bayana Fort only a few months ago from a book called ‘Forts of Rajasthan’, and had been itching to set foot on it since. It was quarter to five on this mid-November evening when I finally arrived at my destination, having driven for an eternity, having been slowed down by narrow winding roads, interrupted by a political rally, and rocked by an undulating last-mile dirt road.

As I stood at the bottom of the long flight of stony steps, with the last group of people having already descended, I mulled over whether it would be a prudent idea to climb uphill at this hour. Figuring I did have a small window of sunlight, I virtually ran up the tall, sloping steps, stopping mostly to catch my breath at each hairpin bend and sometimes to steer clear of the langurs. In 10 minutes, I was within the fort precincts, passing through multiple arched gates after almost a kilometre-long climb. The panoramic view of the countryside was breathtaking from that height.

Taking the steep and long climb into the fort head-on

Views of the countryside from the fort steps (left) and top of fort (right)

On the flat hilltop, flanked by jungle, stood several buildings in various stages of decay and a half-finished minar dedicated to Ibrahim Lodi. To say that I was scared out of my wits, owing to the lack of human presence, would be an understatement. Add to that the fear of wild animals and reptiles that could be lurking just around the corner. Could there also be a supernatural presence? As I waded through the jungle, I saw a figure emanating from behind a bush. I was almost happy, hoping for it to be human, but was startled to come face-to-face with a cow! I jumped aside, but the cow following the first one simply darted off, as if it had seen a ghost! Perhaps, nay, definitely, it was time to turn back now.

With darkness fast approaching, as I was descending down the stairs, I came face-to-face again with a long line of cows and buffaloes, making their way up, who simply refused to budge and let me pass. The stand-off continued for 10 minutes with me perched atop a ledge…till a calf, of all the bovines out there, decided to take the bull by its horns (pun intended) and took a few steps forward; the adults followed. I heaved a sigh of relief as the last one passed me by. With the sun already down, I hiked back, admiring the loftiness of the fort walls and the lushness of the landscape awash in the waning twilight while peacocks went about their evening walks.

******

Bayana is associated in the lore of Krishna with Banasur, and the precursor to the Bayana fort itself can be traced to 4th century AD at least, from some inscriptions found on the hill. However, the fortification was reinforced and the fort repaired by king Vijayapal in the 12th century AD who named it Vijaymandir. It subsequently fell to the Sultanate, then passed through the hands of the Lodis, and then the Mughals. The battle between Babur and Rana Sanga at nearby Khanwa proved to be a landmark event in the Mughal conquest of Northern India.

How to reach
While Bayana town itself is reachable from Delhi by public transport or by a 5 hour drive from Delhi, the fort, 8km away from the town, needs private transport to reach. Alternatively, one can also reach Bayana town and the fort from Agra by a 2.5 hour drive.

Gagron, Ramgarh and Kalinjar: An Inquiry into the Antiquities of Upper Vindhya Range

The little one touched down in late February on his annual visit to the homeland, and as has been the family’s wont, we set out on another self-driven road trip. This time I wanted to introduce my little brother to the pink-splashed, fort-dotted landscape of Jaipur. But that was not all of the plan – the plan also included exploring the antiquities lying in the upper Vindhya hill ranges.

One of those long-distance trips that uncharacteristically start at noon, it was the perfect opportunity to check out the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) which had just opened for the public. And soon we would be in Jaipur and climbing the hairpin bends up the Aravallis to reach Nahargarh fort in pitch darkness.

Following a quick family sight-seeing session in Jaipur, we crossed the Chambal river & Kota city onto the tiger-rich Mukundra Hills in pursuit of a hill-cum-water fort which had eluded me in my last two attempts – once due to floods and the other time, due to paucity of time. We then proceeded to a geological marvel in the form of a Meteorite Impact Crater (MIC) in the middle of nowhere, which also is home to a mysterious ancient Shiva temple.

