March 2, 2016

March 2, 2016

Today was mostly a travel day.  We boarded the bus and drove one hundred miles west to the town of Orchha.   The road we traveled was one lane wide but had two-way traffic.  I am glad I didn't have to drive the bus and dodge the oncoming trucks, cars, motorcycles, cows, and pedestrians.  Every bus and truck has a co-driver who sits on the passenger side to help maneuver through heavy traffic.

The rural scenery brought new people watching opportunities. Indian farm life looks like it hasn't changed in thousands of years.  We see ox-drawn plows, and goat herders. The major occupation of women seems to be collecting dung and shaping it into patties by hand.  We see it stacked for drying everywhere.  Running water is non-existent.  Every little village we pass has a communal well where families gather to bathe, wash dishes and collect water.

Aimee and I continue to be shocked by the amount of trash.  The sides of the road are filled with it.  In general Indians are fastidious about personal cleanliness.  Barbershops abound for men, often outdoors on the street.  The women wear clean colorful saris, lots of jewelry, and sometimes paint themselves with elaborate henna-dye drawings.  Not surprising, Indians invented and coined the word for shampoo.  People sweep their personal area clean, but it seems they just move it into the public space.  We have watched women come out of their house to throw garbage on the street.  There doesn’t seem to be any civic pride.

We had a buffet lunch at an Orchha resort and then drove a few blocks across the Betwa River to the Fort.  Orchha is a small town that used to be the capital of an independent kingdom that was captured by the Mughal empire.  The town was later abandoned.  The sprawling fort contains several palaces.  The newest, Jahangir Mahal was built in the early 17th century by the local ruler for a one-time visit by the Mughal Shah.  This three-story stone structure around a central courtyard is an example of Medieval Mughal architecture.  Since the Mughals were Muslim, the artwork contains mostly geometrical designs with lots of stone latticework.  Aimee and I explore the crumbling structure with its maze of stairs.  Unfortunately I hit my head on a protruding stone and earn a big bruise on my forehead.

Afterwards we walk to a group of huge cenotaphs (memorials) to the local kings.  They are in better shape and have a scenic garden amongst them.  In the late afternoon we board the bus for a half hour ride to the next large town where we catch the train bound for Agra.  Probably not unexpected, it is almost an hour late.  I am glad we have a local guide as managing the trains in India is not as easy as in Europe or Japan.