Orchha Home stay

She asked us the quintessential Indian question, “Are you married?” None of us were.

She said softly, “You know, I was married at 18 and by 21 had my 3 boys”.

Our hostess

Warm food was cooked and served in the kitchen, where we sat on the floor. If the weather turned cold we would inch towards the sun for the warm spell.

Where we ate.

Friends of Orchha, Click for website, turned around this village by creating home-stays in it. Several homes have attached themselves to the project. All the homes have separate guest room (s) with a separate bathroom also for the guests. This was a memorable experience forus, a group of 3 women travelling through. 

The hosts have been very well trained by the organization. They are courteous, soft spoken, clean and - most importantly - leave you alone when you wish to. The children love to talk to us. It was a memorable experience to stay with the family for us. The children wanted to read and once a spirited girl found out I was a Maths teacher, pat came out her book and a polite but firm "teach me please". I had an evening of teaching her with a French guest watching us. At the end the lady said, "Indian methods are better than French!"

An impromptu Maths lesson

The kids were fascinating and fascinated by us. They chatted, played and loved to have us sit and read to them. They could understand a word of what we said, but they came closer. The parents kept a close watch over them, ensuring they did not get closer than we desired.

“The guests’ comfort is our top priority”, said the father.

When asked about school, the kids said, "We go, play, eat the free lunch and come back. The teachers come rarely!"

 

Trying to get us into the game!

Group leader

Outside our room...they never walked in.

"Read for me didi!"

Mesmerised!

Most of what you can do here is chill! I cycled around and was greeted warmly by all and sundry. It was good cycling through lonesome fields and chatter filled houses! Cycling around was great. Found an old man sunning himself for hours and I wondered, “How come he has not melted as yet!”

Uphill...and downhill...

You could also visit the local monuments, especially the Jahangir Mahal. Make sure that you don't take a guide, but just walk around the palace and absorb the 'life as it must have been'.

 

Jahangir mahal

Jahangir mahal

Caution!

The forts are good to go to. Quiet places, with the silence of centuries of watching humanity come and go. But the town is avoidable. Dirty and filled with eve teasers, we had a hard time.