Then we skirted around the Kuno National Park to push into Bundelkhand, touching some places that formed the backdrop at crucial junctures in the history of Bundelkhand, as well as of British India. We then advanced to that land of exotic temples – Khajuraho, which would then lead us to an intriguing fort straight out of the scenes of an Indiana Jones movie.

Highlights of the trip

Gagron Fort

A 12th century hill fort that also doubles up as a water fort, by virtue of lying on the confluence of 2 rivers, with one river winding around the hill supporting the fort, giving protection by water on 3 sides. The fort itself is akin to a ship with the watchtower called Ram Burj situated at the fort’s edge where standing feels as if standing on a ship’s bow. The fort ramparts afford views of the sparsely vegetated rocky surface of the hill with the aquamarine Kali Sindh flowing along the hill base on one side and of the Ahu river on the other side. This fort rounds up for me, the six hill forts of Rajasthan that constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site series.

Ramgarh Crater

A Meteorite Impact Crater (MIC) formed more than 600 million years ago. The site is characterized by a rim of hills in the shape of a circle with only a narrow pass providing access to the inner area. At the centre of the crater are the Bhand Devra Temple, a 10th century Shiva temple, and a pond abounding in water lilies and lotus. Once formally recognized by the Earth Impact Database, this would be the second largest MIC in India.

A perennial pond ensconced in the crater

Orchha

A sleepy yet historically ornate riverside town of Orchha, hidden away from the hustle & bustle of the main roads. The palace complex housing two large palaces, the Chaturbhuj temple and the chhatris (memorials) on the Betwa river evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time gone by. It was established by Bundelas in the 16th century AD and named so because it was apparently “hidden” inside forests.

Garh Kundar

An enigmatic palace perched atop a rocky outcrop in the Bundelkhand region that is accessed after driving for a long time in the wilderness. It served as the residence of the Bundelas before Orchha was founded. There also exists a legend of betrayal and beguiling intrigue between two warring clans, leading to the murder of a groom’s procession in the underground caverns of the fort.

Raneh Falls

A series of waterfalls in the canyon formed by the Ken river. One can see granite in varying shades of colours ranging from pink, red to grey.

Khajuraho

Perhaps, one of the best known places of India, home to picture-perfect temples with exquisite workmanship in the carvings and sculptures dotting the structures.

Kalinjar Fort

A place so ancient that it finds mention in mythological texts, with the fort being so important that it became the scene of many a battle and many an invasion, leading to its control passing through many dynasties from the Guptas, the Chedis during the times of Buddha to Mauryas to Chandelas to Mughals and finally to British hands.

The fort sits on a flat-top hill, sprawling across a vast area replete with forest, ponds, and palaces. However, the most remarkable of the monuments is a temple formed out of a cave in the hillside, with the entrance embellished with a ruined pillared stone structure. The stone steps leading down to the temple are adorned with figures and caves carved into the rocky hillside that immediately transport one into the realm of perilous treasure hunts portrayed in an Indiana Jones adventure.

The Neelkanth temple sits on the hillside, accessed by climbing down a flight of stairs

Road Trip at a glance

Odisha to Delhi via Madhya Pradesh: Tale of a 3250km Cross Country Drive

2022 turned out to be the year where I did things that I had only ever dreamt of doing – a self-driven cross-country trip!

In late October, around Diwali, I drove my parents through a 3250+ km trip from Bhubaneswar to Gurgaon via Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Throughout 2021, while the pandemic was still raging, and concern for my parents back in Odisha constantly kept me on the edge, I mulled the idea many times of driving down to Bhubaneswar from Gurgaon. Little did I know that when the occasion to make the cross-country road trip eventually came, it would be in the reverse direction!

With our new car gathering dust in Odisha, and the family travelling suppressed for more than 2 years, what better way than a cross country road trip to accumulate some miles on the Blue Buck?

As usual, we had only an idea of the stops we would be taking and the route in general, and no advance reservations. The early winter weather was great, we discovered places to see as we advanced.

