: In Orchha, legends of a forgotten era come alive in folklore
Once upon a time, long, long ago—that’s how any story on Orchha must start. Here, in this speck of a town in Madhya Pradesh, the present fades into the shadows as history takes over with its tales of brave kings, luxurious palace gardens and courtesans who espoused poetry. Inside the palaces and ruins that dot the landscape, listen carefully and you can hear whispers of intrigues or the hum of a temple song.
Literally meaning “hidden land” in Bundelkhandi, Orchha was a lush green stretch by the river Betwa that so captivated Bundela Rajput chieftain Rudra Pratap in the 16th century that he chose it as the new capital of Bundelkhand. Today, the vast landscape of Orchha is dry and desolate. It hasn’t rained for four years and there are fears of an impending drought. The Betwa, once a draw for river rafting amateurs who wanted to taste the rapids before graduating to more testing waters, is now little more than a stagnant pool full of boulders and filth.
Yet, weeks after the “tourist season” ended in March, the resorts are still full, roadside restaurants active and fresh steams of backpackers and family groups descend from buses every day. Most of them club Orchha with their trip to Jhansi, others take it in on their way to Khajuraho. A small percentage, however, is simply here on a “bootpacking” holiday—a weekend drive away from the madding crowd of the city.
No place offers a greater getaway from life lived on the treadmill. Despite the Coca-Cola umbrellas outside restaurants advertising “Corean” cuisine, Orchha seems to have changed little since the halcyon days of the Bundela kings. No honking cars, no traffic jams—the silence is alive with forgotten sounds of birds leaving the roost at dawn, of crickets at dusk and of local boys plunging into the river. Every place and palace in Orchha is within walking distance and often, within sight.
