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20th February 2007
As occupants on India’s fastest train, our day started in an unusual fashion. We were belting along at 130km/hr. I was being spoken at by India’s entrant in the World Talking Championships. Jhansi was our train-stopping place. Here two drivers sped us to Khajuraho, home of the so-called erotic temples. I expect that the travel time achieved will now be the new record for the Jhansi to Khajuraho Rally. KHAJURAHO: Khajuraho group of temples in Central India is one of the most illustrious manifestations of Indian architecture. These 10th-11th century temples represent religion, patronage, artistic genius and aesthetic sensibility all at once. Built in the typical 'Nagara' style of architecture, over 20 of the original 85 temples have survived the climate for more than a thousand years despite being lost into obscurity and hence, suffering neglect for a long period of time. Believed to have been constructed during the Chandela rule, the temples belong to Shaivism and Vaishnavism sects of Hinduism, Jainism and 'tantrism'. Unlike other temple complexes in the country, there is no enclosure wall surrounding these temples with each of them on a high and solid raised masonry platform. Though not very large, they have elegant proportions and are adorned with sculptures on their exteriors and even interiors. These walled sculptures include depiction of numerous deities, their attendants, celestial maidens in sensuous positions and provocative postures, embracing couples (some of them in erotic sexual positions), dancers and musicians and couples engaged in various refinements of courtly love. It is believed that one temple alone sports over six hundred and fifty such figures ranging from sensual and warm depictions to explicit sexual activity (believed to illustrate the tantric rites by some). Some of these much-famed or much-notorious sexual postures are said to follow the Kama Sutra, the ancient Indian manual of the art of making love. One of the most preferred destinations after Taj Mahal, Khajuraho has provided a scenic backdrop for many movies. Now I come to think of it, we stopped at a palace for lunch. There are only hotels of the four star variety in Khajuraho and ours was the Holliday Inn. We turned up in time for Sir Giles and I to have a wander about the fields and creeks. The best of the birds were red avadavat and Siberian rubythroat, although there was no shortage of all sorts of things. The word “conned” comes to mind when considering my opinion of the evening’s sound and light show that we paid to endure within the temple complex. We stayed for the duration, unlike some others. Realistically, it cut down on valuable drinking time. Our dinner was in the town and was just like almost every other meal we had. 21st February 2007 UNESCO has given the temples of Khajuraho a World Heritage listing. After having look on the temple we were back into a natural history chunk of our tour, we drive to Bandhavgarh National Park took seven hours. BANDHAVGARH is a new national park with a very long history. Set among the Vindhya hills of Madhya Pradesh with an area of 168sq miles (437sq kms) it contains a wide variety of habitats and a high density of game, including a large number of Tigers ~ 80. Prior to becoming a national park, the forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a Shikargarh, or game preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa. The Maharaja and his guests carried out hunting - otherwise the wildlife was well protected. It was considered a good omen for Maharaja of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers. His Highness Maharaja Venkat Raman Singh shot 111 Tigers by 1914. Bandhavgarh has been a center of human activity and settlement for over 2000 years, and there are references to it in the ancient books, the Narad-Panch Ratra and the Shiva Purana. Legend has it that Lord Rama, hero of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, stopped at Bandhavgarh on his way back to his homeland after defeating the demon King Ravana of Lanka. Two monkey architects, who had engineered a bridge between the isles of Lanka and the mainland, are said to have built Bandhavgarh's fort. The oldest sign of habitation in the park are caves dug into the sandstone to the north of the fort. Several contain Brahmi inscriptions dating from the 1st century B.C. Various dynasties have ruled the fort, for example, the Maghas from the 1st century A.D., the Vakatakas from the 3rd century A.D., From that time onwards Bandhavgarh was ruled by a succession of dynasties including the Chandela Kings of Bundelkhand who built the famous temples at Khajuraho. The Baghel Kings, the direct ancestors of the present Royal family of Rewa, established their dynasty at Bandhavgarh in the 12th century. It remained their capital till 1617 when the center of court life moved to Rewa, 75 miles (120Kms) to the north. Without royal patronage Bandhavgarh became more and more deserted until forest overran the area and it became the royal hunting reserve. This helped to preserve the forest and its wildlife, although the Maharajas made full use of their rights. At independence Bandhavgarh remained the private property of the Maharaja until he gave it to the state for the formation of the National Park in 1968. After the park was created poaching was brought under control and the number of animals rose dramatically. Small dams and water holes were built to solve the problem of water shortage. Grazing by local cattle was stopped and the village within the park boundaries was relocated. The Tigers in particular prospered and the 1986 extension provided much needed forest to accommodate them. 22nd February 2007 Our first Bandhavgarh safari saw us in two vehicles. Brave Dave went with Sir Giles and party. “Poor bugger him” when our jeep had a tiger walking along the road within 15 minutes of our start. This little lady had an indiscreet wee on the side of the road before wandering out of sight as four jeeps tried to climb up its arse. Two of the three other jeeps went elsewhere but our driver positioned us in a perfect spot to see mum emerge from the forest, say hullo to its favourite tree and lick its chops in anticipation of a McBandhavgarh Spotted Meal Deal. The scenery was pretty good with rocky hills and well forested gullies. There were high numbers of game animals. After breakfast at the Tiger Thingy Camp Mayette and I went walking along the nearby river when we caught up with the Jimmies. We found lots of birds including orange-headed and Tickell’s thrushes, woolly-necked storks, woodpeckers and waterbirds as well as some friendly moo-cows. The afternoon safari was good.
