Bhedaghat, Jablapur, M.P
26 February 2022

“Dear God! how beauty varies in nature and art. In a woman the flesh must be like marble; in a statue the marble must be like flesh.”

Victor Hugo

COVID-19 and preceeding year has been so stressful in such varied ways that I literally stopped looking at my blog. Time to dust things off, literally and metaphorically, in 2022! Remember how I raved about Marbles of India? No! I am not talking about the crazy crackpots of the country, but more about the nature and its wonderwall. Well, I ticked one off from the bucket list finally! Jabalpur was on my list ever since my first boss came back with a souvenir made of marble. I might have made the presentation for her conference, but it was exquisite carving of the jwellery piece that captured my fancy. I am 100% sure that I will never share the same level of enthusiasm for mountains and those views that people get so emotional about. But the fact that Bhedaghat leaped out of the pages of my favourite fantasy novel, well you can not take that away from me! 

“The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.”

Michelangelo

There are two Grand canyon contenders in India – Gandikota in Andhra Pradesh and Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh. The marking difference between the two is all about the basic composition: while the rocks of Gandikota are made of sandstone, Bhedaghat showcases the cool beauty of marble in differenet colours, textures, compositions and imagiantive forms. From sky blue to pink and golden guess to the stark white beauties, each marble structure keeps reinforcing the scene of Marble arch caves from Game of Thrones.

Benjamin Franklin was right when he said: “Write injuries in dust, benefits in marble.” There’s an art to storytelling. As bloggers and travel enthusiast, we all think that we have nailed it down. Or at least are trying to. I am pretty sure, while you are winding down my rambling, you will see the lack of coherency and quite a few grammatical errors. But take a boat ride through Bhedaghat, and you will learn what true art of storytelling looks like. While the marble rocks literally makes you gasp out in wonder with its majestic contrast against the waters of Narmada, it’s the fanciful rhymes of the boat rowers against the mellow sound of oars splashing through the water that forces you to exert grey cells that have gone inert in the last 2 years to visualise and reimagine. It’s literally like playing a game of imagining what’s the shape of the cloud!

Pro Tip:

• The best season to witness Bedaghat in full glory is post-October, once the heavy lashes of rain and flooding of Narmada has diminished.
• Moonlight journey through the Marble rocks is a legit thing! But planning to coincide your trip with the full moon is ticky, but doable.
• There are two boating options – shared with a crowd of fanatics who will chatter and block your view. And considering COVID, not a safe one either. You can also opt for a solo trip for 800 INR. Benefit in this case beyond the obvious is that they take you for an extra “mile” inside the canyon with much more beautiful formations.

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Madhya Pradesh