A Short Road Trip to Mandu from Indore - The Ancient Heritage of MP

It was on august 13, 2017; my parents first visited me to my new home at Indore, after my marriage. For them, it was a 3 days trip to their daughter 's place. We were too delighted to meet them after months. Their 3 days trip included 2 days of their arrival and departure. We had just 1 day in our hand to explore and visit a place of mutual interest.

My father being a history and culture lover proposed to see any such place nearby which can be covered in a day, to which we all agreed. We decided to go to Mandu, a place of historical importance which is nearly 97kms from Indore, the next day.

On august 14, we all woke up early and had breakfast. Mumma made snacks for the way (you know how Indian moms are!!). We were all set to go by 9 am. We decided to go by our own car as the weather was pleasant and the road from Indore to Mandu was good.

The road trip was all full of fun, gossips, chats and teasing. We crossed many green fields on the way, heard of cattle blocked our way sometimes. We crossed a local market area where Rakhis were being sold (people over there celebrate Rakshabandhan festival till rishipanchami. So, for them its not a one day celebration, rather it 's a week 's festival). Rocky cliffs made the roadside scenic beauty worth watching. It took us nearly 2 and half hours to reach our destination. Thanks to Google maps which helped us all our way.

The first place we encountered after reaching Mandu village was the REWA KUND. It was a beautiful man made pond which was thought to be used by the castle men in early days. The pond was empty surrounded by iron fencing to prevent entry of tourists.

There were 2 forts at Mandu, one at the root of the mountain and the other somewhere near the top. We purchased tickets and went to see the first fort. The notice board over there read- œPHOTOGRAPHY PROHIBITED .

As we entered the fort, there stood a huge iron gate which was not probably too old, as its design seemed to be quite modern. We entered inside through a lobby like area with stages on either sides, which was probably the areas for the guards. Walking inside, we saw a big rock building with central open area surrounded on all the four sides by rooms and lobby. The rooms were all empty.

There was a narrow staircase on one side that took us to the roof through a tunneled entrance. Roof top was a big area with few stages at places. The top fort was clearly visible from this fort. We then planned to go to the next fort which was situated at the top of the mountain.

The second fort was just in a small distance from the previous one. The parking area was a little farther away from the fort. We had to walk a long way to reach the fort. The way was sloppy making us to walk with effort. We finally reached the premises of the fort. The basement of which had broad canals. Its entrance was closed for the tourists. A narrow rock staircase took us to the main body of the fort.

There was a huge beautiful lawn with green grass surrounded by tiny bushes. A group of students with musical instruments were playing antakshari over there and enjoying to their fullest, making the environment full of joy. We took a round trip along the garden, ending which, there was an iron staircase which took to the roof of the front shed like area. Roof was all open, giving an excellent bird 's-eye view around the mountain.

We then came down again to the parking area, crossing a lane where the local vendors were selling regional wild fruits. Some were selling peanuts and corn roasted in coal, the smoky smell of which covered the whole atmosphere.

We then headed back towards Indore, crossing on the way many small temples. On the way we halted at Madhya Pradesh tourism guest house, where we had lunch and stretched for a while; and then again started our journey back to home.

We took beautiful memories back home with us and cherished the moments spent together after months with our parents. This short 1 day Indore to Mandu road trip will always be memorable for me.