TRAVEL-INDIA: Off the Beaten Track

By Neena Bhandari Reprint | | Print |

Neena Bhandari

ORCHHA, India, Jul 30 1996 (IPS) - There is only one temple in India where the Hindu god Rama is worshipped as a king.

Orchha is a tiny, medieval town of a few hundred people, some 350 kms south of the Indian capital. It is here by the unspoilt Betwa River in a palace that has been turned into the Ram Raja temple that prayers are chanted twice every day to the god king.

To the clash of cymbals and tinkling bells, the temple’s pujaris or priests light incense sticks and offer flowers to the mail-clad diety, a ritual that has continued unbroken ever since the temple was built in the 16th century.

Legend surrounding the temple has it that following a dream visitation of Rama, Orchcha’s then ruler Madhukar Shah brought the statue of the god king from Ayodhya, east of Orchha, where he is believed to have been born and ruled as king, and placed it in his palace prior to its installation in a temple.

But the idol proved impossible to move, and the king recalling the dream in which he was told that the image would remain in the place it was installed, turned his palace into a temple. Today, the soaring spires, murals and domes make it a most unusual place of worship for the stream of pilgrims who come from far and near.

At the height of its glory, Orchcha was the magnificent capital of the Bundela Rajput chiefs. Today there are spellbinding ruins of beautiful palaces, delicately-carved battlements, and regal cenotaphs in the low hills thickly draped with trees.

Modern Orchha is built entirely of brick and mud, quite unlike the indomitable medieval buildings in stone — a building material found in abundance in the rocky terrain.

Children play unmindful of the searing noon-day sun, while the older people lie langurously on charpoys (rope cots) or squat in the shade puffing on the traditional ‘hukkah’ or water pipes. The men are away, in the fields or grazing the cows, while the women are busy with the countless chores that must be done daily.

Brick houses raised on mud-plastered platforms and decorated with traditional ‘rangoli’ or designs in white paint, flank narrow alleyways.

Off the beaten tourist track, Orchcha has only one small market. Makeshift stalls sell hot ‘jalebis’, a traditional Indian sweet dripping in sugar syrup, and a variety of other deep-fried street food.

It is here in the so-called market that the religious who want to offer prayers at the Ram Raja temple, can buy the flowers, incense sticks and coconut, all part of the traditional offerings, from vendors who sit around a giant ‘Peepal’ tree.

The temple to Rama resounds to religious fervour, but just 10 metres away, the older Chaturbhuj temple has become one of the many abandoned monuments countrywide that is protected by the Architectural Survey of India (ASI).

Built on a massive stone platform, a steep flight of stairs lead to the sanctum sanctorum. Lotus emblems and other religious symbols adorn the exterior while inside it looks like a mosque with its unusual Persian wind towers called ‘dastagirs’.

There is no contradiction. Most medieval Indian rulers combined the architectural heritages of Persia, Turkey and Central Asia with indigenous Hindu elements to realise a harmonious melding of building styles.

Strewn around Orchcha are small shrines and memorials, palaces and forts — some with breathtaking views of the blue waters of the Betwa as it gurgles past in its rocky bed.

The most exquisite of the palaces is Jehangir Mahal built by Raja Bir Singh Deo in the 17th century to commemmorate a visit of Mughal emperor Jahangir to Orchcha. The abandoned palace is many- tiered with graceful ‘chhatris’ and delicate trellis work.

From on top there is a panoramic and enchanting view of temple spires and mute cenotaphs. The gigantic gates of the Jehangir Mahal lead to the elephant and camel stables and the ‘hamaam’, where the ladies of the royal court bathed by the Betwa.

Not far from the palace is the Rai Praveen Mahal, a palace built for famed poetess, courtesan and paramour of Raja Indramani. It is said that Mughal emperor Akbar was so captivated that he brought her to Agra, but Rai Praveen’s unshakeable love for her raja moved the emperor, who sent her back to Orchcha.

Remains of beautifully-landscaped gardens with elaborate water supply systems and chambers dot Orchcha. A row of fountains still play in the famed Phool Bagh (flower garden) with its famous eight- pillared pavillion. Under the garden is the palace where the Bundela rulers rested from the Indian summer.

An ingenious cooling system ensured they never had to suffer the blazing heat. Medieval architects perforated the base of the fountains to ensure the roof of the underground chambers would be cooled with trickles of water.

Wrapped in romance and stories of its medieval splendour, medieval Orchcha lives on — almost untouched and unchanged by modernity.