Postcards from abroad
Khajuraho - another UNESCO site - is famed for its ‘erotics’ (sexually explicit sculptures). Built in the tenth to twelth centuries, the temples were abandoned or destroyed soon after they were built because of waves of Afghan invaders. They fell into disuse and were covered in jungle by the sixteenth century where they remained until… Continue reading Khajuraho: this post should probably have at least a parental guidance rating
Chanderi is best known for its saris - extremely expensive hand-woven raw silk with gold thread borders and complex patterns interspersed in the fabric. A ‘cheaper’ version is made using silk and cotton - but no less labour intensive. Of course I was keen to see weaving and we expected to be walking around a… Continue reading Chanderi – full of surprises
I am afraid that we have been bombarding you with monuments - and you haven’t seen any from Orchha - of which there were many - and today’s stop in Chanderi. So time for some other stuff! Three nights ago we stayed in the most expensive hotel we’ve ever stayed in - the Usha Kiran… Continue reading Two hotels and a temple
We are delighted to be in Orchha, a small village with fifty-two monuments in varying states - some restored and many decaying. We spent much of the day exploring some of them and have a million photos, but we decided to show you some of the magnificent artwork and other sights in some of those… Continue reading Orchha – the ‘hidden’ place
We stopped en route from Gwalior to Orchha at an incredible Rajput palace perched above the small town built in the indo-Islamic style. The journey to the palace involved a driving up steep single-lane road through the shops and houses, avoiding the open drain on one side and the cows, trucks and motorbikes coming down… Continue reading The unused seventeenth-century palace in Datia