Dave Ka Divya (Garam) Masala.
Or, try another one. Jai Maa Bhavani Jhatka Mutton Shop.
If you are wondering if I have finally lost it, I am not yet there. These are just two of the many interesting names of shops that I saw recently in Indore. As I said in my last post, I was at Indore last week for campus recruitment. This post is about that trip. Will leave the mundane (and the official) stuff out of this for obvious reasons. However, the other bits of those two days in the capital of the Holkars, were very interesting, to say the least. You might have to pardon me if you find that my sense of wonderment in discovering or knowing about small and interesting things is in working overtime, but I would rather prefer it that way.
So, coming back to the city of Indore. Literally, after close to 10 years! The first thing that you notice about the place is that there has been a lot of changes (read construction) in the last 10 years. Clearly, Indore has been part of the 'India Rising' story. Also, a lot of this seems a bit rough at the edges; still work in progress, maybe. However, I distinctly remember the airport and the approach roads to it, which have not changed much. Same can be said for most of the arterial roads in the interiors of the city. But it is definitely a city which is expanding its limits. Large tracts of barren land which were previously on the outskirts of the city are now teeming with commercial complexes and malls. Hence, in a weird way, it looks like a city which has changed a lot, but still maintains an old world charm about it! Hence a 'Dave Ka Divya (Garam) Masala' does not necessarily look out of place at all. It is just very amusing for individuals like me who have lived most of their lives over the last 10 years in the concrete jungles, that our metro cities have become.
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| Indore Airport |
I am no sociologist but I sense that with the steady growth of the city and its infrastructure, the ambition and aspirations of the people. Most of the young people that I met on the campuses during the two days, appeared bullish, had the ability to dream; and dream big, and given the opportunities, I would not be surprised if they actually go on to realise those dreams as well in the future! A lot of them were very well-informed and aware of what is happening around them. For some, there were, of course, still challenges around issues like strong mother tongue accents and a very localized view of the world.
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| Treasure Island Mall |
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| Rajwada |
It is a pity thought that we couldn't visit more places of interest and explore the city in the two days that we were there. We drove by the Rajwada, a seven storey palace built by the Holkars. We also drove past the Treasure Island mall, which I understand was the first of its kind in the whole of Madhya Pradesh, in spite of Bhopal being the capital of the state. The place of interest where we did spent some time though was '56 Dukaan', known so because of the 56 shops / eateries offering various kinds of chaat items. Everything was very tasty, just as we were told they would be! I started out with a Hot Dog (not the American one; this is the vegetarian Indore version), moved onto Masala Puri, tucked into an Aloo Bonda and a Samosa to keep it company and topped it all off with a Mango Kulfi! Phew! I felt like I had already had the next day's breakfast! I was reminded of 'Khaana Peeni Gali' in my own hometown, Ahmedabad! But thank heavens, I did not even dare try the below:
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| A Faloooda-Rabdi-Icecream-Kulfi Delight |
That is Sanjeev Wason celebrating Indore and our rich haul from the city with a sinful dessert!
On a more personal note, I met up with Khandu after about 7 years, which was good. Could have been a mini alumni meet if I had known that another batch mate of ours was staying at the same hotel that I was in!
Destiny. Take care.
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