TARAGARH FORT ICONS OF INDIA

For the fourth part of the Icons of India series, Dhruv Saxena heads west with the Hyundai Aura to an iconic fort located in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan

From modern-day engineering marvels to age-old crafts to picturesque locales, the Icons of India series has taken us far and wide in our quest to explore the country’s culture, heritage and diversity. For part four, we made our way to the land of forts and palaces to immerse ourselves in the grandeur of what is perhaps one of Rajasthan’s lesser-known forts, but certainly one of the most iconic not just in the region, but in India as well. Our companion for the roughly 450km journey to Bundi from our base in Noida was the new Hyundai Aura, one of India’s most popular compact sedans.

Around 270km of that is along the brand new Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway or NE4, which has helped reduce travel time by at least 90 minutes compared to the older route. The exit for Lalsot is where one needs to get off the expressway, mostly because the road ahead isn’t properly ready yet. Besides the convenience of driving along a world-class expressway, the feature-rich Hyundai Aura equipped with cruise control made life easier munching miles effortlessly. While the roads after exiting the expressway are good too, if you’re driving through Rajasthan via State and National Highways, try avoiding doing so after sunset to minimize the risk posed by stubborn stray cows sitting in the middle of the roads here.