JOIN USFour Holkar architectural gems to explore in Indore
Indore is known for the Holkars, the sovereigns that ruled it for centuries. Some of the city's most famous landmarks, built during or before the Holkar period, are now hidden in a bustling city and almost forgotten.
On a recent trip to Indore, I set out on a mission to discover these lesser-known historical sites that hold the key to Indore's origins. In the process, I also sampled some of the city's famous street cuisine in Juni (old) Indore.
Kanch Mandir (The Glass Temple)
My first stop in one of Itwaria Bazaar's packed byroads on Hukumchand Marg was Kanch Mandir, a glass shrine built by Sir Seth Hukum Chand Jain, India's erstwhile cotton prince. From the outside, Kanch Mandir resembles a medieval palace with a spire and canopied balconies. Inside, thousands of glass panels and mosaics cover the temple floor, ceilings, columns, and walls. Several palanquins of pure gold and silver, as well as a Garbhagriha with Tirthankara statues, can be found in the adjoining rooms. Sugandh Dashami and Kshamavani are the best time to visit this temple.
Lal Bagh Palace
An iconic mansion in Indira Nagar, about two kilometres from Kanch Mandir, evokes the fabled recollections of 19th-century India. Lal Bagh Palace is a three-storey structure with 45 rooms, originally built in sandalwood and Italian and French marble. Tukojirao II acquired this 78-acre property in the mid-18th-century, and his grandson saw the palace completed in 1926. Several European architectural motifs on the inside are still intact. A 20-acre rose garden and massive entrance gates resembling the Buckingham Palace gates are the highlights.
The Renaissance Revival style is echoed through the wall and ceiling murals, euphuistic chairs, chandeliers, and carpets, making Lal Bagh one of India's daintiest neo-classical buildings. The upper floor houses a collection of stuffed tigers and framed Malwa panoramas captured by the monarchs.
Annapurna Temple
A six-minute drive from Lal Bagh Palace got me to Indore's oldest temple, dedicated to Devi Annapurna, the female deity of food and knowledge. The 100-feet tall Annapurna Temple in Indore resembles Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, with life-sized elephants at the entrance and Dravidian art carved all over. This temple honours the divine union of Annapurna (the embodiment of Goddess Parvati) and Shiva, Hinduism's ultimate power couple.
Within the temple, the deity is depicted holding a vessel and a deep-bowled long-handled spoon, implying that followers would always be able to eat. Annapurna temple houses the temples of Kalabhairava, Hanuman, and Shiva in addition to its architectural splendour. After passing through Annapurna Mandir's carved walls, you'll come to a magnificent Krishna Temple with murals illustrating Krishna Leela on its walls.
Footi Kothi
Footi Kothi, about 1.3 kilometres from Annapurna Mandir, is the sole unfinished Holkar Dynasty architecture, abandoned and in ruins since the 18th century. Legend has it that King Shivaji Rao Holkar built the Kothi to launch an attack on the British cantonment in Mhow. A door-less temple sits on the ground floor. The stairwell behind it leads to the well-structured walls and wonderfully wrought columns. I travelled from one storey to the next until I discovered that the inaccessible basement also had a cowshed, nearly 300 closed rooms, and temples to numerous Hindu deities.
Other legends claim that the first floor of the Kothi was built without incident, but the second floor was abandoned due to repeated accounts of unusual happenings. The Holkar Maharaja then decided to depart the mansion. This building has remained forlorn with no roof and no doors. You must explore its architectural magnificence and colonial links, regardless of the stories you hear.
(Veidehi Gite is the founder of KrazyButterfly and a former advertising professional who writes on travel, luxury, food, fashion, and fitness.)