This is how we stumbled upon the quaint, ancient town of Sirpur on the banks of the Mahanadi, abounding in Shiva temples and Buddhist monasteries. We then took a detour to the Bhoramdeo temple, equalling Khajuraho in artistry, tucked away in a forest by a foothill. And of course, we veered off course for a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Kishore Kumar, who my Dad and I both idolize.

Unfortunately, Google Maps only allows 10 locations, and the route charted does not account for an additional 400km that we gathered exploring local places, over 10 days.

Each major location deserves an individual post to present the place in its fullest glory. In fact, neither a single post, nor the pictures do justice to the beauty, the mystique and the serenity we experienced as we drove through these places.

Sirpur

an ancient town, an important settlement of the South Kosala kingdom located on the Mahanadi river, the capital of the Panduvanshi dynasty, a major town of South Kosala kingdom. It saw its glory days from the 5th to the 12th century AD and is home to numerous Shiva,Vishnu and Shakti temples, Buddhist and Jain monasteries.

Surang Tila, multiple temples sit on the high platform accessed by steep steps

Bhoramdeo temple

11th century AD Shiva temple, built in the style of the Khajuraho and Konark temples, also nicknamed ‘Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh. It lies at the edge of the forest at the foothills of a hill range that is traversed through the Chilpi ghat.

The drive through Chilpi Ghat makes you cut across this dense jungle abounding in natural beauty & wildlife.

Jabalpur

Marble Rocks in the Narmada river at Bedaghat, in a ravine formed in the hills replete with marble stone

Madan Mahal fort (12th century AD), Chausath Yogini temple (11th century AD), Dhuandhar waterfalls

We happened to witness the Solar Eclipse on our way to Vidisha from Jabalpur.

Vidisha

Udaygiri caves, 4th-5th century AD cave complex containing caves with Hindu sculptures (Hindu gods, especially, avatars of Vishnu) as well as Jain sculptures, located on a small hill

Sanchi

A World Heritage site, with Multiple large stupas dating back to Ashoka’s time (3rd century BC), and Buddhist monasteries dating from

Raisen (near Bhopal)

Raisen fort, an imposing 11th century fort

Bhimbetka rock shelters

A complex of rock shelters on a hill near Bhopal, which contain paintings made by humans from both the prehistoric as well as historic ages

Bhojeswar temple

A 11th century Shiva temple,housing one of the largest Shiva lingas, commissioned by the legendary Raja Bhoja

Ashapuri group of temples

A group of 26 temples, currently in ruins, not very far away from the Bhojeswar temple. They were probably built under the patronage of the Pratiharas and the Parmaras. Their location on the shore of a lake points towards a luxurious setting during its prime, although the site itself would have been of ritualistic purpose.

A ruined temple lying on the lakeside at Ashapuri

Ujjain

Home to the Mahakaleswar jyotilinga (one of the 12 jyotirlingas), a city of antiquity, capital of the Avanti kingdom, one of the Great Realms of ancient India. Also associated with the mythical King Vikramaditya, of Vikram & Betaal fame.

A statue depicting the mythical king Vikramaditya

Omkareswar

The site of the other jyotirlnga in Madhya Pradesh, Home to the Omkareswar and Mamaleswar temples dedicated to Shiva, located on the Narmada river

Khandwa

A small town in Madhya Pradesh, birthplace of the legendary Kishore Kumar

Gwalior

Bateswar group of temples, a complex containing more than 200 small and large Shiva temples, stacked in tiers., built between 8th to 12th century AD. The complex lies in the cove of a hill, with very little habitation around. The temple complex was restored by the ASI with the help of dacoits.

Read my account of a previous trip to Bateswar here: https://thetimbertrawler.com/2019/03/15/in-search-of-the-treasures-of-bundelkhand-chanderi-deogarh-morena/

Glimpse of the trip

A Decade of Exploring Rajasthan: Jaipur 2012 AD to Jaipur 2022 AD

In April 2012, my first ever trip to Rajasthan was solo – by public transport, with the destination being Jaipur. In August 2022, I rounded off a decade of exploring Rajasthan by reprising the solo trip to Jaipur – only this time it was by driving on my own. A 700km self-driven solo adventure!

