The Case of The Missing Newspaper — A 3 Day Trip to Indore & Ujjain
Madhya Pradesh is a part of India that is often skipped from India travel plans, which mainly comprise- Goa, Rajasthan, Ladakh (for the more adventure seeking), or Kerala. Despite the dense forests that inspired Rudyard Kipling to write Jungle Book, historical treasures, clean cities and impressive infrastructure, this spiritual heartland of the country deserves more love from seasoned domestic explorers.
I pulled out the newspapers and realised that there is just the English paper in the bag. Where did the Hindi paper disappear? Will it impact the Clean City’s reputation?
When I look back at my short trip, the only thing I remember, like most trips, is the objects that I lost. On this occasion, the object wasn’t that mysterious or pricey. It was a Hindi newspaper. It was right there, lying happily on my handbag, next to my backpack. There is even a nice photo of it for some eery reason. It was probably the bus to blame. The bus that arrived early. It rarely happens in Bharat. By the time I could get over the shock of it all, I was seated in my designated seat in the ‘not bad’ private bus, another thing that rarely happens. I remember the harrowing time I had while traveling to Palampur from Chandigarh long ago, where we got in the bus and there was someone else booked on the same seats and was blissfully asleep…
We tend to take our home state, hometown for granted when we grow up. I was no different. Being from mixed lineage from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, I never felt Madhya Pradesh would be any different. It was only staying outside and away from the northern parts that I got a new fascination for small town India. Towns like Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura have been buzzing for multiple reasons from the past decade- the dynamic growth of small town India due to last mile connectivity, digital India, e-tailers growing in span and volume, and even Bollywood movie settings moving from metro cities to the Bunty, Babli’s, Sonu, Bindiya, Sweety’s of Kanpur, Indore and the likes.
Ujjain was on my travel wishlist primarily for spiritual reasons. It’s an important place in terms of ancient India and its coalescence of heritage, science, religion and culture. Boasting not only of countless temples, and the Jyotirling piligrimage, Mahakaal Temple, it is also claimed to be/known for being the ancient prime meridian of the world, an intersection point of the Tropic of Cancer and erstwhile Prime Meridian(present one being in Greenwich). It is said to be a place with, in simple terms, positive vibrations. The famous Mahakal Temple is known as ‘navel of the Earth’ as well.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-musafir-stories-india-travel-podcast/indore-and-ujjain-with-tushar-shukla
And Indore was also on my wishlist, for being the cleanest city, a fast growing infrastructure, and the most of all, a thriving street food scene!
My very short trip consisted a 3 day itinerary — Indore, Ujjain and Omkareshwar.
My list of things to do wasn’t very ambitious- get a feel of ‘North India/small town’, have some amazing street food, stay at an Air BnB, and come back with some snacks and warm memories!
I reached Indore around 11 AM and proceeded to my Airbnb in a local auto. While talking to the auto driver, Gangadin about the city and how far the tourist spots are from my place of stay, I planned the day’s outings in his auto. Gangadin looked a bit like Kailash Kher, the singer, and from nowhere, the songs of Kailash Kher started playing in my mind. After a bit of freshening up at the beautiful Airbnb which was couple of comfortable rooms on the first floor of an architect’s office, I headed out for local sightseeing in Indore City.
I started with a Ganesh Temple, Khajrana Ganesh Ji, which was a clean and pretty temple complex surrounded by a small garden with plenty of walking area and some sweets shops, where the shopkeepers call out to you to buy prasad and flowers for the temple in exchange of using the front of their shop as a temporary parking for your vehicle, which is typical of North Indian small towns.
After this short halt, I proceeded to my most anticipated attraction — the Chhappan Dukaan, or 56 Shops, which is a celebrated street food market of the city. I had seen the place many a times in food vlogs but seeing it in all the buzz and noise was a different experience.
I tried some of the famous stalls/shops there, like Egg Benjo, a small Vada Pav kind of take on the veg patty, Kulfi Faluda, Bhutte ki Kees, an innovatively made light snack with steamed and minced corn, and Khopra Kachori, a fried kachori/patty made with a unique filling of coconut and spices.
I made sure to not have too much food so most of my choices were light snacks. We then proceeded to some of the other local spots.
