Frozen in time
Magnificient India We head to Orchha and get lost in its storied past
Just over 100km from Gwalior and a stone’s throw away from Jhansi lies a town that you may have heard of but one that might not have missed the cut on your list of places to visit. No amount of browsing images on the internet can prepare you for the sheer magnitude of history every square metre of Orccha throws at you. Despite the generally boring Yamuna Expressway making up the first half of our drive from Delhi to Orchha, the prospect of getting behind the wheel of a compact hatch with a turbocharged petrol motor and 100 odd horses under the hood kept excitement levels high. And all that power came in quite handy over the truck-infested stretch from
Agra to Orchha letting us zip through gaps quickly and effortlessly. Around seven hours and 480km later, we found ourselves driving through a narrow centuries-old gateway, or whatever’s left of, into Orchha’s streets before being greeted by a smorgasbord of age-old architecture replacing the modern day landscape of a busy little town.
ORCHHA’S ROYALS
Established in 1531 by the Bundela Rajput chief Rudra Pratap Singh, Orchha was the capital of the state of the same name. He laid the foundation of the Raja Mahal the same year which is one of the two palaces of the Orchha Fort complex. The completion of its construction was overseen by Rudra Pratap Singh’s eldest son Bharati Chandra with his younger brother and successor Madhukar Shah carrying out some alterations and adding final touches. In the 1570s, Madhukar Shah relinquished the reigns of Orchha to the Mughals continuing on as the ruler of the state albeit under the Mughal Empire. Vir Singh Deo who came into power in 1605 as Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s vassal commissioned the construction of Jahangir
NO AMOUNT OF BROWSING THE INTERNET CAN PREPARE YOU FOR THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF CENTURIES-OLD STRUCTURES ORCCHA GREETS YOU WITH
Mahal, the second of the two aforementioned palaces, in its namesake’s honour. Mesmerising in its architecture and intricate detailing, it isn’t difficult to get lost in here admiring the palace’s beauty. Squeezed in between the Raja Mahal and Jahangir Mahal is Sheesh Mahal originally built as Udwat Singh’s royal accommodation in 1763 and currently under the care of Madhya Pradesh Tourism being run as a hotel giving tourists a chance to literally experience life as royals.
THE REAL KING
One of Orchha’s biggest draws, rather unsurprisingly, is the Ram Raja Temple. Located across the street from Orchha Fort, the structure was originally part of the Raja Mahal but was later converted into a temple for Hindu God Ram. There’s a fascinating story explaining why a part of the palace transformed into a temple, the construction of the Chaturbhuj Temple and why, to this day, Rama is worshipped as a king and still considered the true king of Orchha.
Madhukar Shah’s wife queen Ganesh Kunwari was an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and expressed a desire to establish a temple for him. To fulfil her wish, Madhukar Shah ordered the construction of the Chaturbhuj Temple while the queen travelled to Ayodhya to secure an idol of Lord Ram. With the temple still unfinished upon her return from Ayodhya, the queen placed the idol in her palace awaiting the completion of the Chaturbhuj Temple, so she could move the idol to its intended place. It is said that Ram travelled with the queen to Orchha on the condition that he will not move from the first place she seats him. Hence, the idol could not be moved to the Chaturbhuj Temple upon its completion and this part of the palace was converted into a temple instead.
ONE OF ORCHHA’S BIGGEST DRAWS, RATHER UNSURPRISINGLY, IS THE RAM RAJA TEMPLE WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY PART OF THE RAJA MAHAL
According to this legend, lord Ram also said that he will be worshipped as the king of Orchha and hence, the Ram Raja Temple is the only shrine in the country where Ram is worshipped as a king. He is still considered the king of Orchha with the local police even giving his idol a guard of honour every day.
While the Ram Raja Temple attracts the ma
jority of visitors, primarily devotees, to Orchha, it’s the Chaturbhuj Temple located right next to it that those fascinated by centuries-old architecture will find more appealing. Imposing in its stature, the Chaturbhuj Temple’s 344ft tall vimana is amongst the tallest for a temple in India. One can even climb to the top of the temple and take in a 360-degree view of Orchha including the fort and the Betwa River and even spot vultures perched atop the vimanas.
LOST IN YESTERDAY
For us, the best part about exploring Orchha is just how accessible most of its centuriesold structures are in the sense that one can literally drive up to them. Finding motorable trails within the Orchha Fort complex isn’t
IN CASE YOU WANT A BREAK FROM IMMERSING YOURSELF IN ORCHHA’S STORIED PAST, YOU CAN ALWAYS UNWIND BY THE BANKS OF THE BETWA RIVER
tough at all as we simply drove along some chancing upon remnants of the days gone by. The Grand i10 Nios’ compact dimensions certainly helped our cause and with only grassy landscapes, the Betwa river and age-old construction for company it genuinely felt like we’d managed to transport ourselves back in time. Orchha managed to arrest our attention in a way not many places in the past have been able to and, according to the owner of Café NoMads which is quite popular amongst tourists, several travellers who come with the intention of spending a day or two here end up staying for weeks getting lost in Orchha’s old-world charm. And in case you want a break from immersing yourself in its storied past, you can always find a nice spot along the banks of the Betwa River to unwind.