Heart of India - Madhya Pradesh

We know this place as the heart of -Incredible India  . For some , it's called as the Land of the striped stalker. For me, this is the -heart of India - Madhya Pradesh

Every since I was a little kid I always used to wonder how and where the heart fits in . Why is the shape of the heart - like a heart . Why in the world do they break . What does the beating of heart really means . That of course is not the topic of debate of this share .

Just like being central to everything , Madhya Pradesh is the central state of  India & very aptly called and made into a nice ad film - Heart of India   .

So , when I choose to go to a place for a vacation far away from the not so popular these days - Delhi , MP it was .  I wanted to make it short yet a fun filled vacation with a combination of some old city culture , a religious leg to it & yes of course some of the famous local delicacies. The circuit that we took was - Indore & Ujjain and the nearby quick make places.

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Indore - The flight to Indore is a decent under two hours run and the moment you land into the city it feels you are in a different place all together . Take an early morning flight and you will realise the slow pace at which life moves here.  Shops open at  / around 11 am and that is how life moves .People are happy being the way they are - simple , slow and at time honking . The city is synonymous with the legendary queen - Maharani Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar whom my first connect happened back in school days in our history lessons . Just like a typical place filled with rich heritage , kingdom rules , battles ,amalgamation of various sects - Indore is no different.

From the Kanch Mandir or the Jain temple to the Bada Ganpati , Lal Bagh palace to Khajrana this place is indeed - the heart of India .

Bada Ganpati

Visiting during summers also means you carry you sun blocks , shades and hats . There are umpteen places to book your stay and the food , though spicy has a different taste and texture to it .

For the foodies , there are two must visit places -

--> Most important place in Indore for Foodies is Sarafa Bazar, where a wide range of Indian Fast food is available. Chhappan Dukan is a major food junction in Indore, where the youth & family gathers on the road side shops for Indian Snacks. Generally, Namkeen is served on top of a variety of food items served in Indore.


--> The life in Indore starts early with chuskis of 'Chai' (tea) with 'garam garam poha & Jalebi' followed by delicious lunch which invariably includes popular 'besan preparations'. Indore has a wide variety of Namkeens, Poha & Jalebi, Chaats (snacks), Kachoris and Samosas, cuisines of various types in different restaurants, and Bengali, Muslim, Mughlai, Rajasthani, continental and confectionery sweets, as well as local delicacies such as Dal-Bafla.

--> Another celebrity of the Sarafa Bazar is Joshi Dahi Balla - more than the preparations , the person himself is a delight to watch and see how he serves folks mouth-watering food .

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Ujjain - This place in one word is -divine  . Not only because it is regarded as one of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of the Hindus. It is one of the four sites that hosts the Kumbh Mela (also called the Simhastha Mela), a mass pilgrimage that attracts millions of Hindu pilgrims from around the country. It is also home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines to the god Shiva. An ancient seat of learning, Ujjain is the place where Lord Krishna, along with Balarama and Sudama, received his education from Maharshi Sandipani.





Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga


So,you dont need any reasons not to visit this pious place.  There is so much of positive energy in and around this place that you suddenly start feeling the 'bright light' .

The other places to visit and worship are the -

• The Harsidhhi temple is one of the Shaktipeeths,
• Kal Bhairav is a temple on the banks of the Kshipra ,
• The Chintamani Ganesh temple ,
• The Mangalnath temple ,
• Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Temple, of the ISKCON

Ujjain is mostly a religious Hindu city wherein people spend a day and then return back to Indore. One can also choose to stay in Ujjain and attend the early morning prayers at Mahakal . Most the temples are located within a 5km radius and hence easy to approach  .

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Just like always , feel free to reach out to me for any queries . As always , I do my background checks and there are some do's and don'ts for one to follow . 

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Apparently our cab driver was a Punjabi and all thanks to him I heard this song for the first time in Kanika Kapoor voice  - Jugni ji  . You may want to give it a streaming...

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