A Cocktail Party in Mandu

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Roosters- Crowquill and coloured drawing inks 

The mud houses of Dhar  have this familiar sight of a cosy charpai under the shade of a tree in front of the house. These roosters were having something of a conference, firmly ensconced on the Charpai, turning suspicious beady eyes at me and my friend as we went for a pleasant morning walk to Dai ka mahal ( There is a Dai ki chhoti behen ka mahal too! :) I wish I had an entire building built just for me ) Mandu has five groups of monuments, each worth at least a day's worth of your time. We walked to what is known as the 'Sagar Talao Group of monuments' because it was closest to the hotel we were staying at. We saw the Caravan Sarai, Dai ka Mahal, Malik Mughith's mosque in the morning, since they cluster around close to each other. We stopped at a wayside tea stall to have chai and saw this cosy scene. The lady of the house was lighting up firewood to make some breakfast.  We went in the Winter so  it was a different experience. I have heard that Mandu is spectacular in the rains, so if you do plan a visit -Green Mandu in the monsoons might be a better idea. But for me, winter is just as beautiful. The country turns red, brown and yellow and the earthy mud houses with wild purple flowers blooming in the fields and ditches, truly turns into a lovely landscape.( It is sweltering during the day though!) 
Location: Mandav, Madhya Pradesh, India

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