Orchha

Orchha, a small town in the state of Madya Pradesh was the seat of the Bundela Kings.  It is fairly remote, a little north of Khajuraho and situated on the banks of the Betwa river.  Because of it's inland seclusion, the Betwa may be the cleanest river in all of India.  It is another Hindu pilgrimage site, where people come to perform rituals on its banks, or ghats.  It is also noted for it's palaces, temples and cenotaphs.  A very long time ago it was surrounded by impenetrable jungle.  The moguls came and aligned themselves with native rulers and eventually, became the rulers.

This post starts with the village and the cenotaphs (monuments erected to individuals or groups of people who are usually buried elsewhere).

We arrived there in the evening when the turkey vultures were settling on the turrets

and the herders were bringing their water buffalo home.

These cenotaphs either have been deserted

 or are now inhabited by what we presumed  to be "squatters".

The city was destroyed by Shah Jehan's forces in the course of a rebellion against him led by the local Mogul.  We had been told during our visit that the town had been devastated by smallpox and to escape it the local rulers had abandoned Orchha.  Maybe there is truth in both stories.  In any case, the people are lovely.  It's a lovely country place with clean, soft air and beautiful light and an atmosphere of a fairy tale kingdom lost in the mists of time.