The Madhya Pradesh tourism website is by far one of the best I have come across, with it’s interactive bioscope it definitely does bring out the inner child in you, and for me the standard 8 nerd came out who wanted to visit all the historic sites she had read about in her history text books!
To test waters, we picked out a weekend to travel to Bhopal and explore the neighbouring areas. I’ll be honest, I did have very stereotypical notions of Bhopal, and I shamefacedly admit I have the same about most Tier 2 and 3 cities and they all get shattered when I actually land there! We landed quite late into the night and were greeted by wide roads sans potholes! Going from Mumbai that is nothing short of an alien sight where one does not have to jostle for every inch of space on the road or just just cave into the road! Our hostel (StayInn) was pretty much centrally located and had an absolutely adorable decor of resplendent yellow wherever you look! Their rooms are not numbered, rather named after emotions (we had Hope and Love if I remember correctly!) and have some of the sweetest albeit slow hosts!
Sanchi
The first stop for the weekend was chosen to be Sanchi. About an hour’s drive north of Bhopal it is probably one of the most famous historical sites in India. Since we were 4 of us it made economical sense to hire an Ola cab for 8 hours. We left quite early in the morning and the roads were just as wide, uncluttered and pothole free (!!) and you even cross the Tropic of Cancer on the way! We reached much before the tourist crowd started trickling in, which in itself was n’t much as compared to other places in India.
One can’t blame Ashoka or rather his wife for zeroing on her birthplace to build the great Buddhist site. Early in the morning, with no other soul in sight, the magnificent stupa perched on the hill, post monsoon lushness all around, soft chugging of trains in the background and even a restless person like me could sit down and meditate for a while!
The stupa which is supposed to the largest stone structure in India dates back to the 3rd century BC but it was only several centuries later in early 1900s that they were restored to the current condition. The stupa which was built over the relics of Buddha, has four gateways or toranas which were supposedly added during the Shunga period and the stupas have several inscriptions in the ancient Brahmi script.
Right at the entrance of the stupa complex is also a museum which is quite well furbished albeit sleepy but has wonderful pictures of the stupa complex before and after the restoration efforts.
Islamnagar
We moved on to the neighbouring district of Vidisha to grab a not-so-quick but absolutely lip smacking lunch! There is also a pillar (Khamb Baba if I remember correctly) there where apparently exorcisms take place on full moon nights! After whatever little inspection we could manage we drove down to Islamnagar which was once the capital of the princely state of Bhopal. Though the fortified village is nothing as compared to the grandeur of the forts of say Rajasthan, but there is quaint charm in its anonymity as it exists covered in post monsoon foliage. Major part of the fort and the palace was in ruins and the only inhabitants were a massive family of langurs, completely impervious to the presence of the couples out to spend some “private time”. By far one of the most charming places I have ever visited!
Bhimbhetka
The ancient rock shelters at Bhimbhetka were another site that the standard 8 nerd in me was dying to visit! Next again we left reasonably early in the morning and drove to the site which is another 45 – 60 min drive south of Bhopal.
And the site apart from the mesmerizing and intriguing paintings gives major lessons in perspective and humility! I mean to stand in front of a rock adorned with the imprint of a child’s hand from close to 100,000 years ago! Or to see a bird being drawn the exact same way as it is drawn by a child today, even thousands of years later, the rudimentary way in which the human mind works is still unchanged! It is one of my absolute favourite places simply because of how thought invoking it is!
Bhojpur
On our way back to Bhopal we stopped at a 10th century Shiva temple. It is an active temple, though the structure with its 21 feet shivalinga is still in an incomplete state which makes it a rather impressive site with the rocky outcrop as backdrop and the Betwa river flowing by.
Back in Bhopal we saw the Taj-ul-Masjid and spent a lot of time sipping beer by the Big Lake. For our first time in the state Madhya Pradesh has been absolutely charming, mind boggling, intriguing and cannot wait to come back!
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