I took an autorikshaw to Purana Mahal. Autorikshaw went moving through narrow roads lined with sweet stalls, fruit and vegetable market and others. I wondered where was I heading ... and there was this withering yet majestic palace standing high on rock. Datia Mahal, Satkhanda Palace, Purana Mahal, Old Palace ... all mean the same ... Bir Singh Palace, a seven storied palace built by Bundela Raja Bir Singh Deo as a symbol of friendship between him and Jahangir, a mughal. Though a beautiful palace nobody lived here as it was considered unlucky.
This uncared palace still holds its beauty covered under dust and cobwebs. Built of only stone and bricks, no cement or iron, this palace is finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and is also considered a jewel of Bundelas. The interconnecting walkways are in the shape of Swastika, a Hindu religious symbol. The ceilings and walls of the upper floors have beautiful murals. The vegetable and natural dye murals have survived the forces of nature- the birds, elephants and flowering trees represent Rajputana art. One of the interesting paintings is symbolic of the friendship between Vir Singh and Jahangir. Though the palace was built for welcoming Jahangir he never visited this palace. It was then left alone and then forgotten. Though the palace is seven storied, two of them are not accessible to the tourists.
The town of Datia is a district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh and borders with Uttar Pradesh. I took a bus from Jhansi to Datia (34KM) and got off at Peetambara Devi Temple, a Shaktipeetha of Baglamukhi Devi. Datia is an ancient town mentioned as Daityavakra in Hindu Epic Mahabharatha. Vankhandeshwar temple in this same complex is from Mahabharatha time it seems. It is a pilgrim center too with Dhumawati Mai and Gopeshwar temples in the same complex. It was little strange to learn that married and young women were not allowed near the Dhumawati Mai temple!!
Pics: Mural on ceiling, Mural on the wall with Bir Singh Deo and Jahangir riding elephants, Beautiful carving underside of the dome, Parapet wall.
Sonagir is a jain pilgrim center 15KM from Datia. Sonagir means golden hill on which there are hundreds of temples belonging to Digambar sect of Jains. I took a bus from Datia which dropped me on the main road from where I took a shared van to the village. Unfortunately visitors are not allowed to climb the hill in the afternoon due to scorching sun. I couldn't see all those temples. I could see only few from the base of the hill. It must be a great sight to see all the white marble temples from the summit.
It was more of a tiring day running around under the hot sun. More tiring was a cheating autorikshaw driver and a long fight over the fare which was resolved by a Datia traffic police :) Whatever, travel adds spice to life- sometimes too much :) Well, from Sonagir I took a train to Jhansi then a shared transport to Orchha where I was staying for the day.
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The Mahal reminds me of the mahal in the movie Bhul Bhulaiya. Lovely murals!!
ReplyDeleteYou mean Chomu Palace?! This is very ghostly place :)
DeleteInteresting post on less travelled destinations.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/02/welcome-to-benares.html
Hmmm yes, it was interesting :)
DeleteWonderful post and photos, Kusum, as always! And, as always, I learn something I didn't know before! Thanks for sharing your world with us! Have a lovely week!
ReplyDeleteSylvia, glad you like the post. You are always kind :)
Deleteanother interesting destination. one could live an entire life visiting the wondrous temples and ruins and palaces of india and would not even finish.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Photo Chache! There are innumerable ancient and medieval structures one could visit everyday in India :)
DeleteGreat tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes it was good!
DeleteWhat a great tour, thanks for sharing your trip! Wishing you a happy day and week ahead!
ReplyDeleteThank Eileen!
DeleteHow sad the palace was never lived in and has no memories within its walls.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the palace was built for one visit of a mughal who never visited thinking that he may have to return the favor!
DeleteGreat pics and info about the place. Hats off to you for traveling alone!
ReplyDeleteThank you Indrani. Addiction makes you do things, and I travel alone :)
DeleteSuch an impressive looking building. Does have a semblance to Rajasthani architecture, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThanks Divya! Yeah, Bundelas were Rajputs and their architecture is similar to Rajasthani architecture.
DeleteAnother fascinating post! So much to explore, so little time...
ReplyDeleteYeah, you are right Lady Fi, so much to cover in so little time!
DeleteI love the murals and of course the buildings are incredible too! It must be wonderful to be able to travel all over and do your photography!
ReplyDeleteJackie, yes it is very nice experience to travel around! Thanks for dropping by ...
Deletesuch beauty through design and age
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma, yes, beauty retained through age!
DeleteOoo nothing about Jhansi... I am sure you missed a lot...
ReplyDeleteYes, I was in Jhansi twice but, only to catch buses to other places. Missed out the beautiful fort of Jhansi ki Rani.
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