Cleanliness, Hospitality, Gourmet. The three words that complete our recent vacation! And here I elaborate..
Our family of four decided to close 2019 and pull in a fresh start to the new decade in a company of a close friend and some relatives who have their abode in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. This was a relaxed trip so we had ample time in hand considering our kids are travel sick and we don’t have the liberty to move at a fast pace.
No sooner than we landed in Indore, we were awestruck by the cleanliness of the city. On the record- Indore had been the cleanest city of India for the third time in a row as of 26th Dec,2019. All you needed to do was take a panoramic view which we did clockwise then anticlockwise then again clockwise, just to be sure and be pleasantly surprised how spick and span the country was kept in this part of the globe. On our way to the hotel, we heard the ‘Chowka lagayenge’ motivational song by Shankar Mahadevan as part of the 'Indore Swachhata Abhiyan'. This was being played in every waste collection vehicle that kept ensuring any mess is immediately taken care of. The song was to be a regular treat to our ears for the coming days. A truly passionate endeavour by the municipality to lead the cleanliness survey 2020 in the country.
We stowed our luggage in the hotel room and off we went to dine with our friends at the vegetarian restaurant, ‘Guru Kripa’. To our utmost disbelief there was a patient queue outside the restaurant in the December winter evening close to 12 degrees C. There was a seating arrangement by the coal fire which the customers surrounded to keep themselves warm while they chatter and pass their time until they get seated at the dining place which was to be decided, on call by the staff. A seamless, efficient affair which would have been precarious if the city was our home town, Bangalore! Such was the paradigm shift. The 'dahi kabab', paneer platter, crispy corn starters with the ever so winter soothing lemon coriander soup were a delight. The main course offered 'dal fry', 'veg kofte', hot crispy 'tandoor naans' , the unique ‘sev ki sabzi', relished by all namkeen lovers! This was a heads up. If you’re at Indore, you need to develop this compulsive love affair where lovers cannot choose; for the love has to be with the 'Kindred Indore Spirit' that resides in ‘Sev’, a popular Indian snack consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flower paste in umpteen flavours! Thus the ‘sev’ would follow us no matter where we eat.
Our next morning was a planned trek uphill to Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread over 5 sq kms and is home to different species of birds and other wildlife. It has an ancient palace, called ‘shikarghar’ which was built by the Holkars and used as a hunting hut long back when it had a huge population of tigers, leopards and deer. Our group consisted of 3 kids and 3 adults. It was such an adventure with the adults trying to catch up with the unstoppable, running, rolling kids. And our dear friend was marvellous in matters related to children. His ability to gel with the kids and interact with them respectfully, involving them in mystery solving adventures kept everyone’s spirits high. The nature walk was breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerising with a good cardiovascular workout.
This definitely deserved a fine breakfast on our way back at the ‘Apna Sweets’ shop where we relished the famous 'poha-jalebi' combo, an eternal Indore breakfast. Lunch at relative’s home was a sumptuous feast over warm pleasantries. With a stuffed belly we slept peacefully at the 'Radisson Blue' that did keep its reputation at par with the other branches. The street food, however was a clear winner in comparison to the buffet served at the hotel.
The next day was our local visit to the much revered ‘Khajrana Ganesha Temple’ built in the 18th Century by the queen, 'Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar'. Indore airport is named after the same queen. Our love for reading took us hunting for some book shops. Alas! We didn’t find any. 'Reader’s Paradise' on Race Course Rd is the one stop book shop which we discovered later. The scrumptious ’Dal-Baati’ was ready to welcome us for lunch hosted by our friend’s aunt. The outpouring affection was soaked in lots of ghee with variants of crispy as well as soft 'batis' that kept coming out of the aunt’s magical cauldron! This was not all. We had some hot steaming rice with delicious ‘Hari mirch ki pakori waali kadhi’ which is a thick gravy based on chickpea flour containing vegetable fritters called ‘pakoras’. Apparently, the tongue kept craving for more while the stomach cried for mercy! A word of caution for all those going in for ‘Dal-baati’. Never try to quench your thirst for water soon after you have this dish. Let the system settle down before you gush water down your greasy throat.
Day 4 of our trip was a planned visit to 'Mandu' or 'Mandavgad' which is an ancient city in the present day Mandav area of the Dhar district. There is a deep gorge called ‘Kakra Khoh’ that separates Mandu from the Malwa plateau. This is located about 7 to 8 kms before we reach Mandu. It displays some excellent views in Monsoon when the waterfall is vibrant. The children enjoyed the camel ride here and tried some shots with their archery skills. Mandu was ornamented with colourful lighted trees and beautiful handcrafted chandeliers welcoming one and all to the New Year Carnival. The MP tourism had really put in their best show to make the tourist spot more attractive. We were mesmerised by the architectural marvel, the Jahaz Mahal, which literally, is shaped like a majestic ship. The well maintained lawns were impressive. A stroll through the garden sprinkled some royalty on our common souls. It left us pondering how the maharajas and queens would have lived in such massive structures and what would the ancient life be like. Ahead by centuries, we can hardly imagine the culture of those times. This followed by our visit to the massive celestial white dome called the 'Hoshang Shah’s tomb'. 'Mandu Fort' was massive and we concluded the trip with the 'Roopmati Pavilion'. This is constructed on the lofty crest of the hill, beyond the palace of 'Baz Bahadur'. 'Rani Roopmati' agreed to go to Mandu on the condition that she would live in a palace within the sight of her beloved and venerated river Narmada. And we were just in time while returning to seek the blessings of the ‘Narmada Arti’. The beauty of the place topped up with the fancy ambience left us mesmerised.
