Who goes to Madhya Pradesh for New Years and that too a place like Mandu? This is how some people reacted when we told them about our road trip from Mumbai to Madhya Pradesh. Why not? Especially when your closest friends are architects, you know you have the best company to explore the history and culture of a new place .
On the first day of our visit in Mandu, our guide first took us around the Jahaz mahal .The structures in the royal complex of jahaz mahal was initially built by the Parmar dynasty and later the sultans build over them covering most of the statues & structures made in Indian architecture. However we can see some portions of Indian architecture like the jharokha / balconies built in Rajput style and the arches in Islamic style. The windows of the Buildings were larger from the inside of the room and smaller / tapering on the outside, allowing the natural light and wind to spread inside the rooms .
In the entire royal complex of the Jahaj Mahal, I was fascinated by the idea and skill that went into creating a water supply at an era where there were no machines. They had a pulley system ( which was run by animals ) which would lift the water from the ground level and with the help of concrete water channels the water would reach the respective bathtubs / storages. When I saw the bathroom or Hammam , I was fascinated not only by the architecture and beauty but also by the mechanism of how water reached these bath areas and how steam was created . The Hammam ( hot bath / spas) was built by the sultans of Malwa in the Turkish style . The highlight was the star and sun shaped motifs on the ceiling . When light would pass through them it would give a feel of twinkling stars even during the day. The walls were decorated with blue lapis lazuli stones to give an effect of blue / night light. Indeed Royal !.
Some other monuments within the Jahaj mahal were the Hindola Mahal , Baz bahadur palace, Champa Baouli which had natural air conditioned rooms for the hot summer days.
An entire day is not enough to see the place in detail . With every ruler who ruled Malwa , the face of the town changed and new stories were born , some happy and some gloomy. Towards the end of the day we visited Rani Roopmati pavilion and saw the beautiful sunset.
Next day we left for Maheshwar a town nearby Mandu . We visited the Ahilyabai holkar palace and Saw the Sunset at Ahilya Fort on the banks of Narmada river.
Third day of our trip we drove to Orchha . On the fourth day with a guide we walked to the different Mahals in Orchha . The town of Orchha came into existence in 1501 AD , founded by Raja Rudra pratap . The Raja Mahal palace was thus the first palace in Orchha build for Raja Rudra Pratap and his family.It is said to have taken around 92 yrs to complete the Raja Mahal.
Later we visited The Jahangir Mahal which was build in the 17th century by Raja Vir Singh to welcome Emperor Jahangir . It’s said to be a testimony of the bond of friendship between the Bundelas and the Mughals. And it is this backstory that interested me the most.
Lastly we saw the Sheesh Mahal . On the fifth day , we traveled to Khajuraho early in the morning with a guide we saw all the temples and he explained the significance of each. Beautiful will be an understatement !
On the 6th Day we were on our way back to Mumbai . We decided to stop at Indor as my friend who was driving needed rest. So with the company of a local friend we visited Chappan and ate some of the best street food. The next morning we had the best poha and Jalebi from the roadside stall and left for Mumbai.
Wow, Beautifully explained. Being a Native of Madhya Pradesh never got the chance to explore, Thanks for sharing the details.
Welcome:)