As always, it is rarely about the destination – and so off I went wandering through roads I had not trodden before, exploring a bit of the Aravallis in the Shekhawati region, while the sun and rain played hide and seek, and folds of hills lay in the distance in front and around me, their peaks crowned with fluffs of cloud.

I plead guilty to the charge of scooting off to Rajasthan every chance I get, even at the risk of inviting ridicule. ‘Why don’t you try out some other place this time – why not Himachal, Uttarakhand, UP?’, I have been asked. I say, some people love the mountains, some the beaches – as for me, I yearn most for the desert, the Aravallis, the forts…

Growing up in Odisha, I had had a fascination with Rajasthan long since I could remember. In Grade 4 – the black-&-white picture of the Hawa Mahal in a textbook, and the mention of the Thar around Bikaner and Jaisalmer, images of the Vijay Stambh at Chittorgarh and the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu were imprinted in my head. A General Knowledge book addressed Jaipur as the Pink City, and Jodhpur as the Blue City. I always wondered looking at those black-and-white pictures how the cities might look like in real life in their famed hues.

Some years later as we were embarking on a train journey, Dad let me pick up a thin paperback from the book stall on the railway station- it was called ‘Folk Tales of Rajasthan’. While on that train, in my mind, Rajasthan turned into a place of magic, of kings, bards & princesses, of Pabuji, star-crossed lovers & clever thieves, of camels & shifting sands…I was enamoured.

Rajasthan was always just too far away though, and little did I know I would later land up at the gateway to it – Delhi. Little did I know as time progressed, I would reside at a place, on the outskirts of Gurgaon, where I could simply lug a backpack on my back and in half an hour, be inside Rajasthan. Little did I know I would once also drive solo to Rajasthan…

***

On this trip, instead of driving directly to Jaipur from Gurgaon, I took a detour midway, towards the north and drove through some of the most exotic sounding places – Kotputli, Neem ka Thana, Udaipurwati.

Udaipurwati

A quaint little town nestled within a gap in the Aravallis, is home to an excellent resort called The Tree of Life Inderpura.

Lohargal

Near Udaipurwati, within a crevice in the hills is a holy spot with a natural spring feeding a bathing tank and ancient Sun Temple. According to myth, weapons and armour of a Pandava army that camped here after their victory, dissolved in the water, giving the place its name: Loha (Iron)+Gal (To melt).

From thereon in Jaipur, I visited a couple of places that I had not seen before, both nestled in the Aravallis.

Rani Sisodiya Bagh

A hidden gem of a garden built by Sawai Jai Singh II for a princess of Udaipur, who agreed to marry him only on the condition that she be made the main queen of Jaipur.

Galta Ji

Home to a bathing tank fed by a perennial spring and a temple dedicated to a hermit named Galta ji, along with temples dedicated to Krishna and Ram. At the peak of the hill is a 350 year old Sun temple, reached after a hike of about 1.5km. The first rays of the Sun reaching Jaipur apparently fall on the idol in the temple. Views from the hill are outstanding.

Trip Summary
Day 1:
Gurgaon to Udaipurwati via Neem-ka-Thana & Patan -250 km, 6 hours
Udaipurwati to Lohargal – 15km, 30 min
Lohargal to Jaipur via Udaipurwati & Reengus – 160km, 3 hours

Day 2:
Jaipur sightseeing of Rani Sisodiya Bagh and Galtaji – 25km, 2 hours
Jaipur to Gurgaon – 230km, 4 hours

Total – 670km

Of Steps, a Stepwell and a Salt Lake: Bairat, Abhaneri and Sambhar

In August-end, a full month after the 2nd vaccine shot, we finally gathered the courage to venture out on a 1000+km road trip. It would also be my first ever 1000+km driving on my own, after having learnt driving a few months prior. Moving to the suburbs of Gurgaon has meant that I now live at the gateway to my most favourite area of this great country – Rajasthan (though it only ties with Odisha for my affection!). So, it was only natural that my first long drive be to places in Rajasthan that have been on my bucket list for ages now.

