MPdiaries Part 9. Bhojpur

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On our route towards Bhopal, we stopped at Bhojpur during evening hours.  We were here to see the Shiva temple called Bhojeshwar temple. The bus had stopped at quite a distance, and we walked through narrow, broken roads, passing through thatched house where villagers still use dried cow dung as fuel for cooking. A musician sat at the end of the road playing drums.

We saw the big red structure stood at the distance. Friends were tired of walking up the steep hill, so we decided to sit for a while.

We walked closer and saw stairs leading up the platform. I was tired and wondered that could I buckle up so much energy to climb those steep steps that had no railing for support. My friends had already climbed up and they asked me to come from the side of the wall, luckily there was a muddy ramp on either of the temple, so there was no need to climb those steps,

The Bhojeshwar temple is contributed by the fact that it was never finished and it is believed to date back to 11^th century. It is quite an odd temple with no curvilinear domed towers, three of the walls are completely plain on the exterior, with just a few carvings on the entrance that seemed like it was made later. 

There were steel steps to climb up to reach the interior of the temple. Inside the temple there was a huge Shiv linga -18 feet long and 7 feet diameter made from one single stone, There were another set of big stone stairs that led  downwards to reach the bottom of the lingam where punditji sat there offering flowers and prasad to the devotees.

I did not climb down, instead, turned around and watched the sunset behind the temples spread over huge platform. It was lovely sight indeed and I love gazing at sunsets.

On our way back I could see some unfinished architectural fragments scattered far and wide in the various stages of extraction…

and a big park behind the temple where people seemed happy to relax

But we had to reach the next leg of our journey, so  headed back, we were in that big bus to continue with our journey

To be continued……….

MPdiaries Part 5. Bhandarvagarh

After driving all day, we reached Bhandarvagarh late evening. I couldn’t see anything, but a narrow road and thick bushes on either side of the road. It seemed like a ghostly town with not a person in sight. The bus moved slowly  over uneven mud road till we reached the beautiful resort called Mogli Resort. We were to stay in the middle of the jungle. I was quite impressed with the rooms, it was large and spacious with all the comfort one could ask for. There was a big open ground surrounding all the villas and a dining hall across our room.

Early morning 6am, we set out for a long drive into the deep forest for jungle safari at Bandhavgarh National Park in an open jeep.

The forest is spread over1536 kms. I was hoping to see Bengal Tigers (for which this park is famous for) ..but was not lucky to spot any. The professional photographers wait for hours by the pond waiting for thirsty animal to come into their focus but we waited only for 20 minutes..then drove around for nearly five hours.

However I did spot deer at several spots..they ran swiftly behind the trees. The ride was pleasant through this tropical forest with lovely fragrance of leaves and the beautiful chirping of birds.

Evening at Bandhavagarh was spent playing group games. Since our group was divided into two groups, one group for 15days tours and second group for 7days tour. This was the last day for group doing 7days tour. We had evening of games..childish but fun…just being alert in pronouncing certain words….the person who was most alert was the winner, the distracted ones faltered. I had no interest in playing any such games but enjoyed distracting the players with my comments. till all my friends dropped out.

We were seated at open ground. It was getting chilly. Bonfire was lit, we sat around it in smaller groups and we began to relax as the warmth touch our faces and feet.

Later part of the evening was spent enjoying the traditional folk dance of MP called karma Nach. These dances are the reflection of rich heritage culture of the state. The dancers were dressed in vibrant colorful costumes. The women had their head covered and danced gracefully in rhythm with slow hand movements. Men had sticks in their hand striking the sticks of the persons on their sides and they all moved in circles adding the dramatic rhythm. They also performed acrobatic dance. Such dances are normally performed during festivals to celebrate the rich harvest by the natives of Madhya Pradesh.. 

Cross posted on my FB

It was the most relaxing evening spent during this trip.