ExpeditionIndia: Ticket to Indore

After a year of hibernation(No tour in 2010 :( ), one would usually plan to visit conventional tourist places like mountains, deserts or coastal plains; places which provide a different geographical view. This time around couple of my friends and I decided to visit a random place that might not be fancy in terms of its scenic beauty but would exude its own charm in its cultural or historic significance. We followed the "Open and explore" strategy where we opened our minds to a place we could visit and explore the available options there.

The interesting part was the reaction of the people towards our trip. There was hardly a person who didn’t have the questions like "why Indore?" and "what’s there in Indore?” At a point even we thought of reconsidering. But we, filled with the zeal of a fresh idea, went ahead. One of us almost didn’t make it, thanks to the surprisingly on-time train, we caught the 22:15 train in "Jab we met style" at the last moment (at 22:20) when it almost left the station. We only had plans to visit Indore initially but a very popular place fell on the route to Indore. The idea of visiting Ujjain had never hit our mind but a 10-min halt made us thought of a plan.

On reaching Indore, we paid a visit to the IIM located there. The annual cultural festival Mridang was on. We had a lot of fun there

and even won a prize in the face painting competition. In the evening we enjoyed the rock show presented by the rock band

"Parikrama".

Next morning, we had an early tea and decided to make the most out of the visit by exploring Ujjain. We hired a roundtrip cab @ Rs 10/km for the journey of 56km from Indore to Ujjain. Ujjain is considered the Greenwich of India due to the fact that the first meridian of longitude passes through it. According to the Indian astronomers, the Tropic of Cancer passes through the picturesque city of Ujjain.

Ujjain is full of its architectural excellence and historical monuments.

We could admire the aestheticism and serenity of places like Mahakaleshwar Temple, Kalbhairav temple, Ram ghat, Gopichand

bhrithari caves, Sandeepni ashram, and Mangal Grah temple.

We realized the advantage of having a tour guide there which was worth an investment of Rs 100.Following is what he added to our knowledge.

Mahakaleshwar Temple:

It is believed that out of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India, the lingam at the Mahakala is swayambhu (born of itself) deriving currents of power (shakti) from within itself as against the other images and lingams which are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti. Bhasma aarati in the morning is a grand event .

Kalbhairav temple:

The temple is built inside what looks like a fortress, and the present temple is said to have been built by the Marathas. There are supposed to be some good paintings in the Malwa style inside, but they are barely visible, and in any case, no one at the temple seems inclined to draw attention towards them. All eyes are on the deity, into whose mouth liquor is poured!

The vehicle of Kal Bhairav is a dog, and the life-like statue of the one outside the sanctum is accompanied by many of its companions of flesh and blood.Not to forget here that feeding the monkeys outside the temple is great fun.

Ram ghat:

Ram Ghat, Ujjain is famous for its Kumbhmela. It is said that Lord Ram did last rites of his father Dashrath here.

The Bhartruhari caves:

The Bhartruhari caves are situated on the banks of the Shipra in what is, even today, an idyllic spot. The caves themselves don’t have much today in terms of sculptures, but entering them is a wonderful experience, well worth the effort, for they are deep below the ground, and are, in fact, a series of caves, and it is even difficult to breathe once we are inside.

Sandeepani Ashrama:

The ashram temple contains idols of Sandeepa maharshi, Lord Sri Krishna, Lord Bala Rama and Sudama.There is a pond in the ashram, called as Gomati kund. Kundeshwar Shiva linga is present beside the pond. The idol of Nandi of this temple is very old.

There is an interesting story behind the origin of Gomati kund at Sandeepani ashram.

Though Sandeepa maharshi settled in Ujjain on the request of King Jayatsena, he couldn't forget Gomati river, daily in Brahmi muhurta, he used to go to Dwaraka, to take a holy dip. Lord Srikrishna observed this. He thought of his Guru's interest and decided to take river Gomati to Ujjain. He dug a pond overnight, and asked Gomati mata to put her Kala into that. Next day, by the time Maharshi was going to bath, Gomati kund was ready. He was very much pleased by the devotion Srikrishna is showing towards him! Lord Srikrishna is the prime deity of "Vatsalya Bhakti"!!

Many people don't know this. One day Lord Shiva appeared beside the Gomati kund to see the divine leela Krishna is running as a student. It is called as Kundeshwar Mahadev. Nandi stood up seeing lord shiva and there after sandeepani ashram became the only temple to have the statue of standing Nandi. Lord taught Srikrishna, the essence of life Gita.

Mangalnath:

Situated @ 21°2'27"N 75°5'39"E

It is regarded as the birthplace of Mars according to the Skanda Purana. Mahadev is worshipped at the temple here.

Lalbagh palace:

As we were still left with some time, we decided to pay a visit to the Lalbagh palace in Indore. The palace built in British style has an

amazing beauty. The extent of the poaching in the country in 1920s is quiet evident (in the form stuffed skins of Big Cats).

Last but not the least, we visited the Vaishnav dham temple, which is based on caves of vaishno devi. It was a memorable experience to travel so many places in such less time.

Next day, the monday morning, Office was waiting for us. Hence, we took an early morning flight and reached the office half drowsy.