There were several things that concerned us as we entered Orchha. First and foremost were all the Leprosy signs. Concerning was the one that read, “Any skin patch that is insensitive may be Leprosy – Get Examined.” And we were a little puzzled with “It is painful that Leprosy is not painful.”  The other concern was the stream of pilgrims entering Orchha from all directions. There were large, large groups of women descending on the town like locust upon juicy fields of ripe corn. They were singing, marching and carrying on and we were concerned that we wouldn’t find a room let alone the quiet one that we were hoping for. Oh well, welcome to India! We did find a room, but with the pilgrimage going on, it was anything but quiet! 

Orchha is small and for its size there are a large number of temples and palaces. There are also a large number of Sadhus or Holy Men in Orchha. They have given up everything they own and travel around to India’s Holy places seeking enlightenment and spiritual enhancement for their next life on earth. They are also quite often completely off their heads on Bhang, a derivative of marijuana, which, interestingly, is socially acceptable for Sadhus. They all seem very friendly, but we preferred to take photos while they were sleeping!!

While wandering around town seeing the sights, we couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Orchha’s temples and those of Angkor Wat. (See: July 2, 2004) The tall central columns and outlying pillars are similar in architectural design. So are the temples carvings although those at Orchha are no where near as impressive as those at Angkor Wat.