Like many cities and villages in India, Orchha is full of holy cows, fighting bulls, altitude-loving goats, and the occasional newborn calf...
that likes to chase down tourists. Kids these days, tsh.
On one of our lazy days, we decided to see the other temple ruins.
From the river and back to the guest house, we walked about two or three kilometers under the burning sun -
dodging grasshoppers through fields of wild mint.
Until an old woman found us and started talking to us in Hindi. She shook hands with me and never let my hand go until we reached her hut.
which are sometimes decorated with colorful chalk... just like the animals. There's a cow with blue horns walking daily in front of Didi's Cafe, a pink polka-dot cow in the main thoroughfare, and a violet-spotted white goat out in the field.
But some people still have a some work to finish, and quick!
We walked up to the gates of Orchha and turned back just a few minutes before sunset.
The next day, I got a haircut for 20 rupees. It was a very bad one, but I felt lighter after I left 4 inches of my hair on the barber's chair.
We were separated from the others who had important stuff to do, and while wandering around in the market, we found Chinku again. After days of asking me if I wanted mendhi or get henna tattooed, I finally said yes. He bought the henna for me and I didn't have to pay for anything!
He introduced us to Puja and her family; and she gave me and Henri special tattoos as a gift.
My arms were still a bit wet when we rejoined the other French couples for a walk around the palace gardens to look for more temple ruins and we found quite a number with squatters living inside. We found our way to the river and had to jump over a suspiciously green creek.
At the end of the little path through the forest was the Bundelkhand Hotel, the former home of the royal family. We had some Indian chai and a little tour around the complex.
They had a really nice view of the river and the palaces, and to be honest, I was tempted to get a suite because the mattress was really good and the bathrooms, impeccably clean... but the rooms don't have TV, and I need my nightly Amazing Race marathon!
Sweet shops and marigold stands were doing well, but it was the firecracker stall that I think did the most business. One rocket was supposed to sell for 1,000 Rs each!
Radha and Pinkey, the samosa girls from the market, followed me hoping I could buy them some pataka or firecrackers, but I told them I don't approve of burning money like that. The kid in white to the right of me had the gumption to say "you no have money, you no come to India!" What a beeyatch.
It was a relief to get back to the guest house for a little party on the roof top. We bought some drinks and shared them with the boys. It was obvious that Raj/Deva was not used to drinking because he got drunk immediately and did the riverdance to Indian dance tunes.
It was not as easy to get Chinku drunk though, the boy was well trained in the streets of Jhansi.
At 9 pm, we started puja.
They prayed to Lakshmi for more money to come in, and we gave our expenses notebook for blessing, just in case. At the end of the ceremony, we were given sweets dripping with honey. Messy, very messy.
I was pulled into another ceremony at the house in front, and Henri followed me a few minutes later. It was interesting to see different castes celebrate Diwali.
When Henri and I stepped out of the other house, we were given some sparklers to light the fireworks. And what a lovely sight it was! Like tiny constellations dancing, then dying out, under our feet.
By midnight, the town was covered in mist and smoke, and lots of light.
The following day, we were invited to visit Aklesh, one of the boys at the guest house (the kid who fixed our satellite reception). He lived a kilometer from Orchha so the big boss of the guest house hired an autorickshaw to take us there for the day.
Aklesh's family has a farm so the boys picked eggplants and threw it around like baseballs. A very dangerous game, one landed on Laurianne's nose and almost broke it. I was sleeping through it all because they brought out some beds for us in the field.
They showed us the well, where Henri and Olivier jumped in with the boys.
Aklesh's mom gave us this poster of the gods for luck, and generous plates of pakora curry - and in return Henri gave her a vial of perfume.
That day, I tried to improve my skills in biking...
and chapati patting.
Aklesh's mom joined us an hour later to bake the chapati, with full makeup on. Like the Orchha boys love to say, "oooh la la!"
Chinku pounded the veggies and onions into a paste, but it was the smoke that made him want to cry. Oooh la la!
A great mid-afternoon lunch.
Before leaving, Aklesh gave us some peanuts to munch on for the walk home. Mmm-mmm!
Along the way, we found a bunch of people playing music and stick-fighting.
Henri put his arnis training to good use.
Later, we found some more dancers with sticks, and a kid from this village stole one of the peacock feathers given to me by one of the old men in Aklesh's village. (Kids are really a problem in this neck of the woods.)
And we found yet more guys with sticks at the Ram Rajah temple that evening.
But Henri really stole the show when an Indian guy took his picture without asking for permission, and a crowd of young Indian guys gathered around him, just to watch what was going on.
One boy explained the guy was a tourist, and tourists like taking pictures. You see, we've been in Orchha long enough to walk in the street and recognize the locals, so maybe we've been here long enough to have stopped being observers and start becoming part of the background.
that likes to chase down tourists. Kids these days, tsh.
I was walking once, and a cow head-butted my hip. Just your ordinary, average day, I guess.
On one of our lazy days, we decided to see the other temple ruins.
From the river and back to the guest house, we walked about two or three kilometers under the burning sun -
dodging grasshoppers through fields of wild mint.
Until an old woman found us and started talking to us in Hindi. She shook hands with me and never let my hand go until we reached her hut.
