A cycle rickshaw creaks along a dyke inside Keoladeo, and its driver stops to point out a painted stork before you have even found the water. No engines are allowed in the park, so people roll through on bicycles, on horse-drawn tongas or on foot. In town, autos weave around the moat of Lohagarh Fort.
Beyond the fort, the marble goddess of Ganga Mandir draws a steady stream of worshippers, and snack counters stack up pyaaz kachori. Summers are fiercely hot, the monsoon rains fall from July to September, and mild, dry winters bring the migrant birds. A Local Friend keeps the plan loose, so a morning with the storks can turn into an afternoon in the old lanes.
