Orchha adventure. Exploring the town.

Sunset over the royal cenothaps lining the Betwa river. The river flows into Uttar Pradesh state. In total it flows 590 kilometers before meeting the Yamuna river.

The small town of Orchha in Madhya Pradesh state, turned out to be sort of an oasis of adventure. A great palace, living temples. Pilgrims and ceremonies. Street food and surrounding villages. At first glimpse it sort of lived up to what the name means-"hidden", but it didn't take much of a street wandering to find its lively and colourfull side. At festival times at least, it can be described as a mini Varanasi-but less congested, somewhat cleaner-and with a lot less of the Varanasi cheating circus. It is not absent, though.

I came here by tuktuk from the centre of Jhansi. I changed from train. It was a public tuktuk, filled to the breaking point with locals and their stuff. There was no possibility to see anything outside. I had little idea where we were going. But at least we were going with none of those frustrating monkey business stops-so typical for transport in this part of the world.

I got a room overlooking the "bus station"and the great palace. It has a flat roof outside my room, functioning as an observation platform. Here a group of villagers arrive in town. Ready for shopping and a temple visit. Cheerfull and noisy-among other noisy people. India is never silent.

Close to the river there is an area more or less permanently occupied by pilgrims camping in whatever fashion they can afford.

A pilgrims cookingplace. The food preparation is done for now. The ash is still warm and comforting for this dog.

Jahangir Mahal, the huge palace/citadel/garrison dominating town. Orchha was once the capital of a princely state. The town itself was founded in 1501 by Maharajah Rudra Pratap Singh. The palace itself was completed in 1598 and rank among the finest examples of classical Mughal architecture.

One of the courtyards in Jahangir Mahal. It is great exploration here. You climb up and down steps, trough tunnels, archways and galleries. Enter vaulted rooms and get up to the top of the walls, offering great views over the surroundings. The only irritating thing is the usual one-a single tourist pay the same as an Indian busload. I use these places to get myself as much small change as i can-usefull on the streets. I do that by paying with the biggest bills i have. The clerks always complain, and my standard answer is if you wanna have small money, then charge me small money.

The Chaturbhuj temple seen trough an arch in Jahangir Mahal.

The Jahangir Mahal view over town

View over the small templebuildings surrounding Jahangir Mahal.

Some inventive English. Making me to HE-MAN.

One of many wall paintings in Raj Mahal, one of the buildings in the Jahangir Mahal complex.

Delicious sweet, not meant for human but divine tongues. The street leading up to the temple is lined with shops selling offerings of all kinds.

But this is meant for human consumption. Samosa, a widely available type of streetfood sold with various fillings. Meat, chicken. Often vegetables. And various types-and amounts-of spice. Usually you get a spicy dip to go with the samosas. And practically enough-i had a samosa dealer just a few steps from my guesthouse. There were several of them-trying to "be smart"with the price. My dealer was smart enough-having seen the others lost their customer before he even became their customer-to give me a fair price without fuzz. He got rid of MANY samosas over the next few days. They are good for take away.

Charcoal fried peanuts.

Jewellery of all kinds for sale in town. And the women flock around those stalls.

Colourfull and shining. The typical Indian bracelet fashion.

A ceremony in the street.

The ceremonial procession passes right below my room.

A policeman keeps an  eye on things at the main crossroad near the temple. However-he often needs tea.

An elderly woman begging outside the Ram Raja temple. Typically people donate huge money to the temple, very little to their own suffering country folks. I passed her many times, giving her a donation a couple of times each day. Her smile being very genuine and sweet.

Wedding season. One day i saw many brides being led to the temple square. Here is one of them led by her mother/guard.

This bride doesn't look happy at all. An illustration of the back side of arranged marriages.

The couple undergo a ceremony. Relatives are watching from below-sitting under a tarpaulin roof providing much needed shade from the hot sun.

Leading his bride around the temple......

.....they put their handmarks around the perimeter of the temple.

Looking down on the busy square outside the Ram Raja temple. I stand up in the Chaturbhuj temple which is great for sneak peaks.

The square is prime habitat for sadhus and pilgrims.

A holy man doing his morning toilet-painting his face, that is. They willingly pose for camera-for a fee. Fair enough, alms is what keeps them alive.

In a ruin in the outskirt of town-someone has taken it as their home.