Moving through Madhya Pradesh

We left Betla National Park for Rewa in the morning by 7:30PM with bread omelettes packed for breakfast. There was the option to go through Singrauli (365 km) or go from Robertsganj(430 km). Google Maps suggested that the Singrauli route will be a little faster. I was sceptical but I still decided to go with it and to Madhya Pradesh even though I suspected that the extra 65 km will probably be fast through Uttar Pradesh Highways.

This turned out to be worst roads we traveresed through in our entire trip. We stopped at Absolute Naansense (creative names amaze me), Renukoot for some snacks and we did not anticipate what awaited us next. As we entered the Northern Coalfields area coming closer to Singrauli which has become a hub for coal, rare earth minerals, limestone and sand mining. They were over loaded trucks moving at snail pace all around and with less than usual four-wheel traffic. No tar road can sustain this kind of load and hence there was no real road. For two hours we were in this horrendous scenario. And this is the only time we came close to an accident with trucks turning left and right without any signals or indicators. The road was littered with overturned trucks every few kilometers to an extent we were literally saying that there is another one. The mountains were cut through completely and were bare devoid of any trees. There was dust all around. It was looking like into the dystopian future (Mad Maxesque) that we see in the movies. It reminded me why tribals in Bastar are resistant to development as this will be there future if natural resources are mined. Protecting the environment and being responsible with nature should be a top priority of government and citizens. We noted an unbeaten trip high of 45°C while crossing Singrauli.

Beyond this section, there was a further closure on the highway. That forced us to take a detour through the villages. The same truck drivers guided us how to avoid the closure. We went through village after village and I must say the gram sadak yojna has clearly made a difference. Whether the houses were made of bricks and cement or not, but the road was perfect for single vehicular traffic. Google Maps also amazes me how they have all the correct mapped. We finally landed on the highway that will take us straight to Rewa and we eventually checked in to Hotel Vijay Villas.

Hotel Vijay Villas in Rewa does not have a swimming pool. Instead of verifying myself I relied upon ChatGPT to select the right hotel for me, and I went ahead with the booking. Upon reaching there was no pool disappointing the kids. ChatGPT waived off all responsibility and said the mixed reviews lead to mix up. At some point, we all need to rely upon human actions itself, just that we will not know when and end up taking the wrong decisions.

We decided to spend two nights here as this was directly the third day of heavy driving, bringing us bang centre of India from the east of India. Devasya ordered in his favorite Pao Bhaji, while Dhimahi enjoyed Rasmalai and both were happy with their chocies. Finally, Zomato was available after three long days again. Next day we went to see the Rewa fort which was closed for renovation hence we ended up going for the White Tiger Safari in peak heat.

White tiger and Rewa

All white tigers in the world currently can be traced to Mohan which was the last remaining white tiger under the protection of the Maharaja of Rewa. Mohan was treated like a Prince and had a wonderful life, much better than most Indians in 1951. He had multiple mates and eventually ensured the white tiger lineage continues in the world. Mohan was lucky where instead of being hunted he was protected unlike the rest of the white tigers and now has an illustrious legact - one random act of kindness changed his life. Now, humans don't have to wait a random act of mutation to find white tigers, i'm sure they don't care but are happy to get food without effort. There is now both a zoo and white tiger safari at Rewa. The white tiger safari was not exactly where the tiger was in completely open jungle but it was a restricted area for the cat. Still, occasionally people do not see them and I guess in a way lucky we were lucky to see the current prince. The zoo otherwise was also quite good and had good enclosures for all kinds of animals including the Indian Golden Jackal which we will encounter again later.

In the evening, we went to explore the street food of Rewa, which aims to mimic the famous Chappan Dukaan of Indore but sadly falls flat. It was disappointing.

We left for Khajuraho on 25th April, after breakfast to cover a distance of odd 180km through the Panna national park. We reached easily around 2PM and rested for a bit. I stayed at Clarks Khajuraho this time a reputed 5 star hotel. I had booked a room with a king bed and this is where again the bigger hotels and chains disappoint. In the name of an upgrade they had moved us to another room. I categorically said, that I care more about the king bed with 2 kids than an upgrade. He knew the upgraded room had a queen bed but still said it is a big bed and you should be fine. Five minutes later, after we viewed the room he provided a free extra mattress. I do not understand why the over smartness or trying to fool the customer. The customer knows what they want.

Temples of Khajuraho

We headed towards the temples around 4:30 PM and were accosted by someone along the way flagging us down. He was an unauthorised guide who would taken us for a ride to another part of the temples which would have been a waste of time. Thankfully, I already knew that we had to go to Western Group of Temples and we ditched him upon understanding the scam. At most protected monuments there are authorised guides in India. They usually are in a queue and if you need a guide you take the next one available. That ensures they are not competing for attention with tourists. Khajuraho is a place where you want to take a guide. The temples are 1000-year-old architectural marvel and a UNESCO heritage site. By the time we reached Khajuraho, we had already seen flavor of old temples of India at Narayanpal temple, Sun Temple, Jagannath temple. What stood out here was the beauty of the grounds maintained given it is a popular international tourist destination. With will and some budget India can look as good as any place in the world. The temples themselves were continuously built over 11th and 12th century and the temple complex expanded as a mark of success by each successive king of the Chandela dynasty. The temples were competing with rise of Jainism and Buddhism in India and hence were projecting a counter way of living life to enjoy and hence the erotic art along with other aspects of life. The Lakshmana temple and Kandariya Mahadev temple are truly iconic and worth understanding the philosophy. There is an operational temple as well, while others were rendered not fit for puja after various transgressions in the temple by Muslim Invaders led to decline of the kingdom and the temples.