Beejak ki Pahadi, Bairat

In a nook in the Aravallis, near a town called Bairat, are remains of a Buddhist Monastery of unknown antiquity, where Ashokan inscriptions from around 3rd century BC have been found. It can be reached by veering off the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway 70km before Jaipur on NH 248A, then taking a right turn onto a narrow road from Bairat town, and finally, taking a mix of long flight of steps and ramps to the top of a hill.

Bairat or erstwhile Viratnagar itself is said to have been founded by King Virata, in whose kingdom the five Pandavas (of Mahabharata) spent the thirteenth year of their exile in disguise. The site of the monastery affords a majestic view of the valley below and undulating hills on the horizon.

P.S.: I came to know later that this is one of the oldest places of worship that we have recorded history of in India .

Abhaneri

A quaint little village south of Alwar that is home to an exquisite stepwell, Chand Baori, an engineering marvel in its own right and a well regarded temple dedicated to Harshat Mata. Both of these monuments are said to be 1200 years old – the stepwell’s beauty is something that can only be grasped upon seeing for oneself.

Sambhar Lake

A place that had been on my wish list since I was a schoolboy – it contributes roughly 9% of India’s total salt production and plays host to migratory birds. With swathes of white stretching as far as the eye can see, one cannot be far off calling this a mini Rann-of-Kachh. I had heard that one could spot flamingos here, but nothing had prepared me for the sight of thousands and thousands of flamingos resembling a pink stripe stretching from one end to the other. Now, if only I had binoculars, or even a DSLR camera, at hand!

Pushkar

The holy city, according to legend, was the only place where Brahma would be worshipped as per Savitri’s curse (though a few more Brahma temples have cropped up elsewhere since). Also, as per legend, the Pushkar Lake was the source of the mythical Sarasvati river. Pushkar is nestled within the Aravallis, with amazing views of the hills against the clear skies. Another major attraction is the annual camel fair held here.

Ajmer

Separated from Pushkar by Aravallis and connected by a pass called the Pushkar Ghati, Ajmer is home to Dargah Ajmer Sharif and a gargantuan lake. Unfortunately, we could not visit any place in Ajmer.

Kishangarh

The capital of a former princely state of the same name, home to an elegant looking fort, which unfortunately is not open to tourists, and the vast Gundolav lake reminiscent of the lakes of Udaipur. Just outside the city is a National Geological Monument dedicated to Nepheline Syenite, traces of which dating back to 1590 million years to 1910 million years can be found.

Trip Summary

Day 1
Gurgaon to Beejak Ki Pahari – 165 km, 4 hours
Beejak ki Pahari to Abhaneri – 120 km, 3 hours
Abhaneri to Ajmer – 250 km, 4 hours

Day 2
Ajmer to Sambhar Lake – 100km, 2.5 hours
Sambhar Lake to Pushkar – 105 km, 2.5 hours

Day 3
Pushkar to Kishangarh – 40km, 1 hour
Kishangarh to Gurgaon – 360km, 8 hours

Total – 1140km

How to reach Beejak ki Pahadi
No public transport available, so you will have to use your private transportation (personal vehicle or cab). It is a 5 hour drive from Delhi, 2 hour drive from Jaipur.

How to reach Sambhar Lake
While there is a handful of trains from Jaipur to Sambhar Lake railway station, the timings may not be suitable for a day trip. Moreover, seeing around Sambhar Lake area after getting down from the Sambhar Lake station might be a hassle due to paucity of local transport options. In the absence of public transport, you would want to either use your personal vehicle or cab. It is a 1.5 hour drive from Jaipur.

