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India Tours » Travel to Mandu
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MANDU – A PAST PERFECT PLACE
In Mandu, the tourist feels dwarfed by history and the sheer magnificence of its monuments.
Silence pooled around us as thick as an oil slick. An arsenic-red sun set to give way to violet-grey twilight as soft as a butterfly’s wing. At Rani Roopmati’s pavilion in Mandu which broods over her lover Baz Bahadur’s palace, said to be a magnificent example of Afghan architecture. The balladeers of Malwa still sing about the romance of this royal duo, whose tragic lives have inspired several celluloid versions of their love story.
Mandu, ultimately, is the stuff of dreams and legends, a historic town built on a spur jutting out of the Vindhya range. Pristine with green grass and peace, the hill fort seems to hold itself aloof from the smoke-filled towns of the plains, full of energy, profit and dirt. Its raison d’etre is to lure tourists and engulf them in tranquil repose.
Spreadeagled on a plateau and 2,000 ft above sea level, Mandu is surrounded by chasms and ravines on one side and the rolling Nimar plains on the other. It is ravishing in the monsoons when it is said the very air is green, like moss after the rains. It is pretty in winter as well, a fact that we can vouch for. We visited Mandu last December in season when the town was full of foreign tourists with blistered skins. Summer is unbearably hot, and the sun-bleached hills appear harsh and unforgiving at the time.
Not surprisingly, the hill fort reportedly draws three lakh tourists a year, largely foreign tourists and history buffs, fascinated by its palaces, open to the skies and by one of the greatest love stories ever told.
Ensconced within 45 km of parapet walls that march across the mountains and are punctuated by 12 gateways, Mandu was originally the fort capital of the Parmar rulers of Malwa. Towards the end of the 13th century, it came under the sway of the sultans of Malwa, the first of whom renamed it Shadiabad or City of Joy. Indeed, at the time, Mandu was pervaded by a joyous spirit and its rulers built exquisite palaces like the Jahaz and Hindola Mahals, ornamental canals, baths and pavilions, which today give one the feeling that another time lurks out there.
Under the Mughals, Mandu became a pleasure resort, its lakes and palaces, the scene of festive extravaganzas. According to historic lore, Akbar destroyed some of its structures to to make Mandu less attractive. But Jehangir, his son, was so under its spell that he exclaimed during one of his visits: What words of mine can describe the beauty of the grass and wild flowers I know of no place so pleasant in climate and so pretty in scenery as Mandu during the rainy season.
Today the plateau town is adorned by 75 monuments, scattered over 8 sq mi and looked after by the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). They are the highlights of a visit to Mandu and are divided into three main groups—the Village Group, the Royal Enclave and the Rewa Kund group. A main street lined with mud and brick houses sprouting TV antennae leads to the hub of the small town and extends to adivasi villages on the fringes. In the heart of town, banyan trees with roots hanging like a sadhu’s dreadlocks rub shoulders with fat baobabs, reportedly brought to the country from Africa by the Abyssinian slaves of sultans. This is where the town’s sole bank is located (which opens only on two days of the week), and two STD booths which the were closed most of the time!
The Ashrafi Mahal or the Palace of Gold Coins was conceived as a madrassa for young boys, and was built by Mahmud Shah Khilji. In the same complex, he built a seven-storeyed tower to celebrate his victory over Rana Khumba of Mewar of which only the basement has survived, as it was built in a hurry andsupervised by incompetent architects. Ashrafi Mahal got its name. Emperor Jehangir during one of his sojourns here had placed an ashrafi (gold coin) on each of the tower’s 198 steps to cajole and bribe his pregnant wife Noor Jehan to climb up to its summit. Very little remains of the structure barring a carved marble sarcophagus and a few calligraphic inscriptions.
On the other hand, Hoshang Shah’s Tomb, India’s first marble edifice, is intact. It is reputed to beone of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture. The white, rather squat mausoleum with its magnificently proportioned dome, surrounded by round turrets, is said to have inspired the Taj Mahal.
On a physical level, the Jahaz Mahal with its open pavilions, overhanging balconies and an open terrace is an imaginative re-creation in stone of a royal pleasure craft about to set sail. It was here that Emperor Jehangir held extravagant parties, when he would be weighed in silver and precious stones. Ghiyas-uddin who has been credited with the building of the Jahaz Mahal also built the adjacent harem and its ancilliary units like a Turkish bath and the well, Champa Baodi. The latter served as an escape hatch for the ladies of the harem in case of an enemy attack. The women who knew how to swim would jump into the three-storey deep well and then hide in the subterranean chambers.
In the same area are the Hindola (swing) Mahal where the Khilji kings held court. The walls of the T-shaped hall slope inward at a 77° angle and give the uneasy feeling that the solid mass is swaying.
It was here that the seeds of the country’s colonial past were sown. When Emperor Jehangir’s wife Noor Jehan fell ill, none of the royal doctors could diagnose the ailment. Sir Thomas Roe, a representative of the East India Company, cured the empress, and in return, the emperor granted permission to the East India Company to start operations in Surat, Bharuch, Machlipatnam and Calcutta, said our guide.
