In Bhopal, there’s a saying – whosoever comes to this place will definitely come back again, at least once. And yes! It did proved right for me. I was on my way to Bhopal, this time to help my boss to go through the power point slides of a Presentation on Quality Assurance and Inspection. The last time I visited this shaggy city was when I came here for my Engineering Counselling, conducted by VYAPAM. That day is still very fresh in my mind. I had no idea, absolutely no ideas what engineering is all about, and which branch should I opt? Just because I liked the third chapter in my physics textbook – Current and electricity, and had no problem in solving numerical problems relating to Kirchhoff’s rule, I opted for electrical engineering. I thought maybe this stream has more friendly people like Ohm and Kirchhoff, and less troublesome like le chatelier, Markonikoff, and others.
Bhopal, what I found is a city in dilemma. A dilemma of whether to bask in its past glory, or to wake up to the challenges of this dynamic world, and modify accordingly. Although Porsche multi-storied shopping malls have just come up, but still what dominates the Bhopal skyline are the minarets of Taj-ul Masjid. The same is true about the mindset people have. I visited a crowded shopping place, with narrow streets, made even narrower by encroaching vendors and casual local, who have no real work. Quite a good number of women can be spotted in burqa. A burqa does not necessarily mean that the women have still not come out from the social stigma.
Looking into its history Bhopal was ruled for a considerable period of time by Begums, although very orthodox ones. In the medieval times initially the Paramaras, lately the Mandu Sultans controlled it.
The Mirzai Khel Dynasty founded by Dost Mohammad Khan, who was entered the service of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Aurangzeb controlled Bhopal during the final imperial years. The clever begums did everything to keep their hold over Bhopal, and at the same time maintaining warm relation with the British. Shahzada Saif Ali khan, a well-known cine star belongs to the same dynasty.
A succession of women rulers – Begums added some spice to the otherwise dull Bhopal’s history. Qudsia Begum (also known as Gohar Begum) started this no so popular trend in 1819. She took over the kingdom after her husband’s death at the tender agre of eighteen years. Her caourage and bravery made up for her illiteracy. The refusal to wear a Purdah, in those days can give you an idea of the courageus Begum. Completely ignoring the male family members she declared that her 2 year old daughter Sikander will follow her as the ruler. Bhopal’s Jama masjid is one of her creations.
Sikandar Begam, like her mother never observed Purdah. She was a well trained warrior and helped the British during the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. Her successor Shah jahan Begum, shared many common things with Mughal Emperor Shajahan, other than name. she is remembered for a lot of architectural involvements - a city named Shajahanabad, a new palace named Taj Mahal,Ali Manzil, Amir Ganj, Barah Mahal, Benazir Complex, Khawasoura, Mughalpura, Nematpura and Nawab Manzils.
Sulatn jahan Begum, daughter of Shah Jahan Begum took over bhopal after her mother's death. she made a pallace for herself that toady is known as Sadar Manzil and served as headquaters of bhopal Municipal Corporation.Ahmedabad (city namded after her husband), Qaser-e-sultani palace, Noor-us-sabah palace are some of her efforts to beutify bHopal.other tha these acheivements, She was the first president of the All India Conference on Education and first chancellor of the Muslim University of Aligarh.
The peaceful rule of Begums ended with ascession of Nawab Hamidullah, son of Sultan jahan begum in 1926. This impartial and unorthodox rule of Begums gave Bhopal a unique mixed culture. Hindus were entrusted with high profiles, while the fiery pathans acquired a passion for poetry and art.
But, the Gandhian calls of “purna Swaraj” and subsequent independence from British rule was something that they were not ready for. Bhopal was one of the last princely states to join the Indian Union. It was only on 1st May 1949, about two after indepence, finally Bhopal agreed to sign the Instrument of Acccession.
1956, Bhopal was made the capital of the newly created “Madhya Pradesh” – that is Central Province. Earlier during the British times, Dhar enjoyed this statute for quite a long time. A big responsibility was now on Bhopal – to change itself, remodel itself, and most importantly to change the prevailing mindset of the society. All of a sudden there’s an influx of populace, and development of infrastructural facilities. But, somewhere Bhopal felt behind, it could have become the next Hyderabad, or may be like Baroda.
