Several boats roam the Narmada at this time and it is possible to see the Hoshangabad Fort better from the middle of the 500 meter water expanse. This 15th century fort believed to have a tribal origin was rebuilt by Hoshang Shah Gori of Mandu and is now in a bad shape with almost nothing left of its grandeur. Further upstream at Kori Ghat a boy awaits the next ferry after his school. Women bathe and wash as the sun sets behind the ghats immersing the opposite bank of the Narmada in a golden mist. The Collector and the Superintendent of Police also do their rounds to see that all the arrangements have been done to satisfaction.
Night wears on.
Several locals come to sit on the steps to watch the Narmada move serenely through the darkness. The Kavi sammelan and kirtans and bhajans continue till late in the night. The crowds gradually ebb away to retire for a long day tomorrow. At 6 .00 in the morning majority of the town still slept. The road down from the Sarrafa Chowk that goes to the ghats was beginning to wake up.