Bhopal: a well-kept secret
Amy Fernandes explores Bhopal a city that ranges from the rusticity of its caves to the elegance of its hotels and the eloquence of its museums
The elegant stairway of the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, holds a world of history and nostalgia. One particular picture grabs your attention like none other. Lord Minto is in full regalia with his wife and young nawabs, the oldest barely five years old. On the right is an imposing figure, eyes peeping at you through a burkha. She is the Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum Sahiba, the last of a long line of Begums, who ruled Bhopal with an iron fist and warm heart.
The influence they wielded is spoken of with nostalgic pride, and their touch of aesthetics show up in the city planning, its walls lined with Gond art and wide roads. It has two must-visit museums: The Tribal Art Museum and the cryptically named, The National Museum of Mankind. The former is one of its kind, showcasing tribal art and architecture of India. Unlike other museums that leave you exhausted, this brilliantly curated one, gives you a glimpse of the lives of tribal people, according them the intelligence and aesthetics that urban people are ignorant of. It’s a stunning museum and if it’s the only reason to visit Bhopal, then so be it.
Bhopal is a well-kept secret. It’s not on anyone’s bucket list. Proof lies in the fact that connectivity between major metros is rather poor, improving only incrementally. No one can forget the gas tragedy, but the city has moved on, as proud resident and recent convert to the city, Gaurav Rege, also GM of the Jehan Numa Palace, points out. He’s bristling with the same pride and fervour he reserves for his hotel. “Look at the walls of the city, the clean lakes,” he points at the arty murals along the lakeside. Bhopal is also known as the City of Lakes, there being 17 (large and small) lakes as opposed to Udaipur’s 11. But who’s counting? Right now, we’re impressed with miles of corridors with very tall fencing that gives the impression that wildlife in the state is just a high fence away.
The myth about tigers of Madhya Pradesh is what takes us to Reni Pani, a forested village in Hosangpur, three hours from Bhopal. Spread across 30 acres of varying jungle landscape, of meadows and hills and flatland, it’s a good way to discover wildlife on the Satpura range. Reni Pani gets its name from a vine that grows abundantly in the forest. As city folk, we want to see tigers. But the naturalists at the lodge dissuades us from being so narrowly focused. The idea is to observe the forest, we’re told. It changes from hour to hour. There are lessons to be learnt:
Lesson No 1: Jungle lodges are best made friends within the bright light of day, especially for city slickers, who find bellboys turning into gnomes with luggage, and leaves turning into snakes. You even read ominous meanings in the rustling of leaves underfoot.
Lesson No 2: Safaris are not meant for late risers, especially the kind lodged in comfortable tents in beds with hot water.
A 4am knock on our door (no intercoms in the rooms. If you want help, honk the horn and someone will come to your door), is a signal to jump into a jeep that trundles to the outpost and into the forest.
Lesson No 3: The tiger is not the only spectacle. Yet hushed whispers inform us that a tigress with two cubs was in the area yesterday. Before we could dismiss this as a rumour, we spot pug marks that lead to the hills, where we’re not going.
There’s lots more to see, we’re told and indeed we do: large sambars, the Gaurs (aka the Indian Bison, known to attack with just the weight of their bodies, when provoked), the red squirrel, tons of deer constantly on the edge with every sound they hear. Entire families of the Kingfisher tribe and other birds would drop by creating a little tableau for us.
The best is saved for last. A short uphill trek reveals a breathtaking landscape of black rocks strewn haphazardly over each other. You climb over them uncertainly, till suddenly you gasp at the sight ahead of you: a large rocky ravine across which flows a bubbling river. This is to be our breakfast spot. We’re savouring the experience of a meal on the rocks; apples, sandwiches and coffee. Above our heads, kingfishers swoop into the river emerging with fish, a black jay shrieks in a nearby tree, undoubtedly alarmed by the bearded owl, in the same branch, staring unblinkingly at the scene below.
On the way back to the city, we stop at the Bhimbetka Caves. Historically, it’s placed in the Mesolithic age. Mythically, it’s where Bhim is supposed to have sat during exile. Geographically, it’s placed in Hoshangabad. Twelve gigantic rock caves in strange contortions jump out at you. This outcrop of sandstone rocks that rise out of a dense jungle, somewhat resembles the Stonehenge minus the mystery. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. You marvel at the natural rock cuttings creating wide arches in the sky, huge stone canopies and deep tunnels. No wonder they call them rock shelters. Added bonus are well preserved cave paintings, which tell stories of eons gone by.
These images stay with us long after we check into the Jehan Numa Retreat, a place you can unwind and relax. First port of call should be a meal Under The Jamun Tree where a real jamun tree spreads its shade in the al fresco dining. Order a meal of Haleem, excellent Nalli Rogan Josh and the Bhopali Rizal. Bhopal is just an hour and a half from Mumbai. It should be on every traveller’s list.