Friday, August 17, 2018

TRAVEL SPECIAL ...MAGICAL RUINS & MONSOON


MAGICAL RUINS & MONSOON

Mandu’s sepia-toned beauty lies in its ruinous state that glows even more under the monsoon showers

There’s something about rains that instantly re-energises you. The lush green, bright happiness hits you as you take the road to explore lesser known terrains. One such rainhappy city is Mandu in Madhya Pradhesh, the ancient fort city situated in the Malwa Plateau. Monsoon and Mandu have a deep connect as the city of ruins sees water as an integral part of design and theme. The monsoon winds here tickle and play hide-and-seek with the ravines and abandoned palaces.
This medieval city, once known as Mandavgarh, is an architectural storehouse that encompasses ancient stone walls, darwazas, tombs, mosques and a caravanserai. Strolling alongside rain clouds in Mandu is perhaps as romantic as it gets. The striking structures of this place was best described by Mughal emperor Jahangir, who wrote, “I have never known about any other existing place on earth like Mandu before, which can be so exciting in terms of its adorable climate conditions and that too in rainy seasons.” The forgotten ruins of Rewa Kund still echo the love tales of Rani Roopmati and Sultan Baz Bahadur. The kund is till date one of the finest networks of water supply built on terracotta and ceramic pipes.

RAIN & RUINS
The scenic beauty of Mandu gets magnified in the monsoon as architectural classics like Jal Mahal and Jahaz Mahal come to life with rain showers filling the adjacent waterbodies. The magic of water is unique to this place, as not many historic cities have been conceived with water as a defining element of design. One of India’s finest examples of Afghan and Turkish architectural style are the carefully crafted water channels here. Mandu also sees the presence of Persian wheels that arrived here around 13th century to draw water from the wells.
The picturesque Narmada flows down delightfully during monsoon through the Nimar plains and the classic Roopmati Pavilion set between the green plains tells a tale of the bygone glorious era. Mandu, once a powerful kingdom, still woos you with its tales of love and valour and leaves you humbled.

Ayandrali Dutta
TL 5AUG18

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