Fritz

Chapter three

                         The Arrival

Next day at around 3pm we arrived at bundi railway station. The platform was rather quiet with only few people in sight. We somehow managed to keep our luggage in a taxi by the help of a coolie and meanwhile after he was done keeping our luggage, he asked jayanto to pay him but as usual jayanto was so excited that he didn't paid any heed to the coolie and jumped inside the taxi. At last I had to pay him for his service.
Finally, we arrived at our destination or rather I should say the circuit house Bungalow.
We entered into the Bungalow and again I had to pay the taxi driver as jayanto was busy in his excited mind and thoughts.
After everything was done, we gathered at the garden. There were two chairs and a small table. We settled down and jayanto started to run his eyes all over the Bungalow.
After starring at jayanto for two minutes I suddenly asked jayanto
Me- "so most people go to Jaipur, Udaipur or Chittor when they go to Rajasthan; but why did you came here."
Jayanto- " I don't know, Sarkar there's something, like a magnet or a force which always attracts me to come here."
Me(in a suspicious manner)- " is that force strange and haunting"
Jayanto- "oh no,not at all......"
He paused and again started to look around the garden.
After having starred at Jayanto for a whole minute, I couldn't help asking him, " Are you feeling well? You seem to be in low spirits today."
Jayanto quickly lost his slightly preoccupied air, gave me a boyish smile and said, " No on the contrary, I am feeling lot better. This place is truly wonderful ."
Me- " Are you sure, because I can feel that the moment you entered this Bungalow, you are acting a bit strange"
Jayanto- " No no everything is fine with me. And everytime I come here, this place seeks to give me something more strange but beautiful."
Me- " You've been here before. Didn't you know how good it was?"
Jayanto- " I know, but this place really have some attractive element."
Me- " yeah I can understand, so when did you last came here?"
Jayanto- " I told you earlier, it was thirty-one years ago. I was six then."
Me- " Hmm... I see,and yes this place is really beautiful. "
I found Bundi a very beautiful and mesmerizing place and I will not deny that, having read Tagore's poem 'The Fort of Bundi ' I certainly felt a pleasurable excitement at the prospect of actually seeing the fort myself, so I asked jayanto, " So which places are we going to visit here?" But jayanto didn't replied at first but then after two minutes pause he said, " The Bundi Fort is marvelous and a very famous tourist spot. "
Me- " Yaa,it's surely is"
Yes I agree not many people come to Bundi but that didn't mean that there was not much to see here. It could be that, from the point of view of a historian Udaipur, Jodhpur and Chittor had a lot more to offer; but simply as a beautiful place, Bundi is perfect.
However, Jayanto's insistence on Bundi did puzzle me somewhat.