This past Saturday I departed on my first trip outside of Indore, to Mandu and Maheshwar! Mandu is a natural fort situated on the volcanic plateau north of the Vindhya Mountains. The forts and historic sites here are recognized for their use of Indo-Islamic architecture under Muslim rule which resulted in the acculturation of Persian-Pathan elements with Hindu traditions from the region. Maheshwar is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and used to be the capital of the Malwa (plateau of volcanic origin) until it was shifted to Indore in 1818.
After a 2 hour bus ride on rural dirt roads we arrived in Maheshwar, a town known for their saris and unique weaved materials on handlooms 91km away from Indore. We stopped by Women Weavers, a charitable trust organization aimed at continuing the tradition of handloom weaving. Women Weavers tries to provide women weavers with adequate weaving skills, customer base, and resources to succeed as weavers in society. I hope to do some type of work similar to what Women Weavers does, so it was really great to see inside of their operation and decide what I would have changed or done to make my organization even better!
After a 2 hour bus ride on rural dirt roads we arrived in Maheshwar, a town known for their saris and unique weaved materials on handlooms 91km away from Indore. We stopped by Women Weavers, a charitable trust organization aimed at continuing the tradition of handloom weaving. Women Weavers tries to provide women weavers with adequate weaving skills, customer base, and resources to succeed as weavers in society. I hope to do some type of work similar to what Women Weavers does, so it was really great to see inside of their operation and decide what I would have changed or done to make my organization even better!
After my pocket was a couple hundred rupees lighter from purchasing scarves and stoles to send back home we trucked onward to the focal point of our trip, the Ahilya Fort. The Ahilya Fort was built in the 18th century on the banks of the holy river, Narmada, under the rule of Ahilyabai Holkar, who is appropriately honored in Maheshwar for her public works.
Like a lot of things here I don’t have enough words to describe this place. It is such a significant piece of history, yet it was so integrated into life in Maheshwar. Yes, it is a huge tourist destination for foreigners and Indians alike but this was the most active historical monument I had ever seen. There were no prestigious tour guides telling you to be quiet, not to litter (quite the opposite here), or not to touch certain things. This site offers an interactive experience to those who visit. You can climb and explore to your hearts desire and buy all the Indian corn and street food you want then feed it to a stray goat or cow. The thing that stuck me the most was that despite all the wear and tear this monument had endured it still stands, looking majestic. I know for a fact that this kind of interaction between people and historical sites could not be possible in the US because people back home don’t have the same respect as they do here for their history. Without a doubt there would be plethoras of “____ was here” graffitied on walls and dried chewing gum stuck to floors. Although this particular site had it’s fair share of littering and filth there was no permanent damage done to the structure itself, like would happen at home. It is absolutely a must visit for anyone who finds themselves in Maheshwar. You won’t be disappointed with what it has to offer.
Like a lot of things here I don’t have enough words to describe this place. It is such a significant piece of history, yet it was so integrated into life in Maheshwar. Yes, it is a huge tourist destination for foreigners and Indians alike but this was the most active historical monument I had ever seen. There were no prestigious tour guides telling you to be quiet, not to litter (quite the opposite here), or not to touch certain things. This site offers an interactive experience to those who visit. You can climb and explore to your hearts desire and buy all the Indian corn and street food you want then feed it to a stray goat or cow. The thing that stuck me the most was that despite all the wear and tear this monument had endured it still stands, looking majestic. I know for a fact that this kind of interaction between people and historical sites could not be possible in the US because people back home don’t have the same respect as they do here for their history. Without a doubt there would be plethoras of “____ was here” graffitied on walls and dried chewing gum stuck to floors. Although this particular site had it’s fair share of littering and filth there was no permanent damage done to the structure itself, like would happen at home. It is absolutely a must visit for anyone who finds themselves in Maheshwar. You won’t be disappointed with what it has to offer.
The next day we embarked on the two to three most beautiful hours of my life. We rode our bus up onto the top of the plateau into the mist and clouds of the Western Ghat's. We passed through several rural villages and huts in the middle of nowhere laboring to live off the fertile black volcanic soil. My friend Sam summed up what I was feeling perfectly as we acceded up the steep plateau when he said, “I want to take a picture of all of this but it won’t convey what we are really seeing. So I’m just going to look at all of it as best I can”. I took photos but as Sam said they don’t do the region any justice. It’s something you can only see while being there smelling the smells and feeling humbled by the natural beauty surrounding you.
Our fist stop in Mandu was the Jami Mosque, Hoshang Shah’s Mausoleum, and the Ashrafi Mahal Complex. These three buildings used to be all connected in one giant complex, but are now separated by a road that puts the Ashrafi Complex on the opposite side of the road from the Mosque and Mausoleum. The Masjid was built with sandstone and the Mausoleum with marble making it the first marble structure in India, which served as an inspiration and model for the construction of the Taj Mahal. Both buildings were meant to be a show of power and wealth, as both marble and sandstone had to be imported from Northern India and cut with extreme expertise by Indians in Mandu. We then marched across the street to Ashrafi Complex. The complex was not very well preserved due to unstable construction designs. The dome of the entrance had given in due to unequal weight distribution, but some of the framework of the university remained giving one an idea of the splendor this building once projected to it’s students.