Book Review: Finding Forgotten Cities by Nayanjot Lahiri

Finding Forgotten Cities is an exhilarating account of how Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro were discovered and findings were pieced together to advance the case for the Indus Civilization for the first time in 1924, with ample attention given to all the major characters that played an indispensable part in the story.

From this account, the Britishers that were at the forefront of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), especially John Marshall himself, the Director General of the ASI during the discovery and, in fact, for a good part of the first quarter of the 20th century, seem to emerge as unlikely heroes, but for whose love and passion for the antiquities of India, the beauty and significance of portals to India’s past may have been lost to the sands of time.

At times thrilling, and at times exuberant, the narrative unfolds like in a novel, with interesting detours into circumstances within which the ASI had to work. I just wished there were more details on some of the people besides Marshall and Rakhaldas Bannerji. Also, modern colour photographs would have helped paint a more vivid picture. Sometimes, the narrative while being pegged in a certain year went forwards and backwards too often, thereby causing me to lose the base year.

Nevertheless, being enamored with the Indus Civilization since my childhood, I finally had the opportunity to be transported back to a time where I could be a fly-on-the-wall even as the ancient cities I was fascinated with were getting uncovered.

Highly recommended for history lovers in general, and Indus Valley Civilization aficionados, in particular.

Buy Finding Forgotten Cities on Amazon India.

Disclosure: I first posted this review on Goodreads.

A Peek into Prachi Valley in Odisha

Despite spending the first half of my life in Odisha, it was only last weekend that I finally got the chance to trace the pearls of heritage hidden along an innocuous but highly-fabled river, reduced now to a rivulet, called Prachi.

Centuries ago, the Prachi river along with its valley, was host to a flourishing civilization that not only prospered on trade with Southeast Asia (Bali, Indonesia etc.) thanks to its ‘sadhaba’ (sailor) sons but also reveled in art & architecture of the highest order, being home to some of the most skilled artisans & sculptors. At the same time, the region was also a melting pot for the seamless chronological prevalence of Jainism, Buddhism, Shaivism, Shaktism & Vaishnavism leading to a syncretic religious fervour.

Some accounts date the region’s earliest artifacts to even before the Indus Valley Civilization. Yet the currently standing vestiges of the civilization dotted along the valley afford us a peek only into the period from 7th century AD to the 15th century AD. Nevertheless, these bear fine witness to the cultural richness of the erstwhile Kalinga, being some of the finest representatives of the distinctive Kalingan temple architectural style.

Trail on this trip covered the following places: Chausathi Yogini Temple (Hirapur, Bhubaneswar), Buddhanath Temple (Garedipanchan, Balipatna), Sobhaneswara Temple (Niali), Madhabananda Temple (Niali), Angeswara Temple (Pitapada), Varahi Devi Temple (Chaurashi), Mangala Temple (Kakatpur) and Jahania Beach (Astaranga).

We first stopped at the 9th century AD Chausathi (64) Jogini Temple, the tantric temple built in circular fashion, at Hirapur just at the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The legend behind the temple, according to priests, goes: Goddess Durga took the form of 64 demi-goddesses in order to defeat a demon. After the fight, the 64 goddesses (Joginis) asked Durga to commemorate them in the form of a temple structure. Accordingly, 56 idols line the inner walls of the structure with the remaining 8 carved on the 8 sides of a central square platform (altar).

(left) Chausathi (64) Jogini Temple. 9th Cent. AD. (right) Idols lining the inner side of the wall

Next stop was Buddhanath Temple, an 12th Cent. AD. Shiva Temple, located in Garedi Panchana, 11km from Hirapur . The temple is said to be built on tantric principles, and was apparently also a Buddhist monastery at some point of time.

(left) The Buddhanath Temple (right) Example of Kalingan stone art on the walls of Buddhanath temple.

15km further away, lies the Sobhaneswara Temple, another 12th Cent. AD, temple at Niali, of which only the lower half survives from the original structure, with the upper half being restored by later kings. Consequently, the lower half provides another demonstration of the intricate stone art of Kalingan artisans.