The hospitality factor of the trip moved us to our friend’s family apartment which was a comfortable stay with all furnished amenities. Morning breakfast explorations were at ‘Chappan Dukan’. The 'Johny Hot Dog' had a mix of the veg and non veg fillings inside the buns which he had christened as 'hot dogs', 'banjos' and burgers. The famous 'poha- jalebi' at the Madhuram and some 'sabudana patties' at the 'Vijay Chaat House'. This was a filling morning breakfast at a considerable low price. To top it all we had the winter special, ’kesar milk’ and ‘rabdi’ at the 'Lakshminarayan doodh wale ki puratan Dukan'. And one must say, 'Old is Gold'!
Our day was supposed to be a relaxed break with a quick visit to the local doctor as the winter cold and digestive unrest had to be attended to, for we had an evening to savour the famous street food at the ‘Sarafa Bazaar’. This is the local market that comes to life after the jewellery shops are closed for the day and the palate is all prepped to be enraptured. We began with the ‘Joshi’s famous dahi bade’ and ‘Bhutte ka khees’. I loved the ‘dahi bade’ that had the right mix of all the ingredients and soothed the taste wonderfully well, not to forget the dexterous flip of the plate and the magical way in which Mr. Joshi added all the spices. ‘Sabudana khichdi’ was enriched with peanuts, lemon, coriander, chillies and the inseparable ‘sev’. Hot, crisp ‘Aloo Tikki’ was just apt for the cold night. And what we had next was the ‘Kulfi at Nema’. One of the striking feature of the market was that every stall was very enthusiastically installed. The snack was prepared generously and ornamented attractively with a flock of customers at every stall. The entire street was vegetarian and one could never really imagine the variety there was in store. Bon appetit is the sole motto at every Indore food stall.
Thus began our pilgrimage to the holy city Ujjain. It was roughly a 2 hours comfortable drive and we were there! Soaked in the spiritual ambience, was the magnificent 'Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga’. There are temples all around the city and one can never finish visiting all in a day. We paid our homage to the ‘Ram Mandir Ghat’ at River Shipra offering some food to the fish. Silently wishing that the river could be well kept to maintain its sanctity. Our return journey was en route the ‘Jantar Mantar’ or the ‘Ved Shala’, built by 'Maharaja Jai Singh II' in the 18th Century. It was constructed with the aim of measuring local time, altitude, declination of the Sun, stars and planets and to determine eclipses. An amazing treat to ponder intellectual quest of that era. We lunched at 'Charpai- The Dhaba' on the Ujjain Indore highway. It is supposedly very well known for the vast spread of menu. However, the main 'dhaba' was closed getting prepped for New Year's eve. It was at their cafe that we ordered some 'Masala Dosas' and 'Uttapams', which did justice to the cuisine. The warmth and love awaited us at the splendid dinner hosted by auntie, our friend’s mom. ‘Dahi bade’, ‘Maa ki daal’, rice, ’bhindi veg’, ‘papads’ with ‘hot tawa rotis’. Oh! What a delight! Cannot thank enough!
And we welcomed the New Year, the New Decade, 2020! Indore had hit the ‘chowka’, the cleanest city for the fourth consecutive year! And we were heading to ‘Omkareshwar’. The highway was smooth. We had a total of 4 kids tucked at the rear seat, busy with their varied childhood games. And it was a wonderful journey all the way. The temple is situated on the 'Mandhata' or 'Shivapuri' island in the Narmada river, the shape of the island is said to be like the Hindu 'ॐ' symbol. One needs to check the timings of the temple as we had to wait for about an hour before the gates were opened for the devotees. The 'Garbhagriha' of the temple remained closed between 12:30 to 13:25 hours. You could choose to row across the river or cross the bridge to reach the temple. Lunch was in the open, under the shade of the ‘Chickoo tree’ next to the farmland with colcassia growing far and wide. Never felt so near to nature especially at the meal time.
And off we were to ‘Hanuwantiya’, one of the finest MP Tourism resorts gracefully positioned on the largest man made dams in India, the Indira Sagar on River Narmada. The wood cottages were unexpectedly comfortable. There were water rides and sports corner where age wasn’t the barrier. Good food, lots of birds, nature at its best and the evening bonfire with some dances and songs are etched into our hearts forever. We stayed overnight and returned the next day to our base location. The hot 'tandoori parathas' with delicious veggies at the ‘Jassi da dhaba’ filled us to the brim. Such a humble and scrumptious affair.
We checked into the ‘Sayaji Hotel’ to complete the last leg of our Indore trip. There are umpteen restaurants in the hotel. We chose the ‘Kebabsville’ and to name the other few were the ‘Chopstick City’, ‘Sanchi’, ‘Mediterra’, ‘Cravings’, ‘’99 Degress’, ‘Quorum’ and ‘Go Bananas’. Food was ravishing. Light music by the coal fire was a treat to the soul.
Bidding farewell to all our lovely Indore people, we returned to ‘Namma Bengaluru’ the next day with lots of fond memories and bags full of Indore packable savoury.
What a wonderfully gratifying vacation to start the year!
