The Hindu Business Line : Stone house in the forest

The first things you notice about your swank cottage are lovely black-and-white portraits of creatures of the jungle… the langur staring at you out of the rough stone-finish wall, spotted deer, kingfisher, the majestic tiger, the jungle cat, and the owl.

The sprawling Pashan Garh Lodge of Taj Safaris, about 45 km from Khajuraho, has 12 stone cottages built on top of a small hill and inspired by the dry-packed stone houses of the Panna region. ‘Pashan garh’ means ‘stone house’, and this lodge is a mere 12 km from the entrance to the Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

All the 12 cottages are located along a stream and are surrounded by 190 acres of a private jungle; so if you keep vigil and are lucky, you might sight a wild animal walking by for a sip of water! But what is guaranteed is sighting of a plethora of birds dancing around the branches of the huge trees that surround your cottage on all sides. The cottage interior is spacious and, following the concept of a traditional haveli, opens into a huge courtyard where you have your private gazebo and a watchtower from which you can keep a vigil for the leopard, hyena or jackal!

If you fail to sight any of these from your cottage, don’t lose heart as the morning and afternoon safaris, which come with your package, will offer plenty of scope to sight animals and birds. While the Bandhavgarh National Park is your best bet for sighting the majestic tiger, Panna offers bird lovers the world, as there are over 200 bird species here, including the Honey Buzzard and the Blossom-headed parakeet.

The cottage interior is done up beautifully; the colour scheme is soothing and yet vibrant, with chocolate, brown and beige predominating, and block-printed black silks add a special touch. The stone-finish adds its own charm and the generous use of glass panes and huge glass windows allows a lot of natural light. Cotton lace chandeliers, lovely lamp fittings and leather-finished desktops and holders — for two walking sticks and umbrellas, batteries, mosquito repellents, hair drier and so on — add an opulent touch to the place.

“This place is a forest by itself,” says Chandra Vijay Singh Hada, Naturalist at Pashan Garh. “There is a lake inside the property where you can sight chinkaras, cheetal or a sloth bear that regularly visits the property... it’s a nocturnal animal, and only this morning we saw its marks. There… these are the droppings of the neelgai or blue bull,” he adds, threatening to walk us through the entire property.

There is a lone male tiger left in Panna and it has not been sighted for months. But Hada looks at the brighter side, “Tigers are only one part of the wildlife experience; this forest allows you to focus on many other animals and birds because the tiger is not hogging your attention. For instance, look at this tendu tree, the leaf of which is used to roll beedis. Do you know, in Madhya Pradesh the income generated from the tendu plant is more than that generated from tourism?”

He adds that not only does the Panna Park have 55 km of the Ken River passing through and housing many crocodiles, but “it also has caves with rock paintings.”

Stopping at a termite mound, as we wearily trudge over huge, dry teak leaves and try to save ourselves from thorny bushes, Hada says, “Bears love to eat termites; they put their mouth inside the hole and suck out the termites and the sound of the suction is so loud that it can be heard 100 metres away. There are lots of snakes here too.”

Suddenly, in the midst of the dry, rugged terrain there is a burst of colour — the trees that I had seen while driving from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh, a distance of 240 km. “This is the red silk cotton tree, and this cotton is used in stuffing pillows and razais,” says Hada. The cottages have no telephones but there is a bell kept in each and you ring it to summon your Jeeves… or personal butler. When it is time for dinner, I suddenly recall Hada saying he has seen Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, cobra and the common krait on the property and ring for my butler to escort me to dinner.

And that is an experience to cherish. The Pashan Garh team has pulled out all stops to create a village-like setting, complete with a fire, and the area is lined by bullock carts, but of the luxury variety. Each one is done up with soft gaddis, lots of cushions and a couple of lanterns to provide soft lighting. Ideal for honeymooners, one sighs, before opting to eat on an ordinary table!

How to get there:

Khajuraho is well connected by both rail and air, and several airlines operate regular flights. From Khajurao, Pashan Garh is about 45 km by road.

More Stories on : Domestic Travel | Wildlife | Rasheeda Bhagat

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