The kid turned Henri into a human amusement ride.
All work was abandoned for the day -
 |
| look at the faux fur on the seat! that's traveling in style! |
It was the day before Diwali eve and people from Ganj village were getting their houses ready for the festival with new paint, and a new cover of poo-clay on the front steps...
which are sometimes decorated with colorful chalk... just like the animals. There's a cow with blue horns walking daily in front of Didi's Cafe, a pink polka-dot cow in the main thoroughfare, and a violet-spotted white goat out in the field.
But some people still have a some work to finish, and quick!
 |
| She carries wet red clay on her head while men put rocks on top. Women mostly handle the cement here. |
We walked up to the gates of Orchha and turned back just a few minutes before sunset.
The next day, I got a haircut for 20 rupees. It was a very bad one, but I felt lighter after I left 4 inches of my hair on the barber's chair.
We were separated from the others who had important stuff to do, and while wandering around in the market, we found Chinku again. After days of asking me if I wanted mendhi or get henna tattooed, I finally said yes. He bought the henna for me and I didn't have to pay for anything!
He introduced us to Puja and her family; and she gave me and Henri special tattoos as a gift.
 |
| On my left hand, Puja wrote I love you and H.P.M - Henri, Puja, Marj... But her initial is in the heart of my husband's!!!! Hahahaha! |
My arms were still a bit wet when we rejoined the other French couples for a walk around the palace gardens to look for more temple ruins and we found quite a number with squatters living inside. We found our way to the river and had to jump over a suspiciously green creek.
At the end of the little path through the forest was the Bundelkhand Hotel, the former home of the royal family. We had some Indian chai and a little tour around the complex.
They had a really nice view of the river and the palaces, and to be honest, I was tempted to get a suite because the mattress was really good and the bathrooms, impeccably clean... but the rooms don't have TV, and I need my nightly Amazing Race marathon!
When we went back down to the real world, the shops were beginning to close, and it was only an hour before sunset.
Everybody wanted to be home in time for puja (offering ceremony) at home. We were invited to puja at the guest house so we wanted to be back early, too.
Sweet shops and marigold stands were doing well, but it was the firecracker stall that I think did the most business. One rocket was supposed to sell for 1,000 Rs each!
Radha and Pinkey, the samosa girls from the market, followed me hoping I could buy them some pataka or firecrackers, but I told them I don't approve of burning money like that. The kid in white to the right of me had the gumption to say "you no have money, you no come to India!" What a beeyatch.
It was a relief to get back to the guest house for a little party on the roof top. We bought some drinks and shared them with the boys. It was obvious that Raj/Deva was not used to drinking because he got drunk immediately and did the riverdance to Indian dance tunes.
It was not as easy to get Chinku drunk though, the boy was well trained in the streets of Jhansi.
 |
| Chinku, proud of his new shirt and pants. |
At 9 pm, we started puja.
They prayed to Lakshmi for more money to come in, and we gave our expenses notebook for blessing, just in case. At the end of the ceremony, we were given sweets dripping with honey. Messy, very messy.
I was pulled into another ceremony at the house in front, and Henri followed me a few minutes later. It was interesting to see different castes celebrate Diwali.
When Henri and I stepped out of the other house, we were given some sparklers to light the fireworks. And what a lovely sight it was! Like tiny constellations dancing, then dying out, under our feet.
By midnight, the town was covered in mist and smoke, and lots of light.
The following day, we were invited to visit Aklesh, one of the boys at the guest house (the kid who fixed our satellite reception). He lived a kilometer from Orchha so the big boss of the guest house hired an autorickshaw to take us there for the day.
Aklesh's family has a farm so the boys picked eggplants and threw it around like baseballs. A very dangerous game, one landed on Laurianne's nose and almost broke it. I was sleeping through it all because they brought out some beds for us in the field.
They showed us the well, where Henri and Olivier jumped in with the boys.
Aklesh's mom gave us this poster of the gods for luck, and generous plates of pakora curry - and in return Henri gave her a vial of perfume.
That day, I tried to improve my skills in biking...
and chapati patting.
Aklesh's mom joined us an hour later to bake the chapati, with full makeup on. Like the Orchha boys love to say, "oooh la la!"
Chinku pounded the veggies and onions into a paste, but it was the smoke that made him want to cry. Oooh la la!
A great mid-afternoon lunch.
Before leaving, Aklesh gave us some peanuts to munch on for the walk home. Mmm-mmm!
Along the way, we found a bunch of people playing music and stick-fighting.
Henri put his arnis training to good use.
Later, we found some more dancers with sticks, and a kid from this village stole one of the peacock feathers given to me by one of the old men in Aklesh's village. (Kids are really a problem in this neck of the woods.)
And we found yet more guys with sticks at the Ram Rajah temple that evening.
But Henri really stole the show when an Indian guy took his picture without asking for permission, and a crowd of young Indian guys gathered around him, just to watch what was going on.
One boy explained the guy was a tourist, and tourists like taking pictures. You see, we've been in Orchha long enough to walk in the street and recognize the locals, so maybe we've been here long enough to have stopped being observers and start becoming part of the background.
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