The Taveli (tavela or stable) Mahal opposite the Jahaz Mahal was where Mahmud Khilji kept his several thousand strong cavalry. Till not too long ago, the Taveli Mahal served as a charming guest house. Today it houses the offices of the Archaelogical Survey of India and a small museum.
While Mandu sometimes evokes hard and jagged ../images, of and country adorned with graceful but solid edifices, the ../images are liquid too of secret brooks and streams gushing from high mountain hollows... The lake outside our MP Tourist Cottages glittered like raindrops caught in a spider’s web... And in limpid Rewa Kund, sadhus take a sacred dip as they believe that the lake is a manifestation of the sacred Narmada. Rewa Kund was in fact a reservoir built by Baz Bahadur with an aqueduct to provide Roopmati’s palace with water.
Nearby are Baz Bahadur’s 16th century palace with its halls and high terraces and the utterly romantic Roopmati’s Pavilion, from where the lovely queen could gaze at the Narmada. The view from Roopmati’s Pavilion is breathtaking at sunset and on moonlit nights. It had captivated visitors like Emperors Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jehan; and more recently enchanted Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah. Chandeshri, whose sense of the dramatic heightens the allure of every monument, related how on one occasion Nehru could not for the life of him spot the silvery skein of the Narmada from the pavilion.
How and Where
The nearest airport for Mandu is Indore, about 100 km away. Convenient railheads are Ratlam and Indore. From Mumbai to Indore, the best option is the Awantika Express.
Other good options from Mumbai are the Rajdhani and the Amritsar Golden Temple Express which stop at Ratlam. From New Delhi, the Intercity Express and Malwa Express stop at Indore while the Rajdhani, Central Swaraj Express, Jammutawi Rajkot Express and Ahmedabad Sarvodaya Express stop at Ratlam. From Calcutta to Indore, the Kshipra Express is a direct connection while from Chennai, the GT Express and Tamil Nadu Express stop at Bhopal.
From Indore, there are three private bus services (ST bus services have been stopped) to Mandu. From Mandu to Indore there are four services. Taxis are also available.
The best time to visit Mandu is in the rains when the hill fort is cast in a green spell. Barring the period from mid-March to mid-June, the hill resort is pleasant throughout the year. Woollens are necessary in winter.
Accommodation wise, the Tourist Cottages overlooking Sagar Kund and the Travellers’ Lodge (both run by MP Tourism) are comfortable and command good views.
The Jhira Bagh Palace, 4 km from Dhar, is a good option for day trips to Mandu. The tariff ranges from A relatively new hotel with a spectacular view is Hotel Rupmati where a double room costs
In Mandu, the tourist feels dwarfed by history and the sheer magnificence of its monuments.
Silence pooled around us as thick as an oil slick. An arsenic-red sun set to give way to violet-grey twilight as soft as a butterfly’s wing. At Rani Roopmati’s pavilion in Mandu which broods over her lover Baz Bahadur’s palace, said to be a magnificent example of Afghan architecture. The balladeers of Malwa still sing about the romance of this royal duo, whose tragic lives have inspired several celluloid versions of their love story.
Mandu, ultimately, is the stuff of dreams and legends, a historic town built on a spur jutting out of the Vindhya range. Pristine with green grass and peace, the hill fort seems to hold itself aloof from the smoke-filled towns of the plains, full of energy, profit and dirt. Its raison d’etre is to lure tourists and engulf them in tranquil repose.
Spreadeagled on a plateau and 2,000 ft above sea level, Mandu is surrounded by chasms and ravines on one side and the rolling Nimar plains on the other. It is ravishing in the monsoons when it is said the very air is green, like moss after the rains. It is pretty in winter as well, a fact that we can vouch for. We visited Mandu last December in season when the town was full of foreign tourists with blistered skins. Summer is unbearably hot, and the sun-bleached hills appear harsh and unforgiving at the time.
Not surprisingly, the hill fort reportedly draws three lakh tourists a year, largely foreign tourists and history buffs, fascinated by its palaces, open to the skies and by one of the greatest love stories ever told.
Ensconced within 45 km of parapet walls that march across the mountains and are punctuated by 12 gateways, Mandu was originally the fort capital of the Parmar rulers of Malwa. Towards the end of the 13th century, it came under the sway of the sultans of Malwa, the first of whom renamed it Shadiabad or City of Joy. Indeed, at the time, Mandu was pervaded by a joyous spirit and its rulers built exquisite palaces like the Jahaz and Hindola Mahals, ornamental canals, baths and pavilions, which today give one the feeling that another time lurks out there.
Under the Mughals, Mandu became a pleasure resort, its lakes and palaces, the scene of festive extravaganzas. According to historic lore, Akbar destroyed some of its structures to to make Mandu less attractive. But Jehangir, his son, was so under its spell that he exclaimed during one of his visits: What words of mine can describe the beauty of the grass and wild flowers I know of no place so pleasant in climate and so pretty in scenery as Mandu during the rainy season.
