Madya Pradesh

We are back from a fabulous six-day trip to Madya Pradesh, the most central region in India. We started out at around 2:00pm on an overnight train in a sleeper car and arrived in Umaria at 6am the next morning. I am sure many of you have heard about trains in India. There were cars on this one that were packed to the gills—masses of people pushing and shoving just to get inside before the train picked up too much speed. What’s amazing is that Indians always make space for one another in the end—here there is always room for one more. There is something poetic and beautiful about that, but with my western eyes it’s also is a bit tough to watch. We, however, had heard about this and were not feeling quite that adventurous. Also we are lucky enough to be able to afford a sleeper car, where one gets a reservation and things are a bit more orderly. On our car the upper bunks were stationary and the lower seats turn into beds. The car itself seemed to have been built in the 50s—yellowing windows, only 80% of the lights and fans working, but the fact that we had a little space and AC (it’s 95-100 during the day now) put us in the elite class.

We arrived in Bandhavgarh National Forest the following morning and that afternoon went out on a safari—in jeeps that take you deep into the forest, a magical landscape full of dark chocolate trees with lime green leaves sprouting out of dried, yellow, grass blankets. This forest, according to Lonely Planet, is the best place to see tigers in India, so we had our hopes up. But still I was shocked to come across our first tiger in less than 20 minutes. She was probably 150 feet away and not super easy to see through the brush, but it was still thrilling. She hid out and we moved on…seeing lots of graceful spotted dear, lumbering nilgai (a kind of antelope that is also prevalent on the JNU campus), bounding monkeys (a few with their 3-4 days old babies hanging on tightly underneath), and rooting wild boar, as well as a couple of jackals, sambar (a very large kind of deer), and vultures. However, on our way back we caught sight of our tiger again as she took a leisurely stroll through a small clearing.


We sat in our jeep getting rained on by the fragrant blossoms of the flowering sal tree. Yea, pretty freakin wonderful.

Our early morning safari was even more exciting, since we were able to ride atop an elephant from the road out to a densely vegetated area. Here's the elephant we later got on from a distance. And then us on top.



[Ethical sidenote: we sort of justified the elephant ride, since they seemed to treat these elephants well, in contrast to many other “domesticated” elephants we have seen here and in Thailand. Every day those who care for them bake huge fresh chapati (bread), which we happened to see being delivered in massive stacks to the elephant area the night before. But, as I said, “sort of.” Do elephants really need/like chapati?!?! I could go on and on about my concerns about what might be “ethical behaviour” for tourists traveling in India. Feel free to ask. Short answer: It’s complicated.]













When we got into the forest we saw a female tiger was lounging under a tree. It was a tremendously moving experience to see a tiger less than 20 feet away in her natural environment. She was so relaxed and happy and seemed not to even notice that we (the elephant, 4 adults and the mahout (the elephant trainer and driver) were right there!





























From Bandhavgahr we went by car to a town and major historical sight 4 hours away called Khujaraho, where between the 9th and 11th centuries over 80 Hindu (and a few Jain) temples were built. These were mostly ignored/forgotten about until the 19th century, when the sight was rediscovered. 22 still remain and continue to be restored. They are amazing architectural wonders with carved figures (many of them right out the Kama Sutra) covering every portion of every temple. They tell stories, symbolize advice on human relationships (and not just about sex), and mark important aspects of the main Hindu gods. It was amazing to see such architectural knowledge and psychological wisdom so fantastically preserved.





























From Khujaraho we went to Orchha, the sight of this enormous 17th century castle, a beautiful melding of Hindu and Muslim architecture and where a number of the rooms have hundreds of wonderfully restored murals. It’s hard to get your head around the fact that this took 22 years to build and then the king only stayed one night! The section of the palace for royal guests has been turned into a hotel, where we stayed for two nights. The low-end rooms were only $40! This part of the trip was totally relaxing as we just hung out in the palace for 24 hours, lazed about on the rooftop swing and laid on cushions in an outdoor alcove that overlooks “the kingdom” far below. Here's me in our bathroom. The next picture is of the palace itself--and that little overhang on the left is also me waving from our bathroom.






























In Orchha I also got a massage by this super strong and wonderful woman, who showed me how she puts on her sari—and how she hid the tip I gave her by tying it in the corner that gets tucked way in back! The next day when we were walking in the town, she saw me and came running out to greet me. She took me into her house, a tiny little dark room and then out to a tiny little courtyard, and introduced me to her daughter and husband. She showed me a picture of her other 3 children and told me all about them, as her daughter, who spoke very good English (impressive for this little town), translated.




We made it back late on Thursday night and have spent much of Friday and Saturday going to markets to stock up again, getting the camera fixed (long story), getting a key made (another longish story), and picking up the salwar kameez that I have had made. I now have 4, so I am set for the rest of our time here…as it heats up, these are the key for women so that they don’t just pass out! We also were invited to dinner at two different faculty homes Friday and Saturday night. Needless to say, that was lovely.

Now, Norbert has headed off again on a research trip to Bihar, sadly a rather inhospitable place. However, this is the area where a particular island that he studies in the 18th century still exists. So he is hoping to see it and perhaps even find out more about its history. We have heard that women really are not out on the streets in this area and that it’s not really a place for tourists so much. So I decided to stay home and get some of my own work done. He left this afternoon, donning a plain-colored kurta (to fit in a little bit) and a good story about how he’s really Bulgarian (not American as his passport says). Americans are thought to be rich and that might not be so good. It’s a little worrying, but our professor friends here, who have traveled in the area, say it is fine to go. They were the also the ones who recommend just to wear the kurta and tell the Bulgarian story to make things a little easier. Norbert will be there just to see the sight and then come back. It’s a seriously long train ride—27 hours—so he won’t be back until Thursday morning.

My plan is just to hang out here and work, which I have to admit I am also looking forward to.