20201226 Footloose in Mesmerising India – An evening in Mandu
The year 2020 was finally running out of time. Despite all the madness, the 6-7 months of being home bound, allowed me to catch up with friends & family more regularly, learn bridge, became an expert in technology using Skype & Zoom proficiently (!) and most importantly build a regular health routine.
Ashima, my wife, was shifting out of Indore, having been posted there for 6 years and wanted to go trekking with friends Sadhana, Jaya & Udayan Natu into the hills of Mandu. I joined them in Indore on 26th Dec and we drove down to Mandu that evening. This little fort town is an Architectural marvel encompassing history of over 1500 years. It has monuments scattered all over the landscape and stories of love, valour and treachery are kept alive by the local residents, historians and research programs led by the Natu Foundation.
Our local host Udayan & his family and architect colleagues had organised a pizza dinner. We saw a documentary “Dastan-e-Mandu”, chronicling the town’s history and then gathered around the self designed wood fired pizza oven.
Winter had set in, and the air was crispy cool to the skin. However, the wine & single malts and the exceptional hospitality kept us warm. The wood fire lit up the evening and with the crackling of firewood, cracking of inebriated jokes and wood smoke, we relived the history of Mandu. Stories about the treachery that led to the fall of Paramara dynasty and the romance of Roopmati & Baz Bahadur made it a memorable evening.
Next day we were scheduled to hike up to Budhi Mandav – the local name for ”Ancient Mandu”. Here lay the untouched ruins of Temples, built by the Hindu rulers probably from the 8th to 11th century AD (*)
With a couple of local tribals or “Bhils” as our escorts, this promised to be a thrilling expedition. Reluctantly, we wound up a most enjoyable evening, so that we could start early, and start sober!
(*) Read my blog # 20201227 where we clambered up a rocky, dusty and non-existent path to the hilltop of Budhi Mandav, for an awe inspiring exploration of a site, where the Parmara rulers came to take blessings of the Gods before going off the battle, as per local folklore.