Today the plateau town is adorned by 75 monuments, scattered over 8 sq mi and looked after by the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). They are the highlights of a visit to Mandu and are divided into three main groups—the Village Group, the Royal Enclave and the Rewa Kund group. A main street lined with mud and brick houses sprouting TV antennae leads to the hub of the small town and extends to adivasi villages on the fringes. In the heart of town, banyan trees with roots hanging like a sadhu’s dreadlocks rub shoulders with fat baobabs, reportedly brought to the country from Africa by the Abyssinian slaves of sultans. This is where the town’s sole bank is located (which opens only on two days of the week), and two STD booths which the were closed most of the time!
The Ashrafi Mahal or the Palace of Gold Coins was conceived as a madrassa for young boys, and was built by Mahmud Shah Khilji. In the same complex, he built a seven-storeyed tower to celebrate his victory over Rana Khumba of Mewar of which only the basement has survived, as it was built in a hurry andsupervised by incompetent architects. Ashrafi Mahal got its name. Emperor Jehangir during one of his sojourns here had placed an ashrafi (gold coin) on each of the tower’s 198 steps to cajole and bribe his pregnant wife Noor Jehan to climb up to its summit. Very little remains of the structure barring a carved marble sarcophagus and a few calligraphic inscriptions.
On the other hand, Hoshang Shah’s Tomb, India’s first marble edifice, is intact. It is reputed to beone of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture. The white, rather squat mausoleum with its magnificently proportioned dome, surrounded by round turrets, is said to have inspired the Taj Mahal.
On a physical level, the Jahaz Mahal with its open pavilions, overhanging balconies and an open terrace is an imaginative re-creation in stone of a royal pleasure craft about to set sail. It was here that Emperor Jehangir held extravagant parties, when he would be weighed in silver and precious stones. Ghiyas-uddin who has been credited with the building of the Jahaz Mahal also built the adjacent harem and its ancilliary units like a Turkish bath and the well, Champa Baodi. The latter served as an escape hatch for the ladies of the harem in case of an enemy attack. The women who knew how to swim would jump into the three-storey deep well and then hide in the subterranean chambers.
In the same area are the Hindola (swing) Mahal where the Khilji kings held court. The walls of the T-shaped hall slope inward at a 77° angle and give the uneasy feeling that the solid mass is swaying.
It was here that the seeds of the country’s colonial past were sown. When Emperor Jehangir’s wife Noor Jehan fell ill, none of the royal doctors could diagnose the ailment. Sir Thomas Roe, a representative of the East India Company, cured the empress, and in return, the emperor granted permission to the East India Company to start operations in Surat, Bharuch, Machlipatnam and Calcutta, said our guide.
The Taveli (tavela or stable) Mahal opposite the Jahaz Mahal was where Mahmud Khilji kept his several thousand strong cavalry. Till not too long ago, the Taveli Mahal served as a charming guest house. Today it houses the offices of the Archaelogical Survey of India and a small museum.
While Mandu sometimes evokes hard and jagged ../images, of and country adorned with graceful but solid edifices, the ../images are liquid too of secret brooks and streams gushing from high mountain hollows... The lake outside our MP Tourist Cottages glittered like raindrops caught in a spider’s web... And in limpid Rewa Kund, sadhus take a sacred dip as they believe that the lake is a manifestation of the sacred Narmada. Rewa Kund was in fact a reservoir built by Baz Bahadur with an aqueduct to provide Roopmati’s palace with water.
Nearby are Baz Bahadur’s 16th century palace with its halls and high terraces and the utterly romantic Roopmati’s Pavilion, from where the lovely queen could gaze at the Narmada. The view from Roopmati’s Pavilion is breathtaking at sunset and on moonlit nights. It had captivated visitors like Emperors Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jehan; and more recently enchanted Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah. Chandeshri, whose sense of the dramatic heightens the allure of every monument, related how on one occasion Nehru could not for the life of him spot the silvery skein of the Narmada from the pavilion.
How and Where
The nearest airport for Mandu is Indore, about 100 km away. Convenient railheads are Ratlam and Indore. From Mumbai to Indore, the best option is the Awantika Express.
Other good options from Mumbai are the Rajdhani and the Amritsar Golden Temple Express which stop at Ratlam. From New Delhi, the Intercity Express and Malwa Express stop at Indore while the Rajdhani, Central Swaraj Express, Jammutawi Rajkot Express and Ahmedabad Sarvodaya Express stop at Ratlam. From Calcutta to Indore, the Kshipra Express is a direct connection while from Chennai, the GT Express and Tamil Nadu Express stop at Bhopal.
From Indore, there are three private bus services (ST bus services have been stopped) to Mandu. From Mandu to Indore there are four services. Taxis are also available.
The best time to visit Mandu is in the rains when the hill fort is cast in a green spell. Barring the period from mid-March to mid-June, the hill resort is pleasant throughout the year. Woollens are necessary in winter.
Accommodation wise, the Tourist Cottages overlooking Sagar Kund and the Travellers’ Lodge (both run by MP Tourism) are comfortable and command good views.
The Jhira Bagh Palace, 4 km from Dhar, is a good option for day trips to Mandu. The tariff ranges from A relatively new hotel with a spectacular view is Hotel Rupmati where a double room costs
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