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The Central State aka MP


Narmada river and site of Omkareshwar



Indore Rajwada or palace of the Lady Holkar

 

Somewhat geographically centered in India is the hot landscape of MADHYA PRADESH.

A region I had a faint memory of visiting as a young lad eons ago. Now in my (along with my best half) quest to get to know lands far and wide I got an opportunity to visit Indore city and surrounding areas in MP.

It begins with an evening visit to a bustling old market selling native snacks both savory and sweet. It is the realm of jewelers who run night time street side restaurants once they close their primary operations at dusk. Think of it as desi style block party that I am told goes into wee hours of the morning.

My impression was it is worth one visit.  The humid and hot ambience along with crush of humanity doesn’t make for a pleasant dining experience but the sheer variety of foods sort of makes up for it.

From piping hot coconut filled fritters to oodles of milk based sweet confections, I gorged on items in a dizzying sequence culminating in chewing on a paan literally going up in flames.🔥 

Next morning saw our taxi take us to a Divine place of worship called Mahakal, as referenced in ancient texts to be one of 12 Jyotirlingas.

Along the banks of river Kshipra (a name familiar to me for an eponymous named home of former aunt where I spent summers) in Ujjain is this sixth century temple dedicated to Shiva.

A massive campus surrounds the main temple complex and is understandably crowded. This visit was followed the next day with a visit to another linga called Omkareshwar, this on banks of river Narmada. Also nearby is a fort and palace complex of a truly remarkable lady ruler called Ahilya Holkar.


Hectic, hot but exhilarating.. now on to the next.

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