Glimpses of the intricate stone art of Kalingan artisans on the Shobhaneswara temple walls.

Next stop was the Madhabanada Temple, built in the 13th Cent. AD, located at Madhaba. Said to commemorate Madhaba (Krishna) located near the site where Jayadeva, the author of the famed Geeta Gobinda, is purported to have worshipped Madhaba.

Madhabanada Temple. 13th Cent. AD. Said to commemorate Madhaba (Krishna) located near the site where Jayadeva, the author of the famed Geeta Gobinda, is said to have worshipped Madhaba.

Just a couple of km away, lies the Angeswara Temple, a 10th Cent. AD. Shiva temple, which is probably one of the few surviving brick structures from the era.

(left) Angeswara temple (right) A snapshot of the Prachi Valley countryside landscape outside the temple, not very far from the sea either.

As we proceeded from Angeswara, we finally made rendezvous with the river whose valley we were exploring – the Prachi river today is a pale shadow of the splendour attributed to in historical records.

A glimpse of the sacred Prachi river, now almost reduced to a trickle.

4 km further from the Angeswara temple, is the Barahi temple, a 10th Cent. AD temple dedicated to Maa Barahi, the shakti form of Baraha, the boar-form of Lord Vishnu’s incarnations. This temple incorporates Khakra style, a variation of of Kalingan temple architecture, reminiscent of Mahabalipuram temples.

(left) Barahi Devi Temple (right) Front view of the Varahi Devi temple

A motif on the Varahi Devi Temple wall representing ‘Adisesa’ – hooded serpent shielding upper body of human with folded hands and lower body of a serpent on the columns and pillars

Moving on from Barahi, we reached a crossroads at Charichhak, and were faced with two choices – take a right turn and see a few more monuments from the Prachi Valley or take a left, to the sea. With the evening about to descend, we chose the road leading to Astaranga, which has an adjunct beach at Jahania. Astaranga, literally, of the seven colours, seemed to be a fitting finale for this trip, as it sat upon the mighty Kalinga Sea, which the Kalingan sons traversed to spread the Kalingan glory far and wide.

(left) Road leading to Jahania beach from Astaranga town. (right) Jahania beach

Read more about the above places
Buddhanath temple: https://odishatourguide.com/temple_post/buddhanath-temple/
Shobhaneswara temple: https://odishatourguide.com/offbeat…/sobhaneswara-temple/
Madhabananda temple: https://odishatourguide.com/temp…/madhaba-temple-at-niali/
Angeswara temple: https://odishatourguide.com/offbeat_places/angeswara-temple/
Barahi temple: https://odishatourguide.com/offbeat_places/barahi-temple/

How to reach
You have to invariably take private transport and follow Google maps, since many of these sites are not on a major road. Alternatively, you could join some of the day-long heritage walks organized from Bhubaneswar by a few heritage enthusiasts.

Route map (source: Google Maps)

In Search of the Treasures of Bundelkhand: Chanderi, Deogarh and Morena

In February 2019, my friend Abhijit & I picked up our backpacks and forayed into the Betwa and Chambal Valleys in search of some less-heralded archaeological treasures. Planned to be a quick weekend trip, we took an overnight train from Delhi, got down at Lalitpur and checked in into a hotel early in the morning. After gorging on a breakfast of the famous local dish poha, we took off by public transport across the Betwa river to the quaint little town of Chanderi which is tucked behind a hill range.

Chanderi, famed today for its sarees, was under the control of Bundela Rajputs of Orchha from the 16th century before it passed to the Gwalior Scindias, and then into British hands in 1844. It is home to a fort and a few other monuments, including Jain caves & Tirthankara sculptures and a Scindia haveli. Chanderi was most recently featured in the Hindi horror-comedy movie, ‘Stree‘. In fact, a beautiful gated hill pass featured towards the movie’s end is what had fascinated me about Chanderi in the first place.

One of the gates leading to Chanderi city. The last scene of the movie ‘Stree’ was shot here.