Gandhi Hall
An Indo-Gothic style building that will remind you of Lucknow Charbagh/Purani Delhi or Kanpur Railway Station building and similar structures. I happened to hear about this place through a publishers page who participated in a book festival, and I immediately wanted to visit there. There was a handicraft fair going on(with Raksha Bandhan coming up in a few days) when I dropped in. I took a walk around, took few pictures, dropped in to the fair, which was full of bright colors and happy vibes, but what interested me more was the erstwhile royal touch in the structure and architecture of the grand hall inside, and the stained glass, window panels, door frames and artistry on ceiling and walls.
The path outside had an Indian Coffee House, which looked extremely attractive, but alas, I had to move on, this being a short visit.
Lalbagh Palace
A wonderful piece of history. Precious artifacts from the past and royal collection are showcased here. The palace has a beautiful architecture, and surrounded by spacious lawns. I loved the old world charm, while the artifacts reminded me of City Palace in Jaipur, the sprawling lawns and well maintained rose plants reminded me of Lodhi Gardens.
Rajwada Palace
A beautiful palace which is huge not in spread but with the rarity and quality of heritage artifacts it stores and carefully preserves in multiple floors. The ground floor is a calm, meditative zone that provides you a zen-space even if you are just steps away from the bustling old city street market.
One thing that impressed me here was that you need to take your shoes off before you go in the building. It shows they are serious about maintaining the sanity of the rare artifacts and architectural beauty of the palace.
Kanch Mahal
A delicate small building housing a palace which is one of a kind, completely made out of glass and glass tiled artwork. You are not allowed to click pictures or wear shoes, and rightly so.
With this day tour, I had spent a good 3–4 hours, and needed a break in my room. I proceeded back to the Airbnb and got some rest and masala chai with balmy views of neighbourhood terraces and street scenery.
For night I planned a trip to Sarafa Bazar, the another very celebrated street food hotspot of Indore, where a traditional jewellery market by day situated in the old city transforms into street food market by night. Since I was aware of what specific food I needed to have, though I was overwhelmed at first by the sights, sounds and aromas of Sarafa Bazar, I kept resisting trying out many items.
The things I did try were Joshi Flying Dahi Vada and Mr. Bhel Bhandari, both made immensely famous on food vlogs. I was touched by the warmth of both the places, the food and its owners, who spoke to me in a familiar tone despite the huge crowds.
After this short excursion, I walked the night streets a bit and observed the life their quietly. It reminded me of my hometown, Jaipur, in the manner everyone went about their work well within the ordered chaos of the old structures, streets and noises, a bit muted now due to late hours.
The next morning, I headed to Ujjain in a local bus, and the waiting area was an experience in itself. The Vijay Nagar Chowk where I was supposed to board the bus was abuzz with morning activity. It wasn’t a weekend, but small towns have their own weekend morning vibe. I was spoiled for choice, between a couple of street food(Poha) vendors, tea stalls and newspaper vendors.
In Ujjain I checked in at another Airbnb where the owner was a sweet uncle who gave me a rental bike and lot of tips on visiting temples and local attractions. After figuring out a loose plan, I headed for the majestic Mahakaleshwar Temple.
The Mahakal Corridor, famously built in 2022, has been a top pull for spiritual tourism across the country.
The Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling is the only south facing Jyotirling out of 12 Jyotirlingas. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is known to give darshan in form of Mahakal to devotees here. There is lot of mystery surrounding the spiritual side of Ujjain, and has often been explored through books and films, most recent being OMG -2. One mystery is that no king or authoritative figure stays in Ujjain overnight, ever since King Vikramaditya, because Mahakal is known as ‘king of kings’.
Due to the large crowds, sometimes the garbh griha is closed for darshan. In my visit, it was closed too but the crawling queue can get a view of the sanctum sanctorum, and the queue management here is quite efficient. The pooja is also live streamed on large screens at various spots of the inside complex.
The Bhasma Aarti that happens at wee hours in the temple has a special significance in devotees. While the bhasma was brought earlier from shamshaan ghats (place of Hindu cremation), now it is done with ash from burning cow dung cakes.
Ujjain sightseeing
After Mahakal, I visited other prominent temples of Ujjain — Harsiddhi Mata Temple, Chaukhamba Temple (temple of 24 pillars), Kaal Bhairav Temple (one of 5 such temples in the country, this is another temple that has a many mysterious tales and connections, and as a prasad there is whiskey offered here), Mangalnath Temple.
