Wish with all your heart. Wish that one day you will go to Bundi. And wish that when that day dawns, the ingredients are just right. That the day you do go to Bundi is a day in the month of sawan, blessed by an animated south-west monsoon. That there is a heavy downpour for a couple of hours in the morning after which the weather relents, but not much, just a wee bit, so that it drizzles on and off all day. The clouds drift from one mountain-top-lookout-tower to the next, often reveal­ing blues you have never imagined. The breeze stirring the skies occasionally comes down to ruffle your hair, clouds roll down the mountainside and wrap all manner of things in a moist blanket, the sun is present but only just to make it day and is content to let the clouds hold sway. When you have these ingredients in place, Bundi is a few notches better than perfect. Then your options are wide open. You can amble along the lazy lanes and bazaars, going from havelis to baoris to mosques. Or visit temples and figure out why Bundi was also called ‘Chotta Kashi’. Hire a bicycle or a mobike or a car and cruise across Bundi, often coming across people packed in Sumos or tractors, cooking, bathing and playing in the numerous tanks, lakes, streams and waterfalls. Or spend the day in the royal enclave ruminating on love, romance, wor­ship, architecture and military strate­gy. Look through the palace jharokhas and get enchanted by the orange-red-yellow brush strokes in the evening sky. Or just sit at a rooftop restaurant, sipping the ambience. Follow with your eyes the monkeys and langurs, travelling from the palace on their highways of walls and roofs, spread across houses and hotels, to steal clothes, find food, pick nits and play playfully. In the evening hike up to the fort to gaze at the tiny drop that is Bundi hiding in the fold of a green leaf that is the Aravallis.

ORIENTATION

The ruins of Taragarh Fort are to the north of Bundi, perched on a hill. Below, on the mountain slope, is the Garh Palace, an ensemble of mahals. Further down and towards the south-west is the Nawal Sagar Lake, with Moti Mahal and havelis along its north and east banks. Outside the Garh Palace, to its south, is Nahar ka Chotta, the bazaar for tourists’ daily needs — Internet, ISD, STD, car/ bike hire, beverages — and it leads into the old walled town. The bus stand and the tourist office are to the south. Autos are available and the minimum fare of Rs 20 will cover any two points within the town. For visiting places just outside or beyond the town, taxis are best arranged by your hotel. Taxis are available for Rs 5 per km for a minimum of Rs 1,100 per day or Rs 700 for half a day.