Check out a 360 panorama of the Ashrafi Complex here!
My favorite stop in Mandu was to the Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal. The Jahaz Mahal which literally translates into, “ship palace” was built by Ghiyas-ud-din during the Khilji Dynasty around 1496. It served a harem for the sultanate and retreat palace. The Hindola Mahal was constructed under Hushang Shah around 1425 during the reign of Ghiyas-ud-din. It literally translates into swing palace because the sloping walls make it look as if the walls of the building are swinging back and forth. This whole complex of Mahals is something out of a movie. Moss and greenery have crept their way into all cracks of these buildings and nature is slowly swallowing these ruins. It’s beautiful. I could have spent all day just exploring all the different rooms and their functions. I established my tendency to leave the main group and go exploring on my own in these places. I am able to notice and appreciate their enormity in silence and solitude better, so I was often wandering around by myself. Both cities are big tourist destinations so foreigners are pretty common but the white foreigners are still exciting to some people. I was asked only several hundred times by families and random people to take a picture or selfie with them. It’s totally harmless in the beginning because everyone was extremely friendly and pleasantly surprised I could communicate with them in Hindi a little. Although, when a crowd started to form and there was too much finger pointing I decided to cut short my modeling career and stray to a less open area and keep moving.
Our fist stop in Mandu was the Jami Mosque, Hoshang Shah’s Mausoleum, and the Ashrafi Mahal Complex. These three buildings used to be all connected in one giant complex, but are now separated by a road that puts the Ashrafi Complex on the opposite side of the road from the Mosque and Mausoleum. The Masjid was built with sandstone and the Mausoleum with marble making it the first marble structure in India, which served as an inspiration and model for the construction of the Taj Mahal. Both buildings were meant to be a show of power and wealth, as both marble and sandstone had to be imported from Northern India and cut with extreme expertise by Indians in Mandu. We then marched across the street to Ashrafi Complex. The complex was not very well preserved due to unstable construction designs. The dome of the entrance had given in due to unequal weight distribution, but some of the framework of the university remained giving one an idea of the splendor this building once projected to it’s students.
Check out a 360 panorama of the Ashrafi Complex here!
My favorite stop in Mandu was to the Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal. The Jahaz Mahal which literally translates into, “ship palace” was built by Ghiyas-ud-din during the Khilji Dynasty around 1496. It served a harem for the sultanate and retreat palace. The Hindola Mahal was constructed under Hushang Shah around 1425 during the reign of Ghiyas-ud-din. It literally translates into swing palace because the sloping walls make it look as if the walls of the building are swinging back and forth. This whole complex of Mahals is something out of a movie. Moss and greenery have crept their way into all cracks of these buildings and nature is slowly swallowing these ruins. It’s beautiful. I could have spent all day just exploring all the different rooms and their functions. I established my tendency to leave the main group and go exploring on my own in these places. I am able to notice and appreciate their enormity in silence and solitude better, so I was often wandering around by myself. Both cities are big tourist destinations so foreigners are pretty common but the white foreigners are still exciting to some people. I was asked only several hundred times by families and random people to take a picture or selfie with them. It’s totally harmless in the beginning because everyone was extremely friendly and pleasantly surprised I could communicate with them in Hindi a little. Although, when a crowd started to form and there was too much finger pointing I decided to cut short my modeling career and stray to a less open area and keep moving.
After becoming a celebrity among the locals we headed to our last stop in Mandu at Roopmati’s Pavilion. Rani Roopmati’s Pavilion/Palace is constructed out of sandstone and the history behind the outpost is not extremely historical and more mythological, based on folklore tales about the romance of Baz Bahadur and Roopmati. This offered a wonderful view of miles of farm land, Baz Bahadur’s Palace, and the Narmada River. This was another amazing opportunity to just sit in awe of creation, but of course I stopped for several photo ops. and even held a random Indian baby! To top off the best two days of traveling we saw a monkey while we were leaving the pavilion! According to my Indian friends who I was with you had to be careful to make sure they didn't snatch anything from you, especially your phone when you were taking a picture with it. I kept my distance when I remembered the unfortunate incident in the US when a woman was mauled by her pet chimpanzee, just to be safe.
Here's another "bubble" of Rani Roopmati's Palace and probably the best one!
Here's another "bubble" of Rani Roopmati's Palace and probably the best one!
Mandu and Maheshwar despite being significant tourist destinations were incredibly worthwhile. I’m so grateful that I was able to travel out of Indore and see some rural parts of India as well at the metropolitan area in which I live. I absolutely plan on returning with my own itinerary with my partner in crime, my mom, who just like me enjoys just sitting and looking at stuff really well instead of trying to diminish it’s significance by confining it to the boundaries of a camera.
