Chai, Chai: Travels in Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off

by Bishwanath Ghosh

And then appeared the building that made Orchha recognisable to me: only a little later did I get to know that it was called Jahangir Mahal, built by the ruler of Orchha in the honour of the reigning Mughal emperor.

Orchha in Madhya Pradesh

hundreds were pouring in and out of a cluster of temples across the Jahangir Mahal. It must have been an auspicious day, or else the locals wouldn’t have turned up in such great numbers, attired in their colourful best. The centre of action, I learnt, was the locally renowned Ramraj temple, where Lord Rama is worshipped more as a king than a god, so much so that he is honoured with a gun salute on Ram Navami. I wondered how I could have missed such a huge crowd in such a small place. Maybe

Orccha - Ram navmi Gun Saute

I threw a one-man party in a town that derives its name from inta (bricks) and rassi (rope)—the two things that used to be traded in Itarsi. Ropes are no longer made here, but the brick kilns are very much around.

Itarsi - Origin of Its name

‘Yes. And there he took ill. He was taken to the Mission Hospital. The ambulance which took him there is still parked at the hospital.’ The hospital was only a few minutes away from the hotel. Parked in its compound was the skeleton of the ambulance—a 1930s or 1940s version of the present-day SUV. Except

Itarsi Mission Hospital - Shubash chandra bose - ambulance from 1930.

I would be going to Nilambur, a small town two hours away by train. The primary purpose would not be to visit the place, but the journey itself, because the train chugged through teak plantations and green forests.

Teak plantations - Nilambur kerela

It did not take me even ten minutes to reach the Kalamandalam, which is a residential school that believes in the guru–shishya tradition and which imparts training in performing arts of Kerala such as Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Mohiniyattam and Panchavaadyam. Throughout the way, I tried imagining sights that were likely to greet me.

Kalamandalam school of arts - Shoranur