The light and sound show was also very good and a must watch if you are there. Post the show we had dinner there and then were trying to locate the car. There was a small boy, asking us to eat at the restaurant he was promoting. I told him we had already eaten but asked him the way back to car parking. He gestured towards his restaurant again suggesting that he will help only if we eat there. My sense of direction prevailed and we didn't really need help, it was more of a casual ask. I just want to highlight that helping and guiding a tourist is a pretty basic ask. Linking it to a financial incentive just displays a local culture with a propensity towards money, perhaps developed due to overtourism.

Before I sign out of Khajuraho I want to mention the Sarv Dharma temple at Khajuraho which was built during the British rule to please the British Government. The temple has there domes to signify Sikh, Muslim and Hindu places of worshp. The insides of the temple look markedly like a Church. It sticks out but I guess the times had required it to be constructed.

Another incident at hotel was where a corporate party was playing loud music near the swimming pool at 11PM in the night. The reception acted helpless until Shreya phycially went and told them either they will get the music reduced or she will ask the party people themselves. Ideally, the hotel should simply manage their parties better. At a minimum a hotel guest want a night of sound sleep. So, overall Clarks Khajuraho left us unhappy with their hospitality and service.

Raneh falls

Raneh falls is a waterfall over the second largest canyon in India. Of course, there was to be no or less water. I took the good decision of still visiting the place. It was extremely hot but the canyon was beautiful without water. There were rocks of five colours mesmerising the viewer. The depth of the gorge is around 60 ft which during monsoons fill up with water and sometimes overflows. The receptionist at Clark had recommended not to go, but I'm glad we went.

After Raneh falls, we left for Orchha at distance of around 180 km away.

Orccha

Orccha, Jhansi and Gwalior (along with Datiya occasionaly) are typically covered together. We had no time to all the places and I felt bad about skipping Jhansi. Jhansi, associated with Rani Laxmibai is the first name that comes up when India first war of indepdence is discussed. I would have loved to pay tribute and understand the local history a bit more. We stayed at MP Tourisms Betwa Retreat hotel (another government hotel). I chose this because if its good location. There was the MPT Sheesh Mahal hotel as well, maybe we could have selected that in hindsight as Orchha is a small town and everything is in just a few kilometers anyway.

I don't want to spend time talking a lot about the Palaces of Orchha as that is well documented. What stood out was the act of diplomacy to please Prince Jahangir (future king) by the kings of Orchha to ensure a good relationship with the Mughal Kingdom. Naming the palace for a king that visited only once helped solidify the friendship without any material loss.

Raja Ram temple

Orchha is the only place in India where Rama is celebrated and revered as a king not as a god. The idol of Rama was brought here by the queen who was a Rama devotee from Ayodhya itself. The king seeing here devotion had a new temple made in Ramas honour and had it made such that the Queen can view the idol placed in the temple far away directly from the window in her room. The 8PM aarti at Raja Ram temple also had a VIP ticket for Rs 200 which I obtained for easy access. While I can sense the devotion of people around me I somehow feel empty after reaching in front of God directly. Further, the story goes that Raja Rama while he rules from Orchha likes sleeping back in Ayodhya and later in the Hanuman carries him back there for a night cap and bring him back next morning to continue his court. The stories and myths we encounter in India continue to amaze me with the deep soaked devotion that people have.

Next day I was excited to go to Kuno National park. When we woke, we went for a boat ride to view the cenotaphs in Orchha to commemorate the kings and had a good view of them through a boat ride. Following which we left Kuno.

Roads of Madhya Pradesh were my least favorite so far and also continued to be true till the end of the trip. We crossed Shivpuri, part of Guna constituency of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of communication as of 2026. As we crossed Shivpuri there were convoys of vehicles and a lot of crowd. Eventually, we saw the posters of Jyotiraditya Scindia and figured out there is a political rally. We cross it without an incident and moved towards Kuno National Park. We had no hotel booking and as we entered the area I saw Jungle Resort Kuno and we simply stopped the car and took accommodation there.