Union Carbide was the firm that gave this city its share of international attention, although at a very high cost. MIC (Methyl isocyanate) was the gas that leaked into the sleepy quarters, killing thousands of people, in sleep.Today, Bhopal has some small industries and a major production site of BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) – Courtesy Nehru.
I reached Bhopal on 24th Feb. 2005 by Bhopal Express, and moved in to Hotel Jehanuma Palace. This was my first introduction to the palace hotels. I was very excited and thought of staying in a royal apartment was something very new for a commoner like myself. The fountains were in full flow and the royal grandeur was pervasive. The whole day passed by with nothing worth mentioning except a visit to Bhojpura in the evening.
Bhojpura has a huge unfinished Shiva temple from the medieval period. “It is the largest Shiva lingam in the whole world,” informed the local pujari, I belief to add some spice to the otherwise morose structure, that stands deserted. He informed that during Shivaratri, it’s even difficult to put your feet. I looked around the temple complex for my areas of interest and moved out.
Walked around the whole hotel, and the swimming pool, just next to my cottage. I don’t know why a strange thought came to my mind - to have a drink in the royal ambience. Enquired about the bar at reception. “Shergar” was a little expensive so I rather made my way to “Tattenham Corner” – a less expensive and more happening place. Why a bar with such a name, wondered myself. Later I found out that Gen. Obaidullah Khan, who build this palace had a special love for horses, and that’s why such names. Shergar was the horse that Sher Shah Suri rode, while driving out Humayun from the Indian sub-continent. And Tattenham is place famous for its racing horses.
After some screwing pegs of desi Indian rum, came out to see off boss on his return journey to Delhi. “Freedom at last” – now I can relish my biryani and thereafter enjoy a sound sleep; I had a full day to spare and Sanchi on my mind.
Next morning woke up late, had breakfast and equipped with didi’s Kyocera Auto focus camera ventured out towards Sanchi. Though of all possible ways to reach there, but just as I walked out the main gate of Jehanuma Palace, one of the Auto Rickshaw Wallah agreed to take me to Sanchi Directly. Well, I had no problem with Auto Rickshaws as they offer more views, are more airy, has enough space to accommodate two/ three persons and most importantly light on your wallet.
Ishrar, my auto Wallah was in his casual attire – a black pathani suit, embroidered with golden threads. As soon as we moved into a nearby petrol filling station, he took out his Khaki Official uniform to avoid any possible confrontations with the traffic officials. We moved through the famous twin lakes – Chota Talab and Bada Talab, the Sadar Manzil and many other monuments from the bygone Begum Era. After a drive of about 45 minutes, we were at the city outskirts.
What to say about the roads in Madhya Pradesh? You have to experience them yourselves. A board showing the State Highway Number is actually a shame for the State Government. It had more of patches and less of smooth surface. It seems as if the road has been completed in patches only. Very high level of dust and a bumpy road drove me to reanalyze my decision to take an Auto Rickshaw. “It would have been better to come by bus,” even Ishrar agreed.
Having passed through sukhi sewanya, Diwanganj we reached Sanchi. On may way I noticed two dead cows whose skins have been taken off. Just as we reached near Sanchi, the stupas made their first mighty appearance. Nearby were colonies of ASI officials. Sanchi has an old Open laboratory for ASI, right from the days of its inception during the imperial days. What we see today at Sanchi is largely because of the painstaking restoration work done by ASI, after the mindless plundering of these stupas by Cunningham and other amateur treasure hunters. Cunningham dismantled Stupa 2; having found some relics he tried his hand on the grand stupa, by driving a shaft right into it at its center. But this time with no rewards.
ASI took the restoration in 1912, under Sir John Marshall. The stones have been kept in place to make the perfect hemispherical shape that they actually resembled once. Sanchi has a special place in Buddhism, even though Buddha himself never came here. There are some contradictions also as none of the major contemporary travelers had talked about it. But, the importance is derived from the fact that these stupas are the oldest surviving Buddhist monuments in the Indian-subcontinent.