I took a break during the day to visit my friend’s comic book shop in a quiet neighbourhood, Comics Adda. In the evening I headed out again to catch the evening Shipra Aarti at Shri Ram Ghat and another visit to see the beautiful Mahakal Corridor which comes alive in radiant lights and also to have some delicious street food in the busy streets nearby the temple complex.
Omkareshwar
This revered temple in Khandwa district is the second Jyotirling in Madhya Pradesh. Located in Mandhata, a river island in the shape of Om symbol flanked by Narmada River, you can reach the temple complex by a walking bridge or a boat.
Mamleshwar Temple
The second important temple to visit here is Mamleshwar (Amaleshwar) (whose name means “Immortal Lord” or “Lord of the Immortals or Devas”) located on the southern bank of the Narmada River on the mainland. It is said that a trip to Omkareshwar is incomplete without visiting the Mamleshwar Temple.
Some memorable instances/experiences:
- Getting stuck in a huge traffic jam on way back from Omkareshwar to Indore on a hill, and discovering interesting things on the highway, from suave shepherds to deer grazing in the accompanying forest
- Waking up at 4 am for the drive to Omkareshwar, and the cab driver playing loud devotional music, almost to collectively stay awake
- Bumping into Raghubir Yadav (the famous TV character actor) at Indore airport (he hails from Jabalpur, MP)
- Coming out of Mahakaal Temple and then realising I have not (re) collected my cellphone from the locker
- Dining at a rooftop place which is about to close service but the performing singer and the band is far from done
Useful information to plan your trip:
Best time to visit Indore — October to March
Nearest Airport — Devi Ahalya Bai Airport
If you are travelling by train, Ujjain will be a good bet, as Ujjain Junction is well connected to many Indian cities by train.
If you are looking primarily to cover the temples of Ujjain, then staying near Mahakaal Temple is better(INR 2000 onwards), there are plenty of cheap hotels close to the Ujjain station(INR 1200–1500).
Be mindful of the time of year you are visiting as the peak visiting season in Ujjain is Sawan month of Hindu calendar (July — Aug). You can do advance booking for Bhasma Aarti, Quick Darshan and Garba Griha Darshan from official website of the temple. There may be VIP tickets available during peak season.
It is a good idea to rent a bike in Indore and Ujjain (especially the latter) as sometimes autos can charge you a lot. However, riding a bike solo in a new city can be daunting, especially when you need to use the phone constantly for directions, and for that you need to take a halt
Indore Main attractions — Rajwada Palace (open all weekdays except Monday), Sarafa Bazaar by night for food lovers, Khajrana Ganesh Temple (known for large idol of Lord Ganesh and known to grant wishes if you draw a swastika in reverse), Chhappan Dukaan (won Clean Street Food tag in 2021, unique for its dish-washing bins), Annapoorna Temple, Kanch Mahal (Jain establishment), Lalbagh Palace (similarity to Buckingham Palace), Pipliapala Regional Park (musical fountains, lake, amphitheater, peace and quiet), Central Museum Indore, Paataal Pani waterfall.
Ujjain — considered one of the most spiritual cities in India. Kumbh Mela (also called Simhastha, as Jupiter enters Leo constellation astrologically) happens here once every 12 years.
Madhya Pradesh attractions — Sanchi (Buddhist Architecture), Mandu (Architecture, History- Rani Roopmati Palace, Forts), Panchmarhi (hill station/Satpura ki Raani, UNESCO Bioreserve, sandstone cut caves (Paandav Caves), Orchha (historical town, Bundela Dynasty ex-capital, Betwa River), Kanha National Park (Royal Bengal Tiger), Khajuraho, Ujjain, Bhopal (city of lakes, city of Royals, upper and lower lake — old city in North and new Bhopal in south of lake, ruled by female rulers, Taz Ul Maszid, Bada Taalaab — artifical lake, Indira Gandhi Tribal Art museum), Gwalior (forts, temples, architecture, schools, Hindustani classical music gharanas, birthplace of Taansen, classical music festival is organized every Nov-Dec), Indore (most developed city and cleanest city, known as Mini Bombay), Bhedaghat, Bandhavgarh National Park, Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Omkareswar, Jabalpur.
