Rendezvous With Indore, Omkareshwar And Ujjain

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I got a business-related opportunity to travel to Indore, and fortunately, it fell on a Monday. Which meant if I could plan the preceding weekend to be there and go around the place. The trip started with me reading the lonely planet for the places to visit in the city and around. And talking to a friend there.

Boats at Omkareshawar - Places to visit near Indore
Boats at Omkareshawar – Places to visit near Indore

Indore, Omkareshwar, and Ujjain Short Trip

Drive to Omkareshwar

On day 1 I visited Omkareshwar which is about 70 km from the city. Omkareshwar is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. The roads were good and the drive had two small ghat sections, not very steep and long. They made the whole drive very beautiful. The view from the ghat tops was misty and carried a sense of mystery. After crossing a few towns in between and missing a turn, we finally managed to reach the destination on the banks of river Narmada. The original temple with ancient architecture was actually on this side of the river. But the Jyotirlinga was replaced in a new temple on the other side of the river Narmada by some ruling kings during medieval times.

You can cross the river by 3 bridges which are quite close to each other. One look at them and you can see the era in which they were built. We crossed the river by boat and visited the temple. My first offering was to, a monkey, which decided to snatch that from me. A horrifying experience to see a monkey jumping on you. But I think I provided good laughing material to people there.

Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga

Having grown up as a Hindu, don’t know if this was my perception or was the reality. I could feel divinity in the ancient temple as if you can feel the power of prayers that would have happened there for eons. You can feel connected to all the souls who would have prayed there.

Coming back to the other side of the river, there were a few young girls playing with the water. As soon as I took out my camera to click them, I was amazed at the poses that they started giving me. They were like a small brigade of models, each one trying to be better than the other. I could clearly see the big influence that a small TV can have on the whole generation.

Bridge at Omkareshwar
Bridge at Omkareshwar

Ujjain – Mahakaleshwar Temple

The next day we visited Ujjain, which has both historical and religious importance. Ujjain is situated about 55 KM’s away. This is also a seat for one of the most important 12 Jyotirlingas, named Mahakaleshwar. The temple had a long queue and a very detailed queuing system. It took us 3+ hours to have the darshan. But once you have had the darshan, you tend to forget all the turmoil of the queues. Ujjain also happens to be the one-time kingdom of Vikramaditya (remember Vikram-Betal stories), who could visit the temple of his Kul-Devi. A small religious place, I could feel the undertones of Haridwar, Kashi, Mathura, and similar places. There is a lot more to Ujjain, which I believe I would have to cover in some other visit, if and when that happens.

Indore City – Food

On the way from the airport and to and from Omkareshwar and Ujjain, I did get to see around the city. A medium-sized city with almost all the facilities that a Metropolitan city can offer. But much more accessible, owing to the size and the population. Lots of buzz in the markets and a lot more nightlife than one would expect. But the high point of Indore was its food. Whether you eat in an up-market restaurant like Sreemaya, street food at Chhappan, food at an institute, or home-cooked food. Wherever you eat, it always left you wanting to eat more. And a sad feeling why do I not get to eat it every day?

There were quite a few of us who had gone for this visit. And each one of us had the same feeling about food. It showed in the amount of foodstuff we carried back with us. You may actually want to visit this city for food if nothing else.

Recommend you to read the following travel blog posts on Madhya Pradesh Tourist places.

Orchha – A Living Fort City

An epitome of Indian Art – Temples of Khajuraho

Rock Paintings of Bhimbetka

Bhojpur Shiva Temple – Bhojeshwar Temple

Sanchi Stupa or Great Stupa & around

11 COMMENTS

  1. I am glad you liked the place:).I once belonged there – now its a visit a year (if i am lucky ).

    I always had this feeling that the food is awesome in my homeland but then everybody thinks that about there place.

    Now its coming from from someone with a good taste bud and a Punjabi – Can you beat that :).

    3hrs of wait time ?huh ..feel lucky for yourself mam that it was not the peak season :).
    Best Wishes For 2K6 – Have fun

  2. ha ha ha.. so it seems you went on a spree to greater indore if there is any such indore.. ujjain , onkareshwar and all those religious spots are some things i didnt see more then 2-3 times in my 22 years in indore…

    so you are lucky that in a couple of days you actually got to see all of em.. or prolly you wanted to..

    anyhow one mentions indore and food come right into picture,mind, tounge.. ha ha.. every where..

    how could you have missed the one n only sarafa is beoynd me…

  3. well i am glad u liked the city.. i belonged to indore once.. one thing i really miss about that place is food & ofcourse my family .. by the way u missed a couple of great things one is in Ujjaini u have “Kal bahirav” Temple its unique on its own and ofcourse Rajwada @2AM midnight.. belive that city never sleeps…

  4. Indore..one of my fav places to enjoy food… the poha, the jalebi-rabdi combo… its just yum..and if you ever visit this place or Ujjain during Navratri..you are in for a treat.. you get such delicious food like the sabudana khichdi etc… I know I must be sounding like some crazy foodie out here but this place makes you so..Can’t help it 🙂
    and you are lucky ..really lucky to finish your darshan in 3+ hours… hope you get to see the other places soon in Indore and Ujjain..

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