We took a train from Agra to Jhansi, and then travelled by coach to Khajuraho about 186km from Jhansi. We stopped for lunch at Orchha, a small town about 16km from Jhansi on the Jhansi-Khajuraho road.

Dominating the skyline of Orchha are several huge forts, temples and palaces which are almost incongruous with the rest of the shanty-like town. Occupying centre place of these is the Orchha Fort Complex, located on an island on River Betwa, overlooking the town.

Walking back to the bus after lunch, I saw this scene of an elderly man praying to the sky with a cow, against the backdrop of the Orchha Fort Complex in the background. The word "Orchha" means "hidden", and to me, this image epitomises the very essence of Orchha itself - a hidden legacy of medieval India.