By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
Mar 16: The first sign that greeted me outside the airport was ' Welcome to Indore- the cleanest city in India' . And I saw cleanliness everywhere during my bus ride across the city-- not a single bit of loose paper or plastic on the roads with manual sweepers or mechanic sweeping vehicles in action almost throughout the day.
It was a first time solo travel experience for me, staying at an unknown place, sharing a room with an unknown person, travelling on a bus with unknown people, yet two trusted guides Akshata and Aatish!
A great passion of the locals is to enjoy good food. Almost 50% of the population are vegetarians and I saw them in action at the two great food streets of Indore.
On the first night we went to Chappan Street, which literally means 56 numbered shops selling a variety of popular cuisine from all across India. The corn kiss ( like an upma), the shikanji dry fruit drink and the tender coconut cocktail are the local specialities that I attempted to try.
Indore is famous for its special powa prepartion and other unique snacks and I just had to purchase items like sev, chivda kachori, bakri roti and a special jeeravan powder that gives a unique flavour to any dish.
On the second night we were lucky to witness the pre Holi bonfire celebrations in front of the very well lit up Rajwada palace. Behind that was the famous Sarafa bazar like a night flea market, that was initially set up on the streets outside the jewellry shop shutters, inorder to protect the shops at night. The all night high energy of the vendors and customers trading for a variety of nic- nacs has to be seen to be believed.
I watched the Turkish icecream sellers antics with his cone ice cream before finally giving it to the client. I ate the famous local fried spicy yam called Garadu and took a shot of the super yummy black jamun juice.
I closed my eyes in fear, as the flaming fire betel leaf concoction was put into my mouth, while my friend tried out the smoke paan. There was fire pani puri also, but I had enough of fire in my mouth for the day. And yes our group of 11 ladies came home around midnight feeling absolutely safe in a unique 6 seater public rickshaw with me sitting next to the driver.
It is these kind of local experiences that enrich the memories of your life instead of just visiting the tick marked sight seeing spots as a tourist.
Another attraction was the Pitru Parvat so called because the locals pray and plant trees on the hill in memory of their ancestors. At the peak was a 72 feet tallest metal, golden coloured statue of Hanuman on a terrace, weighing108 tonne, which took 7 years to make in 264 different pieces and was finally assembled here. And there was another Hanuman idol on a stage in the hall below that was completely decorated with colouful Indian sweets like big jelebis or barfis.
Another must see monument in Indore is Lalbagh palace, which was completed in 3 phases by the local kings, and is a rare example of an Indian palace copying the styles of British or French Palaces.
More than 2500 labourers from across India had worked hard for the construction of this palace. The opulently decorated reception rooms, meeting rooms, dancing hall, dining halls showcased the European influence, with painted ceilings and golden POP adornments across the place.
The Kitchen was constructed 200 metres away and the food was sent in an underground tunnel. It was a heated down and brought up in a special food lift.
On the first floor we were greeted by stuffed tigers displayed from the royal hunting expeditions. The family bedrooms, bathrooms and changing rooms too had a strong European decor influence. This palace was a rare example of cultural assimilation.
I saw that there was an abundant use of marble and plaster of Paris, which was rarely used in India during the
18th century. The French architect had installed an electricity and water supply system that was quite sophisticated for those times.
After 220 years of rule from the Holkar dynasty, their descendants created a trust for the upkeep of this palace and in 1988 it was converted into a museum.
As I drove around the city..I saw their new slogan 'Rehega No. 1', inspiring the people to continue keep the city clean, even after winning the cleanest India city award for six years in a row! If the people of Indore can take responsibility to keep their city spotlessly clean, so can the rest of India! Yes that was another great reason for me to smile at Indore!
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.