We had heard a lot of stories about Bhangarh – supposedly the most haunted place in India. It is said that a saint’s curse had caused the destruction here and people talk of having ghostly experiences. The entry is supposedly banned between sunset and sunrise. The curiosity was at its peak since we had heard about the place and we had an urge to visit Bhangarh.
We were heading in the direction of Alwar on NH11A. Smooth road helped us speed up and we covered the distance up to Talamod in no time. From here we took a turn to Pratapgarh. Surprisingly the small road was well done and smooth. We continued to ride smoothly, until after 18 km when we reached a small village. The road from here was uneven and got us intimate with the rural Rajasthan. There was plenty of mustard yellow spread around. The tall mountains beckoned us from far. Sun seemed to have been playing hide and seek. It showed up once a while, while it was foggy most of the times. The road shortened at many a places, taking us through wee settlements. At times it ran besides placid lakes while it entered a the fort walls at times. The villagers stood chit-chatting in the middle of the road causing us to halt suddenly. Flowing water got on the road at a point creating a pool, we had to cross carefully. With ups and downs, good and bad roads we finally made it to Bhangarh.
Bhangarh was a long lost world and a newly excavated site. The place was full of langur who were lovingly fed by the locals. Fort walls housed the old market, ornate temples, palaces and other structures that were the mute witness of the golden era gone by. These structures left us awestruck. It seemed to be like being in a time machine which had taken us centuries in the past, into the royal kingdom of the Maharajas of Rajasthan. These mute structures suddenly seemed to have been gifted with the power of speech. I could hear them talk to me about the glorious past, the lost grandeur and many a stories about the kings. Probably everyone who visits here has a similar experience. Probably this is what people may want to call being haunted!
Our return journey, we began with mixed thoughts about the wonderful place we just visited. Enroute we crossed over the pool of water on the road again and stopped over to visit Ajabgarh and Pratapgarh. A local eatery at Pratapgarh served burger, of course a very desi version of it. They were amazingly tasty and we got back with after a heart-full of snacking on them.
We were heading in the direction of Alwar on NH11A. Smooth road helped us speed up and we covered the distance up to Talamod in no time. From here we took a turn to Pratapgarh. Surprisingly the small road was well done and smooth. We continued to ride smoothly, until after 18 km when we reached a small village. The road from here was uneven and got us intimate with the rural Rajasthan. There was plenty of mustard yellow spread around. The tall mountains beckoned us from far. Sun seemed to have been playing hide and seek. It showed up once a while, while it was foggy most of the times. The road shortened at many a places, taking us through wee settlements. At times it ran besides placid lakes while it entered a the fort walls at times. The villagers stood chit-chatting in the middle of the road causing us to halt suddenly. Flowing water got on the road at a point creating a pool, we had to cross carefully. With ups and downs, good and bad roads we finally made it to Bhangarh.
Bhangarh was a long lost world and a newly excavated site. The place was full of langur who were lovingly fed by the locals. Fort walls housed the old market, ornate temples, palaces and other structures that were the mute witness of the golden era gone by. These structures left us awestruck. It seemed to be like being in a time machine which had taken us centuries in the past, into the royal kingdom of the Maharajas of Rajasthan. These mute structures suddenly seemed to have been gifted with the power of speech. I could hear them talk to me about the glorious past, the lost grandeur and many a stories about the kings. Probably everyone who visits here has a similar experience. Probably this is what people may want to call being haunted!
 |
| The pool of water on the road. |
No comments:
Post a Comment