and on we went.

the architecture is inside the palace of Jhansi Fort. on the outside one of the most boring buildings I have seen- I was not even going to go inside.

but once inside the long colinades and arches, vaulted ceilings made it feel like one of the nicest spaces I have ever been in - so elegantly proportioned...just beautiful.

it was apparently the favourite residence of the Rani [forgotten her name at the moment] she was quite a girl.

Her husband was killed trying to resist the English invasion, and with only a young son as heir she was left to hold the fort [ literally!] She is reported to have ridden her horse off the ramparts- no mean feat! and escaped to gwalior fort to become the local rallying point for the Indian rebellion in the area. She was killed, dressed as a man fighting along side her soldiers against the British. oh what a gal!

later we were in a small, delightful village called Chanderi.

they still keep their tradtions of silk and brocade sari waeving alive and boy what they produce is exquisite [ sorry if I seem over the top with the superlatives but really i am being restrained we have feasted on some treats.]

these sari are like gosimer and highly desirable. We met the Master weaver Mr Prem Kohli who proudly boasted one of his saris has recently been purchsed by the Cheif minister of Rajasthan Mrs Wasundra Raja.

It was Sunday when we visited and the bazaar was mostly closed but we banged on a few doors and got to peak in the back room of a shop. The pink and silver is silk and real silver thread- when you moved it it was like water shimmering- aahhhh was all you could say.

they also make to order in real gold thread- I would lobve to see one of those!