Use Onion to beat the heat

I figured out the vendor who can take us for a safari and I wanted to do the morning safari first so we figure we can relax. I read the news where Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed that he does not use AC anywhere and simply carries an onion in his pocket to beat the heat along with a scarf. At 45°C already and expected to touch 50+°C in Chambal - one of the hottest regions in India with severe water shortage, the solution provided by a minister it keep an onion in the pocket and carry on. I drove through this region in an AC car, where the AC had a hard time keeping the car cool. I do not feel AC is a privilege but good traveling and working conditions should be a right to everyone, and I refuse to feel bad for having an AC in my car (I don't have one at home because I live in Bangalore). Instead the so called leaders of the country, perhaps knowing already that it cannot be done, propoagate mindless advice to the poor and uneducated giving them hope that they will not die of heatstroke if they carry onions in their pockets. They have no ambition and aspiration for the future of the country and infact by such statements I feel that they have given up already on the future of the country. People die of heatstroke in India every year. Most deaths would not accounted under heatstroke for any such statistics, so trying to look that up is meaningless. People in India continue to get up, work and live their lives in unimaginable conditions with no scope of improvement. The Ministers themselves falsely claim they do not use AC which is an obvious and blatant lie peddled to the poor and more important constituents who elected them to represent their problems. The only solution they have is an onion in the pocket.

Kuno National Park

Next morning, Tuesday 28th of April, all ready by 5:30AM, we set out for the morning safari in a modified Bolero. After the calm and easy safari at Betla National Park, we were excited to see more interesting wild life and specifically the big cats. We entered through the Tiktoli gate and we had 3 hours ahead to explore the routes! There was a driver and guide and the guide was knowledgable about possible birds we would explore. He pointed out a highlight the Golden Oriole which migrates from Central Asia to India. The jungle is beautiful with tall wild grass akin the Savannah making it the second home for Cheetahs. While the guide and the driver tried hard we did not see any big cats (Cheetah, Leopards or the rare Tiger). After 3 hours of bumpy ride we can back to the hotel and slept. I asked the Safari vendor to plan for another safari in the evening to try our luck again. We left again at 3:30PM with the same driver and guide through the Tiktoli gate again. We explored all the water holes and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. The driver and guide were also disappointed at the end when all their effort also did not yield the result of viewing the elusive cats.

I decided to extend the trip to try again, but the next day being a Wednesday the National park was closed. After 7 hours of safari, we deserved the day off and took Wednesday as the rest day and decided to a morning safari on Thursday morning but this time through the Ahera gate.

I noticed that we had a flat tyre, I was initially a bit disappointed with Michelin but realised that we were struggling with leaking air for a few days and it is because of the Michelin that the air leak was so minimal that pumping it up had kept the tyre going. I called Mr Rameshwar Gurjar, the vendor who had arranged safari for us to tell me of a good mechanic who fix the puncture properly. This is where India shines - He said he will come with me to get it fixed properly. I asked him to just direct me but he casually said -

Humko kya hi kaam hai

What work do I have.

and he kindly told me where to come with the car (I filled up air in the punctured tyre to drive). On the Michelin front, the mechanism had a hard time taking out the nail and patched it up properly and we did not have a problem thereon. There I also realised, when people addressed him as "Sarpanchji", that he was the elected head of the village and an important figure. He certainly had other work to do, but he kindly came over as a part of hospitality. While chatting there I asked him the ongoing rate for land for sale in the area and he asked me to come over and he will show me some parcels for land for sale. I took him up on the offer and we planned to meet in the evening when the sun goes down.

In the evening, I went to meet Rameshwarji again and he should me a parcel of land with the rate of around INR 20 Lakhs per Bigha - which I felt is on the higher side for the area. He should me another land a bit interior at around INR 14 Lakhs per Bigha. The second rate was more inline of expectation but still a bit higher. I'm sure if I really wanted to buy, it would have to negotiated well.

He offered me tea at his home. I'm not fond of tea but I end up taking it socially as this is a norm in India. When I refuse tea, people assume its because I don't want to drink tea with them. With the cup of tea on the side, I was more interested in the conversation. In a few minutes, the milk skin came up and again as a part of hospitality Rameshwarji literally dripped his pinky finger in my tea to remove it. I was appalled, but I didn't want to highlight this hygiene faux pas. I quickly drank the tea to avoid any more confusion, and thankfully nothing happened to me. This was a bit of the cultural exchange that did not go well for me. Anyways, he sought my opinion on how he should be constructing a home stay for tourists and I was happy to share my views from a traveller perspective. I asked him to send the car at 5AM next morning as the Ahera gate was further away, he confirmed. FYI, the safari from from Ahera also costs more since the entry is much further.

Next morning, while we were ready by 5AM, the safari jeep came only at 5:25AM. It took us more than an hour to reach the Ahera gate and while the gates open at 6AM we only entered at 6:40AM way past the entry time. We met a jeep which entered from Ahera right on time and had seen a leopard at the first water hole itself but it had probably moved by the time we came. That was our only chance to see a big cat and we lost it because of the delay, not from our side. Again, the driver took us to all the new (and even restricted by bamboo) routes but we did not see what we set out to see. However, we did see the Golden Jackal, the same one we had learnt to recognise at the Rewa zoo.

This time I had a learning moment and the teacher was my daughter Dhimahi. She scolded me for being disappointed and said that what would really happen even if we do see a Cheetah - you can't touch it, you can't play with it, you can just see it. She highlighted that we have spent enough time on the Safari and we should be happy about the time we spent in the Jungle. I could not agree more. I'm happy to learn from my children and proud that they can teach me when I'm wrong.

We headed to Kota once we checked out after this third and final safari.