On Thursday we joined in on a tour of Indore’s Holkar family palaces with exchange students from Assam Valley. Dr. Rajpadhyay, our Hindi teacher and tour guide, is not only a sanskrit scholar but also a Brahmin which is highest level of the caste system. Brahmins, when the caste system was in place, were priests and held highly regarded positions in society. Although the caste system is technically not legal anymore you still see its affects. Dr. Rajpadhyay chose to continue his traditional role in society as a teacher and continue his family lineage as a religious priest advisor to the Holkar family. The story, as Dr. Raj. tells it, goes, “A priest (one of Dr. Rajpadhyay’s male ancestors) predicted that the son of a poor farmer would one day grow up to be a king. The young boy’s mother was shocked because they had no money and she didn’t understand how her child could possibly one day come to conquer lands. She made the priest a promise that if this prophesy ever came true that she would remember the priest who predicted her son’s success and appoint him as the religious advisor of the Holkar family. They made a deal and the priest left his finger print on her almanac to prove his identity when his prophesy was realized. In the end the priest was correct in his prediction and was eventually appointed their religious advisor and ever since his male successors have continued serving the Holkar family.” Dr. Rajpadhyay will be the last religious advisor from his family to serve the Holkar’s because neither of his children live in India anymore nor wish to carry on with that tradition. With Dr. Raj. as our tour guide we saw the Indian and Western style palaces of the Holkars that Indore was built around. The Indian palace, Rajwana, was open and airy, constructed of sandstone. A majority of the palace had been reconstructed and replicated after arson caused by a Muslim riot in the palace in 1984. The more western style palace, Lalbagh, had almost identical gates to the Buckingham Palace and flaunted imported art and Italian marble.
Through NSLI-Y there are two language programs. There is a summer, 6 week long program and the year, ten month program. I came to India with the summer participants and they are leaving to return home next week. In order to catch up with them and have an AFS meeting DC hosted high tea for all AFS participants in Indore which not only included approximately 30 NSLI-Y students and their families but also various other international students. Our Dean of Internationalsim, Mam Badhwar asked us to perform, “Hum Honge Kamayabe” or “We Shall Overcome”, a song popular during Indian partition. After our performance at the Independence day whole school assembly my friends and I are pretty used to singing and performing Hindi songs. Even though it’s not fun preparing to perform in the beginning it’s always nice because we gain the respect of our DC teachers and administrators which is always good.
All in all it’s been a busy but fun week! I’ve started the fun and stressful process of college applications, AGAIN. It’s fun to start thinking about where I’m going to spend the next 4 years after this adventure!
On Thursday we joined in on a tour of Indore’s Holkar family palaces with exchange students from Assam Valley. Dr. Rajpadhyay, our Hindi teacher and tour guide, is not only a sanskrit scholar but also a Brahmin which is highest level of the caste system. Brahmins, when the caste system was in place, were priests and held highly regarded positions in society. Although the caste system is technically not legal anymore you still see its affects. Dr. Rajpadhyay chose to continue his traditional role in society as a teacher and continue his family lineage as a religious priest advisor to the Holkar family. The story, as Dr. Raj. tells it, goes, “A priest (one of Dr. Rajpadhyay’s male ancestors) predicted that the son of a poor farmer would one day grow up to be a king. The young boy’s mother was shocked because they had no money and she didn’t understand how her child could possibly one day come to conquer lands. She made the priest a promise that if this prophesy ever came true that she would remember the priest who predicted her son’s success and appoint him as the religious advisor of the Holkar family. They made a deal and the priest left his finger print on her almanac to prove his identity when his prophesy was realized. In the end the priest was correct in his prediction and was eventually appointed their religious advisor and ever since his male successors have continued serving the Holkar family.” Dr. Rajpadhyay will be the last religious advisor from his family to serve the Holkar’s because neither of his children live in India anymore nor wish to carry on with that tradition. With Dr. Raj. as our tour guide we saw the Indian and Western style palaces of the Holkars that Indore was built around. The Indian palace, Rajwana, was open and airy, constructed of sandstone. A majority of the palace had been reconstructed and replicated after arson caused by a Muslim riot in the palace in 1984. The more western style palace, Lalbagh, had almost identical gates to the Buckingham Palace and flaunted imported art and Italian marble.
Through NSLI-Y there are two language programs. There is a summer, 6 week long program and the year, ten month program. I came to India with the summer participants and they are leaving to return home next week. In order to catch up with them and have an AFS meeting DC hosted high tea for all AFS participants in Indore which not only included approximately 30 NSLI-Y students and their families but also various other international students. Our Dean of Internationalsim, Mam Badhwar asked us to perform, “Hum Honge Kamayabe” or “We Shall Overcome”, a song popular during Indian partition. After our performance at the Independence day whole school assembly my friends and I are pretty used to singing and performing Hindi songs. Even though it’s not fun preparing to perform in the beginning it’s always nice because we gain the respect of our DC teachers and administrators which is always good.
All in all it’s been a busy but fun week! I’ve started the fun and stressful process of college applications, AGAIN. It’s fun to start thinking about where I’m going to spend the next 4 years after this adventure!