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Published: July 17th 2014
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A young age memory of a Bollywood movie depicting the hero from royal family of Tikamgarh had conjured up a colourful imagery in my mind. A few years ago, spotting a narrow bridge across the forlorn river Betwa at Orchha bearing sign, 'way to Tikamgarh' further bolstered that imagery. So when working on a project called for a trip to Tikamgarh, I earnestly looked forward to it!
We boarded the early morning Shatabdi Express leaving at 6.00 AM for Bhopal from New Delhi Railway station and reached Jhansi before 11 AM. This was in third week of August and the entire central India was under the spell of a heavy monsoon flooding all its rivers and catchment areas. Our escorts at Jhansi informed us that we would need to travel via Jhansi – Khajuraho Road and take a detour through Niwari as the bridge on Betwa at Orchha was under several feet of water!
Leaving behind the chaotic city of Jhansi, we entered the rustic innards of Bundelkhand, the land of people proud of their history & heritage. Named after its rulers, the indomitable Bundela (derived from Vindhyela) Rajputs since 1048 AD, the region has rich folklores of verve
and valiance to its credit. Apart from building formidable forts and temples with ornate architecture, kings championed the causes for people's welfare. They took keen interest in watershed development and water conservation efforts in the region by building many check dams, constructing elaborate canal systems and very large water reservoirs. We crossed many such water bodies filled to their brims by excessive rains in the area.
Verdant nature all around awash with the rains had a soothing and sobering effect on our frayed nerves. Never ending tracts of fields for pulses (mostly, 'urad') cultivation interspersed with short stretches of hills kissed the horizon. Negotiating small villages and their markets, hordes of cattle idling on the road and many narrow bridges with copious volumes of water hurtling under we finally entered the municipal limits of Tikamgarh. The district of Tikamgarh is located at the northern fringes of Madhya Pradesh with Datia and Chhatarpur as its neighbouring districts and three rivers namely, Dhasan, Jamni and Betwa defining its boundary.
Tikamgarh (erstwhile Tehri), where Bundela King, Vikramjit Singh had shifted his capital from Orchha in 1783 AD was named after Tikamjee, one of many names of Lord Krishna. The low trough
of a ridge in Tikamgarh was used to construct Mahendra Sagar (popularly known as Bada Talaab), a huge water body feeding the town and fort-cum-palace was built on the ridge. The town is known for its cast metal craft and has many temples like the tower shaped Hanuman Chalisa temple, Kundeshwar Shiva temple and an old stepped well, Rani ki Baori.
We checked into Fort View Hotel, a property owned by the King of Tikamgarh…a large photo of beaming king & queen welcoming Rahul Gandhi for his recent stay at the hotel adorned its reception wall. We were allotted rooms at the top (second) floor and the small lift heaved us through the height. For a town lacking in great commercial or tourism activities, the rooms at Fort View hotel were well appointed, spacious and reasonably spruced up…the single-occupancy tariff of Rs.1550/- (nett) inclusive of breakfast made it more attractive! On our special request, we were served good quality fish curry in dinner as the hotel took care in sourcing fresh fish in the evening.
The old fort, now inhabited and in dire need of repairs, could be seen from the hotel across the narrow road.
Interestingly, I spotted three policemen keeping a watch on the traffic almost on a deserted road…the traffic police office housed in a large rotunda next to the road explained their presence! Close to the hotel lay the landmark structure of 'Hanuman Chalisa' temple constructed like a tower with five tiers and main temple located at the top. In the next morning, we drove down the road along Mahendra Sagar (Bada Talaab) and reached the 'ghats' at Govt. Science College. The huge reservoir looked more like a natural lake with its vast expanse of water due to incessant rains and flooded the lower floors of the college.
About 10 Kms. ahead of Tikamgarh on the way to Jhansi, we stopped by the Rani ki Baori. The baori is located inside a large mango orchard ensconced within a tall boundary wall with a huge gateway. Three storied structures around the baori guarded its view from outside. They had dwelling places with floral motifs and designs painted on their walls. The baori with serenity redefined all around now lies abandoned with a few caretakers housed in the hutments near the main gateway. Our cameras got busy trying to capture the
archaeological abundance!
We left Tikamgarh with a heavy heart…the place stuck in a time warp and carefully bypassed by the hordes of tourists visiting more fashionable Orchha or Khajuraho.
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