Indore

I will naturally take time on this city and understandably so since its where I live now. Honestly when I first landed in Indore from Delhi I wasn’t impressed at all. This looked like a small, inactive non-metro town with fashion which was 100 years behind the normal world. I was very upset with my family for having moved to Indore after living in big cities all my life. I remembered Indore as the city with the worst public transport and roads that never existed. And now to be living there was a nightmare.

It took me a while to sink into the fact. Our first trip from Indore was to Ujjain to the Mahankaleshwar Temple. Like every temple town Ujjain too was filled with spiritual energy where my restless mind found its peace. We then drove to several small picnic spots around Indore to get acquainted with the city. Choral is a dam and forms a small water body that attracts a lot of local tourists over weekends. There is Patalpani which is a deep gorge and has a waterfall that drops down from great heights. This place is said to be dangerous due to its deep ravine where lot of people in the past have lost lives. Ralamandal is a hill which has nothing over it but is an enclosed area with a lot of wild life inside which can be barely seen. We have only read stories in newspapers about Leopard attacks in the area but never saw any. Anyway I had never opened myself to the tranquility of this city therefore I could never be enthralled by its charm. I started working in Indore with an advertising agency. The people seemed surreal since Delhi is so flashy that you had to notice people there. But here was a completely different picture. Simplicity and normalcy was the way everybody lived. I couldn’t identify myself with anybody there. I seemed and so I was the odd one out in a team of 40 people. I got another opening in 6months and I left the agency.

This was a radio station and I assumed since it was a big media house I expected people to be LIKE ME which again did not happen. I was adjusting to this different planet called INDORE. It had different culture, different language, different mindsets and different humans! Honestly this is one city which when you ignore all the minuses is the funniest place on earth. It captivates you slowly grows on you and holds you tight like a bear would hug you close. The food is supreme here. On weekends you’d find the entire city bustling near food joints of all shapes sizes and cuisines. It’s not funny how much this city loves food. Indore is famous for its Daal-Bafley, Chaat and Namkeen.

Sarafa is the first name that comes to my mind when I refer to Indore. It’s a strange place that doesn’t exist in the morning till 7pm in the evening. When the clock strikes 7, this bullion market transforms into an endless lane of culinary delight. The most famous being Garadu, Bhutte ka Kees, Malpuye, Gulab Jamun, Joshi ke dahi bhalle and the suicidal Shikanji.

Indore has the famous Sheeshmahal which is a glass palace structure with stained glass all over. Its beautiful with green, blue, red and orange colors shining bright in your face with your reflection all over on the roof.

The biggest landmark is the Rajwada palace. This is where the princely souls of Indore lived. It’s the largest gate structure in all of Asia with 7 storied main entrance of which 4 floors were burnt in the ’81 riots. The whole palace is 4 storied and is an open place for tourists and keen onlookers. The maintenance is low around the area and very little attention paid to this marvel which is perhaps the pictorial definition of Indore. This area hosts the famous Indori breakfast POHA-JALEBI and a poha corner here is open all night and always crowded. The pan is equally famous and another 24 hour joint is the panwalah here at Rajwada who has his own dot com.

Indore is filled with small little places to eat and they are countless in numbers in the city. One more famous LANE dedicated to FOOD is 56 dukaan. Now the story is that the government had allotted some 56 shops in that area for commercial purpose but when they opened they were all food joints! Voila!!! So what you get at the end of it is variety of food and only food!

This city is culturally very active. Indore has given to the Indian film industry so many geniuses that it should be called the second Bollywood. Lata Mangeshkar to ring a bell is the biggest name produced by Indore. Rahul Dravid is an Indore product so is Salman Khan. And hang on… MF Hussain too was born in Indore to name a few.

The language is the funniest here and of all the places I have been to, Indore is one where you’d find sense of humour in everything and everybody. The peculiarity of the people and the pace of this city really weave its magic on you that stay with you after you’re gone. Although the roads are pathetic but the city transport system was rated one of the best in the world, infact ranked number two which is superb achievement for a city that dint have anything in the name of public transport just 5 years ago. I am very proud to be living in Indore and today I feel I belong to Indore. This city will always hold a special place in my life.