Sanchi today has a collection of some really big and some very small stupas, remains of earlier temples, and monasteries from 3rd century B.C. and later periods. This place was groomed a center of learning by the great emperor Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism after the Kalinga war. Took the tickets from the foothill, and moved uphill to the silent stupas.
Entered through the main entrance and after a brief walk, I was standing in front of something that I first saw in my 6th standard social science book. The Sanchi stupas have a special importance in Buddhist stupa and temple architecture. Why stupas? Came the immediate query. What’s wrong with a temple, as in later centuries Buddhist kings have also build temples as done at Bodhgaya? So, what’s so special about this Hemispherical, solid, mound of rubble? There’s no way to the inside, and yes! What decided the size? And how is a stupa more pro-meditation as compared to a temple? My mind was full of questions, and no answer.
Wandered through the whole area for about two and half hours, in bright scorch sunshine. Climbed up the main stupa, and made a parikrama all around. I had a good book on Sanchi by Debala Mitra, but I left it in Delhi, so, there was no means of decoding the jatakas etched on the gateways. The main stupa has four torana or gateways, in all four directions, and two circumambulatory at different elevations. These a circumambulatories were probably used by the Buddhist monks to do the routine parikramas.
Moved to the temple ruins nearby. Only the foundation and some pillars remain today, what used to be great temples. I feel, Sanchi was developed into a pilgrimage center in the later centuries, with Buddhist stupas as well as Hindu temples. This is also a testimony of the tolerant religious nature of those days. Stepping down along the slant, I landed in a Buddhist monastery; took some pictures and moved towards the Stupa 2. On the way, were remains of cellar meant for Buddhist monks. It was all dry and harsh. The trees had already shed their trees and the water bodies started to dry up. The mineral water bottle that I took from the entrance proved quite useful, with nothing else to beat the heat.
Moved around the stupa 2. This place offers a great view of the whole area. A train passed by; I waited for some more time and then decided to call it a day. “What if the mobile phone had not been invented?” came the quest. The security man sitting next to stupa 2 made me to think so. The poor fellow was all alone, in heat with no shade other than a leafless tree, with no real work, and hardly anyone to talk with. The maximum number of tourist visiting Stupa 2 in off-season cannot be more than 10. Now, just imagine how can he kill his time without his sole companion - his mobile phone. “Poor Guy.”
Came back and enjoyed a smoke with Ishrar. Had a close look at the watch, and adding for the return journey time, I decided to go to Islamnagar. After some two hours of journey, we were in Bhopal. Ishrar took the Berasia Highway for Islamnagar. Islamnagar is a place frequently visited by the Bhopalis in the evening as a park. I found a lot of youngsters, enjoying their moments of intimacy in the royal corridors of Chaman Mahal.
Islamnagar is a fertile patch of plain land that had nothing a fort should have. The fortified area has some eroding bastions scattered here and there, in the lush green fields. Even at some places the fortification looks like a weak wall, the crumbling bastion too looked like scaled down versions of other medieval forts. Winning such a weak fort must have been a joke those days.
Moved around the ruins, though some of the part was inaccessible because of renovation works. Chaman Mahal has been restored quite well and gives an idea of the lifestyle of Mirzai Khel Dynasty. Moved around the other palaces, and Hamams.
Asked Ishrar to drop me at Bada Talab that usually has a lot of activity in the evening. I was feeling hungry, as I had taken nothing since the morning breakfast. Moved into a restaurant, took dahi vada, and a steaming cup of tea, followed by some mild puffs of smoke. It is an unmatched venue to witness Bhopal - that once was - in the fading evening light. The towering minarets of the numerous mosques, the yellowish light that gives the lake a golden touch, and the boats on their comeback voyage all add up for a great view to end up the day.
Started for hotel Jehanuma Palace; had chicken biryani for dinner and left hotel for Bhopal Railway Station. While Bhopal offered a great insight into what a princely state looked like and thought about, Sanchi gave an idea of the Buddhist influence in and around India in the ancient days. The remains of Islamnagar stand testimony to the taste and likings of the Mirzai Khel Dynasty whereas Bhojpura tells us about the might of Paramara King Bhoja, who is often remembered in the famous saying, “kaha raja Bhoja kahan gangu teli.”
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