There and beyond.....been there done that!

Ruddy joke!!

God is not without his share of uncanny sometimes cruel sense of humour. And considering He is far greater than the lesser mortals like us his share is considerably larger.

Bundi.

Dabhai Bavdi, Bundi.

The Bavdis of Bundi

Step into the mind boggling world of step wells. I never fancied myself to be scared of heights, but these inverted pyramids gave me a taste of vertigo. Optical illusions sweep you off the feet in this midget of a town called Bundi. Nestled in the lap of three hills with an ancient fort palace standing guardian atop one of them, this city has somehow lost its way in the passages of time. People gamble away the reality in broad daylight with bhaang assisted nonchalance. Amidst such forgotten lanes, ring out the chorus of "Hello, Hello, How are you? One pen please, Some rupees please" It is not a surprise since the only people who ever come to visit this forgotten town are tourists from faraway lands and irrespective of their nationality qualify as "angrez" due to their foreign tongue. We were "angrez" too for these naive people. A one year old toddler had hardly gained her balance and came staggering towards us on the instigation of her highly veiled mother to say "allo allo". And somewhere squeezed in between like invisible time portals are these wonderful stepwells. Once more sacred than the holiest of temples, these man made water bodies are now derelict and abused by the same community that once built and worshipped it. Tucked away behind a tiny temple or between two shops or behind a haveli, these marvellous structures are now defunct and have no use for the people but as garbage dumps. The water that it once held was used for drinking but now poses one of the greatest problems of sanitation for the local people. Flowers from puja that are not to be caste away in unholy grounds are dumped here without a second thought. Plastic bags hang unceremoniously on the beautiful cusped arches and toranas that were once adorned by fresh blossom. As a local man put it, this was once considered the abode of the apsaras and kinnarais and now they are the den of demons and feinds. Do they care...some do....some don't....but if you do...they tell you "Bavdion ke picche bavda ho gayo hai ke??!!"

cannon holes at Lucknow Residency