Indore

About the city

Indore is known as the city of the Holkars. The city was built by a Holkar Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada River valley in the western part of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Indore is an important industrial city of India. It is also the centre of trade and textile industry and home to many historical monuments and temples. A must visit, Indore is also affectionately called 'Mini Mumbai'.

Indore was the seat of the Holkars, a Maratha family who established their state in 1733. Society advanced, they laid out a pleasant city which found prosperity in textiles.

Indore today is mostly visited only on the way to Mandu, but the Hukumchand Jain Temple (Kanch Mandir) should be seen. Here the peculiar Jain art form is taken to the exteme. Every square inch of the interior is covered with little pieces of mirror, mother- of- pearl, and coloured glass. As in other Jain temples their holy places are illustrated: the panel numbered 12 is Sravana Belgola, 16 Girnar Hill, and 30 Bayapur where Mahavira gave up life in a lotus pool to achieve nirvana. Moer unusal are those on morality: 37- 46 are on the theme of crime and punishment, 40 on theft and its panels in front of the shrine show how Mahavira (just like Buddha) conquered various temptations, most obviously by the dancing girls.

Students of modern architecture might be tempted to find the Manik Bagh Palace, built in the 1930s in Art Deco- Modemist style by Eckart Muthesius. An important business and industrial centre, Indore is the gateway to Ujjan and Omkareshwar.

Indore, with some justification, claims to produce the best kulfi a very rich ice cream, in Indai. A nice place, Indore.

Indore is an important base to visit some of the interesting sites nearby. Hence an excursion is highly recommended. Your excursion from Indore would include sites like the Omkareshwar temple and island at the confluence of the Narmada and Kaveri rivers; Maheshwar, a famous spot for monuments, forts and Maheshwari saris; Ujjain, one of the holiest cities of India; Mhow, derived from Military Headquarters Of War (MHOW); Mandu, the former monsoon retreat of the Mughal emperors; and Patal Pani, a waterfall with a height of 150 feet.

Indore derives its name from the 18th century Indreshwar temple. The city is situated on the banks of the rivers Sarasvati and Khan and is the largest in Madhya Pradesh. Indore was planned and built by Rani Ahilyabai Holker. It is naturally endowed with a beautiful landscape and salubrious climate. There are numerous monuments associated with the Holkars in the city. Indore is a great industrial centre and has the look of a boom town.

Demography

It is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh with a population of about 16,00,000 according to the 2001 census. The city is undergoing a fast rise in population owing to growing trade and job vacancies. The average annual growth rate of population is around 3% as per the statistics of census 2001.

History

The history of Indore is inseparable from the history of the Holkar State. The founder of the House of Holkars was Malhar Rao Holkar, born in 1692 AD. His soldierly qualities brought him to the forefront under the Peshwa, and he was rewarded with the gift of territories comprising the Indore region. Malhar Rao was succeeded by his grandson, on whose death, his mother, Maharani Devi Ahilya Bai who was without any issue, ascended the throne. Ahilya Bai was one of the foremost Maratha personalities and an extraordinary woman ruler of India. He cherished desire was to promote the prosperity of the region and its people. Though Ahilya Bai loved Indore immensely, it was only after her death that the state was shifted from Maheswar to Indore in 1811 Ad. Today, her statue adorns the centre of the city, Rajwada. Indore continued to be the state capital until the formation of Madhya Bharat State in 1948.