On our way back, with darkness fast approaching, we took a bold venture into the thick forests of Deogarh on the other side of Lalitpur, in pursuit of a 6th Century Vishnu Temple called Dashavatara (of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu) Temple. It was beyond sun-down, the closing time of most monuments, however, we still got to access the temple as the temple upkeep is not geared towards tourism – a truly unheralded site. As I perused the sculptures and the carvings on the Gupta period temple walls, I trembled with the knowledge that I stood in the vicinity of one of the oldest standing temples of India!

How the early 6th century Dashavatara temple at Deogarh, dedicated to Vishnu, looks like on an early February late evening

Motifs on the walls of the Dashavatara temple

As we pushed ahead towards a 8th century Jain Temple Complex in the pitch darkness, the auto-rickshaw we were riding on was hailed by a couple of burly men, who asked to hitchhike to the Jain Temple. They claimed to be policemen and the auto-rickshaw driver had to relent. With our hearts in our mouths, we rode up a hillside to finally reach a well-illuminated temple complex, which was already closed. Fortunately, the men turned out to be who they claimed they were, and let us inside the Temple complex, as the sole visitors at 7pm on a deserted hilltop!

The Shantinath Jain temple complex, Deogarh, at 7PM – we were the only visitors in the darkness

The next morning, we learnt that our early morning train for Morena was running late by 5 hours, forcing us to improvise. So we ditched the train and took two buses back North towards Gwalior via Jhansi, racing against time. Getting down at Gwalior bus station, we approached an autorickshaw driver to ply us around for the whole day. The autorickshaw driver knew nothing about the places we were interested in, but he agreed immediately to the assignment when we pitched to him that it would be we who would show him around for a change! Now, who gets paid for being shown around?

Soon, pulling away from the main road, we ventured into the Chambal Valley. Encountering the occasional shallow ravines and sparse vegetation. Our first stop was the mesmerizing circular Chausath (64) Yogini Temple atop a hill at Mitaoli, a 1 hour drive from Gwalior. 4 km away lies Garhi Padavali, a fort-like temple, our next stop. However, the most intriguing and spell-binding site lay another kilometre from there – the 8th to 10th century Bateshwar Temple Complex, which was only restored a few years ago, with the help of Chambal dacoits!

Glimpses of the 11th century Chausath Yogini Temple, *Mitaoli*, also known as Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple at Mitaoli, Morena

Glimpses of the Garhi Padavali temple at Padhavali, Morena

The Bateshwar temple complex lies protected in a cove in the hillside, and is accessed by turning around the hillside when coming from the Padavali site. The complex comprises more than a hundred small temples stacked in tiers, along with a couple of bigger temples and a water tank at the innermost end of the complex. Standing at the bottommost level of the complex, the tiered lines of temples is a sight to behold! The story of how the temples were restored is in itself a testament to the dedication to his craft, and perseverance of reputed archaeologist K.K.Mohammed, and to the magic of collaboration amidst disjointed forces in the face of forces of vested interests.

The road leading to the Bateshwar temple complex as seen from atop the fortress wall of the Garhi Padhavali temple

View of the stacks of tiered temples inside the Bateshwar temple complex – the temples are mostly small and a testimony to syncretism of the three major traditions of the Shiva, Vishnu and Shakti within Hinduism.

More glimpses of the Bateswhwar temple complex; the motif in the rightmost picture probably depicts Vishnu

We rounded up the tour with the Kakanmath temple at Sihoniya, 20 km away from Padhavali. Built in the 11th century, the temple is decrepit, but the intricacy of the carvings on the walls are unmissable. After hovering around the site to our heart’s content, as we hurtled towards Gwalior in the autorickshaw through the Chambal ravines and ridges, with the billowing dust-clouds dispersed by the autorickshaw’s wheels bathing, and then clothing us with layers of dirt, I was reminded as to how easy it was for the sands of time to bury things into oblivion, and how, there is so much more from our past to uncover.