“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Deep inside I’ve always wanted to be an explorer. Stories of Ruskin Bond and Kipling used to paint my imagination and in my childhood fantasies I’ve conquered great mountains, flew many a flight and spent nights camping in deep jungles. Even though those fantasies never took flight, I’ve had the good fortune of visiting a few places which have held me in awe with the sheer brilliance of their beauty. For me these sojourns were journeys inwards when one snaps his ties with the mundane world briefly in pursuit of parallel worlds.
This blog is about my trip to Khajuraho with 5 of my fellow IIM inmates. The plan took shape during one of those weekend mini parties held religiously. We were ideally looking forward to a 2 day trip and Khajuraho seemed to fit the bill. The idea was welcomed unanimously and the following Saturday evening we were on our way. We were expecting to reach Khajuraho by midnight or thereabouts going by the distance indicated in Google maps. Both we and the Cab guzzled a lot to keep ourselves up and running respectively. I had comfortably ensconced myself in the front seat near the driver and was appointed as the DJ of the trip. We reached Kanpur by around 6 in the evening and traffic was moving at a trickle which is a common phenomenon in any Indian city during peak hours. There was a drizzle too in the air and some leering clouds could be seen in the horizon.
We pulled up around 10 in the night near a dhaba at Orai. It was here that it dawned upon us that we were still some 6, 7 hours away from the destination or the driver made us believe so. Our worries were compounded by the strict advice given by the people in the dhaba that travelling in the night further may not be such a nice idea. Initially we thought we’d push forward but then better sense prevailed and decided to stay put till morning. Luckily we had spotted a hotel nearby and from the looks of it seemed more than good enough for a night’s stay. The 3 star sign which welcomed us looked spurious and any false hopes soon vanished once we got into the room.
Morning had made us saner and we realized that we were literally taken for a ride. The driver apparently had no clue about the route and was in the process of circumscribing what would’ve been a straight line between Lucknow and Khajuraho. Our doubts were vindicated by the villagers as we pulled into Jhansi. The destination was still 5 hours away. The condition of roads was pathetic to say the least and by now we’re traversing the Indian heartland. People on their haunches by the road side going through basic morning routines were staring at us which made us feel like intruders. As the cab struggled its way through a poor distant relative of a road and no light at the end of the tunnel we even started contemplating a U-turn.
Khajuraho…., tucked away in a corner of Chhatarpur District of Madhya Pradesh is probably the only place on the face of earth where both the spiritual and carnal coexist. After checking into our hotel by around noon, we had a quick lunch before we set upon our sightseeing with a guide in tow. The monuments embellished by intricate carvings had stood the test of time and attacks by invaders for over 1000 years. Our first stop was the Vamana temple with the idol of fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu inside. Before the sanctum sanctorum was a platform where ‘Apsaras’ used to perform for the royals seated on pedestals on both sides. The feeling of travelling back in time was inevitable. The guide was loquacious enough to keep us entertained as we stood there admiring the poetry in rocks.
The Vamana temple
Vamana idol
We further proceeded to ‘Javari temple’, ‘Chaturbhuja temple’, ‘Duladeo temple’ to mention a few and then to the Jain and Buddha group of temples. ‘Utkhanan temple’ which was found in a buried state was undergoing renovation. Our cab encroached upon the wicket of children playing cricket bang in front of the temple. I could easily empathise with them. The guide left us in front of the Western group of temples having extended his deal by one more day to take us to Panna tiger reserve and Pandav falls.
chaturbhuja idol of lord Vishnu
Utkhanan temple
The Western group of temples are so named as they face west. They are so made to let the Sun pay its last respects to the Gods before calling it a day. These temples were built by The Chandela Kings as their obeisance to the Almighty for victories achieved in wars. The architectural brilliance can’t be described in words and is a sight to behold. Briefly they were under threat of destruction by Mughal rulers but thankfully not much damage was done. Having said that a few defaced idols serve as stark reminders of what would have been. The experience was made all the more memorable by the ‘sound and light show’ in Big B’s baritone which explained all the temples and their significance vividly. As the day came to an end we retreated to our hotel rooms for much deserved sleep.
One of the Western group of temples
The sound and light show
As promised the guide was at the door steps the next morning to accompany us to the Panna Tiger reserve. Unfortunately the reserve was closed for the monsoon season and our visit was restricted to watching the Karnavati waterfall nearby. As expected our trail crossed with that of the monsoon which proved a blessing in disguise as the real grandeur of the waterfall became all the more evident. It turned out to be a passing shower and we were soon back in the cab. Next stop was the tree hut in the jungle which was a unique experience for all of us. It was overlooking the river Karnavati slowly meandering towards meeting Yamuna.
The last stop was ‘Pandav Falls’, so named because of the falls where the Pandavas along with Draupadi had supposedly taken bath during their ‘Van vaas’. It all seemed quite surreal with the presence of the temple dedicated to them on top of the caves which apparently housed them.We were back in the hotel by noon after bidding goodbye to our guide. After lunch we got back into the cab as we prepared to leave. As we breezed past ‘The Temples’ one last time I made it a point to go back there once more.
Karnavati falls
On its path to meet Yamuna
Pandav Falls
The return journey was more coordinated as we had got a fair idea of the right route to Lucknow. The cab proceeded at a fair clip only briefly hampered by natural roadblocks of the bovine type. As we sat relaxed the CD player was bleating out a song from ‘Rang De Basanti’–
“hone hone de nasha khone khone ko hai kya
ek saans mein pee ja zara zindagi chadha
hai yeh toh ek jashan tu thirakne de kadam
abhi saanson mein hai dam abhi chalne de sitam”
One got a feeling it couldn’t get more fitting than that.
A collapsed bridge ensured we travelled more than what was required and that too in pitch black with only the cab’s lights breaking the monotony. But 2 days had made blase travellers out of all of us to bother anymore. By midnight college was in sight again…
NB – The partners in crime were Deepu, Paulie, Emil, Philip and Sarin in no particular order.Together we made it memorable for ourselves. Looking forward to sharing such experiences with you guys again…
nice travelogue
but compared a rang de basanti song to bleating??? offensive that was
It was not meant to be offensive
Nice post, Lolappi. I too wanted to post one about this eventful trip, but lost track of it midway. It shows that you have put in some effort into this. And nice style of writing, by the way
thnx aliya
LOL LOL