Places to visit nearby destination - Chitrakoot
Govindgarh
Situated 19 km from Rewa, Govindgarh is famous for its
scenic beauty and ripe mangoes. The area around Govindgarh
was once the natural habitat of the rare white tiger, which,
unfortunately, has become extinct by now. (The last white
tiger was sighted here in 1951.) The Govindgarh Palace on
the banks of a huge lake houses the personal museum of the
Maharajah of Rewa.
Kalinjara Fort and Neelkanth Temple
 Kalinjara Fort, 50 kilometres south-west of Chitrakoot,
is one of the hallowed places that find mention in the Puranas
and Mahabharata. /”The gradual acclivity, the abrupt ascent,
and stupendous fortifications of Kalinjara, towering 900
feet above the plains, present a scene grand, majestic and
sublime,/” wrote Captain William Pagson, of the Bengal Army,
in 1835. Perhaps the physical immensity of the Fort has
remained unchanged. It was in the reign of the Chandela
dynasty in the 10th and 11th centuries that the fort finds
increasing mention and importance. In the early 10th century,
the Chandela King, Yasovarman, on ascending the throne,
was given the title of /’Kalinjaradipati/’, or Lord of Kalinjara.
The steep trek that leads to the fort gives credence to
the theory that no enemy ever stormed this Chandela bastion,
and hence it had to captured only through treachery or a
long siege. The footpaths are neatly laid out, marked by
whitewashed stones. Most of the ancient buildings are in
ruins and only three buildings stand in different stages
of decay. There is also a museum inside the Palace displaying
two millennia of recorded history. The sculptures are mostly
of the Chandela era, the treatment by chisel similar to
that of Khajuraho temples. After passing through the rows
of defensive walls of the Kalinjara Fort, one arrives at
the famous Neelkanth temple. The main sanctum of the temple
is inside a cave. The rock face on either side of the temple
has exquisitely carved panels. Another flight of steps leads
you through the third gate, after which you come out into
the open, a large undulating hilltop.
Maihar
 This little town, which gave Indian classical music the
Maihar Gharana, is situated at a distance of 40 km from
Satna. Maihar is home to one of the greatest exponents of
Hindustani classical music, Ustad Allauddin Khan. The town
is also famous for the hilltop temple dedicated to Goddess
Sharada. |
