Bandrabhan

My favourite place to visit in Hoshangabad is Bandrabhan. It is the confluence of  Narmada and Tawa rivers. From Hoshangabad twenty of us would go there on a sketching trip and have a gala time drawing, sketching or just plain wool-gathering. I couldn't believe such a gem existed when I first set my eyes on the place. You need to walk a little way downhill to get there and cross a vast expanse of sand that leads into the river and the wind roars past you, billowing your clothes and hair. Try turning and walking backwards and suddenly everything is calm and quiet just as it was noisy and chaotic a few moments ago! ( I hope nobody was watching me. I must look eccentric doing that!)

Across the river there is a temple with a structure in the shape of a trishool glinting in the sunlight, surrounded by shrubs and bushes. It looks so tranquil in the evening.

 Once, when we went in the monsoons, our feet sank down in the sand and slowed us down as it stuck to our footwear. This was the time when we saw pelicans there. Large birds with a pinkish tinge, floating calmly on the river. The rains really transform this place. It is beautiful but I prefer it in the hot summer months when the arid landscape gives a sense of scale and loneliness.

The best time of the day to be there is the late evening on a full moon night. When it gets dark, it looks like a monochrome painting. The distant hills have a washed look as they slowly blend with the sky.Likewise with the river as it blends with the land. As the sky darkens, the moon slowly comes to its own as it lights the landscape with a cool glow.