Shades of Mandu..

A Goa trip with friends is a dream of many college-going people and colleagues. There is something special about going on a trip with friends and spending mad crazy times with them that fascinates every young person. Well, I haven’t gone to Goa with my friends yet but I did get fortunate enough to go on a Mandu trip with my bunch of crazy people whom I call my college wali family. I went on the trip dreaming of happy crazy fun-filled and embarrassing moments filled of times and I wasn’t disappointed. So let me take you, people, along with me on this journey as seen through my happy memories and cringe moments. Here we go.

Though our trip covered the cities of Indore, Ujjain and Maheshwar this blog focuses mainly on Mandu because that’s the reason this whole trip was planned. A friend of mine is utterly fascinated by this place and convinced the other friend to plan a trip here. Soon we all were discussing it. Our first stop was Indore wherein we camped for the next 3 days while we visited different places. Indore is a lovely city. During my auto ride from the railway station to the hotel I realized why Indore was ranked as the cleanest city. I am not exaggerating when I say that even the small streets there were clean and nice. Overall it was a pleasant welcome. Rain too was there to welcome us as we had been there in August. After a sumptuous breakfast of special indori poha (my god it is delicious) and jalebi (I am not a fan of sweets but if you are a sweet tooth you must give this a try), we left for Maheshwar. We visited the Ahilya Rajwada and Ahilya Ghat. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pay our respects to river Narmada as there was a heavy flow of water and it was dangerous to be near the river. Nevertheless, we drank the sight of the river and the partially submerged Ghat to our heart's content.

The next day everyone woke up with broad smiles and grins because it was the day we finally visited Mandu. We had heard and read so much about this place and we were not at all disappointed when we visited this beautiful place. Our first stop was Rani Roopmati Mahal. The legend of Rani Roopmati and Baz Bahadur that is associated with this place is well known. This story has been immortalized through the tales narrated in paintings, historical accounts, malwa folk songs and the ruins of the buildings at Mandu. Usually, when I visit a historical place I can feel the glimpse of old times fleeting through and sense the air filled with stories. But this time I didn’t feel that familiar feeling of being overwhelmed and astonished. All I could feel was, lost. Perhaps it was because my mind had subconsciously rejected it as a passionate story. But who am I to judge the people and the lives, the circumstances and their decisions that took place years and years ago. The ruins at Mandu stand witness to the story that has transcended time and generations. Singing love songs with a hint of tragedy.

After witnessing the glory of malwa architecture at Roopmati palace and trying to check whether we can see river Narmada from the Roopmati pavilion we next went towards the Baz Bahadur palace. One can see the Roopmati palace from the top of Baz Bahadur palace. The air was dense with the tales of bygone era and everybody could sense it. There was a heavy silence, one that can only exist in places that have drowned in the loud laughter and talks of the past. Almost as if on cue it started raining when we went towards the exit. We spent the next 10 minutes in that mystical world of rain, a historical monument and modern-day thoughts. When the rain stopped we made our way to Jahaz Mahal. Here, for the next few minutes, I am going to keep away my rational mind and fan girl over the monument. It was absolutely divine! I thank my stars that I am fortunate enough to witness this architectural beauty. The rains and cloudy atmosphere only added to its beauty. I remember standing near a balcony in a titanic pose at one time because it was truly that, a ship. The wind was in its full glory and we got to enjoy every moment and every frame of the wondrous architecture of this place. And that’s how I fell in love with Mandu.

We also visited the Hindola Mahal and Neelkanth Mahadev temple. The moment I stepped near the cave-like structure that houses a shiv linga and could offer water to it from a stream that flows directly on top of it, I knew I was home. I have always felt a special connection with lord shiva and at that moment I truly felt blessed.

There is something different about the air in Mandu. It’s seeped in architecture and glory. One breathes the intricacies and eternal art of the artists who materialized this whole place. The air is soft and pleasant. It carries along with it its own melody. A soft humming sound that makes one aware of its centuries-old past, a song stretched on the strands of time delicately woven with the jewels of eternity. while returning from this place I couldn’t stop thinking about the people who lived there in the past, their stories, the tales and legends of rani Roopmati and her love for river Narmada (we too have a girl in our group who is crazy regarding rivers, we were tempted to leave her near Narmada Ghat when we visited Maheshwar).

With the fresh memories of Mandu in our minds we visited Ujjain the next day. And that was the day I finally realized why lord Shiva is often called Mahakal. Once we enter the temple it felt like time has stopped, or maybe it’s moving but we don’t realize it and there is something beyond all this, even beyond time that is working silently and doing its never-ending work. It’s a feeling that I can never explain in words. Rarely do words betray me but I am glad that it’s now because this a feeling I would like to zealously guard and keep for myself. I am moderately religious and often visit the family deity’s temple to recharge my inner self and gain peace but that day in Ujjain, I realized that it means more to me than I would like to accept. Later in the day, we sat near the Ram Ghat, humming a song and contemplating life. Our day in Ujjain ended with a visit to the Triveni museum. It’s a splendid place and a treasure trove for students and lovers of Indology and architecture. The sculptures of deities were truly fascinating.

This soul-recharging day ended with a visit to Indore’s famous Sarafa bazaar and relishing bhutte ka kees and dahi bhalla. It was Krishna Janmashtami and the streets were decorated beautifully. The whole place was buzzing with festive activities and we too became a part of it. We boarded the train the next day with happy hearts and a promise. A promise to visit these wonderful places again.

When I started writing the blog I was full of thoughts and ideas about what I wanted to include here. It is difficult to describe the wonderful 4 days of the trip in mere words. I would need a lot more fun, friendship, care, zeal, stupidity and embarrassing talks and actions to complete my talk regarding the trip. It was one of the rare trips that one can experience in this life, exploring places with friends who are more like a family, eating like we can’t stop eating food and devouring the marvelous sights in front of us. The days were full of fun, nonsense talks and laughs, terrific train rides, gossip, enjoying local cuisine, visiting palaces and museums and sticking together as a team.

Happy Reading!

PS- Below are few photos clicked on this trip.