A VENT Tour with David Bishop at the helm crossed paths with us. I much enjoyed a beer or three with David as we caught up on “birds were here, birds were there” and the latest critter sightings. The evening drinking party grew as Joanna Lumley, Whitney Houston and two other “girls” based in Switzerland joined us. It was loud, although rather fun and with some occasionally intelligent conversation. 23rd February 2007 The morning safari produced Indian horseshoe bats within some 2000 year old Buddhist caves. Malabar pied hornbills and a tiger were also sighted. The tiger was cornered by a fatness of elephants and most of the jeeps that operated in the park. After a quick breakfast at the lodge we returned to the park for a private tour to the Bandhavgarh Fort area. This took us past an enormous stone statue of Vishnu and up a winding path to what is India’s oldest fort. THE FORT: The fort still belongs to the Maharaja of Rewa and permission is required to visit it. However permission is available locally and no trip to Bandhavgarh is complete without making an effort to climb up to the fort. There is a footpath at a convenient place to park vehicles on the southern side of the fort in the lush jungle which surrounds its base. This point is known as Shesh Saaiya, named after a unique 35 foot (11 meters) long statue of reclining Vishnu carved around the 10th century, from whose feet the Charanganga is said to flow. As you follow the path the most remarkable sights are the 10th century rock images of the incarnations of Vishnu. A statue of Narsimhan (half man half lion) towers almost 22 feet above the grass. There is a carving of Barah Bhagwan (the boar incarnation), and a small temple enshrining a large image of Vishnu in his fish avatar. The tortoise incarnation stands unenclosed and flanked by later carvings of Ganesh, the elephant God, and other deities. The charm of this walk lies in discovering these monuments in the jungle, unspoilt and unexploited. Some of the statues lie off the main path and so it is best to take a guide. Apart from the avatars, well worth seeing are three small temples of around the 12th century. These temples are deserted but the fort is still used as a place of worship. Kabir Das, the celebrated 16th century saint, once lived and preached here. The natural ramparts of the fort give breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside. Vultures wheel around the precipice, which also attracts blue rock thrushes and crag martins. The fort has a small population of Blackbuck, which have been reintroduced and to some extent protected from Tigers in the park below by repairs to the masonry walls at the edges of the fort. Thus Bandhavgarh offers excellent game and bird viewing and a historical interest which most other parks lack. David Bishop told us that we could easily see (and smell) Theobald’s tomb bats within the gateway of the fort. Any mammal with an interesting name like that is worth a look! The notes in the text box above were more than accurate with pre-Indiana Jones fig-covered temples, gigantic stone fish and other animals and lots of forest, birds and tiger shit. One had the feeling that Harrison Ford, a tiger, and a brace of important Hindu gods could appear simultaneously around the next bend in the path. I could have spent a whole day exploring, ticking off birds and possibly adding myself to the food chain. Back to camp just in time for the afternoon safari on a day. 24th February 2007 We left Bandhavgarh for Kanha National Park. Uniquely the drive took less time than expected – five hours. We arrived at the Tuli Jungle Camp and were told by the super-efficient and cheerful management that we had been upgraded. Every time I hear this I have no idea what it means, as I don’t know what I have been upgraded to or from, and in this case I had never heard of the place. This time we hit the jackpot. Our “tents” had a walk-in rate of $US600 per night. Easily the most luxurious accommodation I have ever seen, let alone stayed in. KANHA NATIONAL PARK: Located in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha National Ppark cum Tiger Reserve extends over an area of over 1,940-sq-kms. The major feature of this region's interesting topography is a horseshoe shaped valley and the whole park area is surrounded by the spurs of the Mekal Range. The Surpan River meanders through Kanha's central grasslands that cover the extensive plateau. Steep rocky escarpments along the edges offer breathtaking views of the valley. Bamboo forests flow into Sal forests and meadows. There are herds of spotted deer to be seen with smaller herds of beautiful blackbuck. There is a very strong possibility that you will see the rare barasingha, the swamp deer. Once there were only 66 of these in Kanha, but careful conservation and management raised their population to over 300. Every park in India has different entry requirements and safari times. The PM safari in Kanha is a short one from 1600 to 1815 but our luck extended to close and stunning views of both male and female gaur and better yet, a 250 kg 11year old male tiger!! We arrived late for the jeep scrum watching this sleepy cat doing jack-shit. So ours was the last jeep in a long line. This had the advantage that when the pussy started to move in a direction that would take it behind our jeep we had the box seat. Our very relaxed and competent guide / driver, Dr Shiva, added jeep reversing to his grab-bag of skills. If he tried to turn our jeep around the other jeeps would have jumped us. Ours was then the lone jeep on one side of the predicted gap the tiger would take when it emerged from the forest to cross the road to a ginormous deer-filled meadow. Click-click-click (at least before digital that’s what you would have heard). The toilet in our luxury tent was a very nice one. It and I became very good friends during the long night.
A Wildlife, Culture An Lifestyle Experience Trip
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