11000 kms, 55 days, 9 states and a glimpse of Bhutan - A mega road trip(17): Mumbai via Maheshwar

We embarked on a mega road trip starting on 19th March from our Mumbai residence in Chembur and reached back Mumbai on 12th May after clocking more than 11000 km on the road. But before I start telling the tales from this trip I would like to reply some queries we have often faced. So here are some pointers about our trips in the format of question and answers:

Do we make advance booking for accommodations: Not always. When we know the place as well as the date we are going stay there and if it's a touristy place where finding an accommodation might be difficult, we book in advance. Or if we want to stay at a particular accommodation then we book in advance. But many a times we don't surely know the place where we are going to stay on a particular date as we like to keep our trip flexible. Besides, sometimes we make a night halt as per convenience and then we just check into a roadside hotel which seems good. At times we were pleasantly surprised to find very good hotels at places we expected least and at times we had to stay in hotels we would have rather not. We have learnt to adapt as a road trip cannot be planned ahead in details without losing the spontaneity which is the fun part. As a precaution we keep a set of bed linen with us in case we find the ones provided too offensive.

Our Vehicle: It's a Honda BRV - a seven seater automatic transmission vehicle - 2016 model. 1497 cc, 119 bhp with a ground clearance of 210 mm. It's a petrol car with a mileage of around 14 km/l on highways. It is not 4 wheel drive but that has not caused us much problem even though it faced off-roading quite a bit, maybe due to it's ground clearance. We keep a jump start cable, air compressor and a puncture repair kit in the vehicle. Learning to keep ourselves equipped drawing lesson from each trip.

How long do we travel in a day: Depends on the distance between the two consecutive places we want to visit. Generally we try not to travel for more than eight hours in a day and take breaks to straighten our limbs and break the monotony. But at times we have travelled up to ten hours or even more, especially if we did not find a suitable accommodation. And Sanjay alone drives, I don't drive.

What about food: We always try to taste the local cuisine and famous street food. Many people ask whether that does not create health issues. We try to maintain a balance by taking very simple food for at least one meal, having fruits and fresh juices. Besides, when having street food, we always choose the popular joints ensuring we get freshly prepared food. So far we have not faced major problem.

How do we manage laundry: As we travel in our own vehicle, we can be quite generous with packing reducing the need for frequent laundry job. Whenever we stay at a place for more than a day, we take care of our laundry. And we do try to take a break for two nights after a gap of few days.

The expenditure part: We are not very good at tracking expenditure. But in this trip I religiously recorded the rental expenditure along with the facilities provided to make it more informative. We try to not spend big rent for just an overnight halt and love to indulge on longer stays. I try to write reviews for all accommodations and eateries in Google with pictures which can be referred to if interested. I also tried to include major sightseeing expenditure if there is any.

We left Assam in October 2022 after taking early retirement from ONGC. It was almost one and half years and we wanted to celebrate Bohag Bihu / Assamese new year in Guwahati. There was a marriage in Jorhat during that time which we wanted to attend too. So we planned for this road trip to Assam covering few places in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. After reaching Assam we visited Umananda - the smallest inhabited riverine island, Aizawl - the capital city of Mizoram, a part of Meghalaya and Samdrup Jhankhar - a township in Bhutan. On our return trip we visited Kalimpong and Darjeeling in West Bengal, Varanasi and took a break in our Noida residence. From Noida we made a trip to Rishikesh and Haridwar. Then we came back to Mumbai with a night halt in Nalkheda and Maheswar.

For previous episodes from this trip may please read the earlier posts here or visit my blog:

https://straightfrommyheartblog.wordpress.com/

When we started on our trip in March from Mumbai we travelled through MP covering a large part of it. For the last part of our return leg from Noida to Mumbai we again chose a route via MP as we wished to meet some more family members. We made a night halt at a small township called Nalkheda where Sanjay's maternal aunt lives. Another night halt was in Maheshwar - a place we have fallen in love with. It's a beautiful place by the Narmada. But for me Maheshwar is special because it is linked to Rani Ahilyabai whom I consider an icon of female empowerment.

We started our trip from Noida to Mumbai on 10.05.2024 at around 6:30 am. Passing through Faridabad we took the Delhi Mumbai Expressway. After travelling for nearly two hours stopped at a roadside amenity to have breakfast of bread omlette and adraki chai. We did not stop anywhere till we reached Kota around 1 pm. Sanjay was in the mood to have daal bati and we went to a restaurant based on reviews. The name of the restaurant was Amar Punjabi restaurant where we had a Rajasthani thali. The thali consisted of daal bati churma, gatte ki sabji, kadi, lehsun ki chutney, onion salad, butter milk, papad, green chili achar and was very delicious. A family with many young girls were dining nearby. Interacted with a naughty little girl of the group which made our meal entertaining.

After lunch again we drove on nonstop. There were lots of wind turbines and orange orchards on the way as we approached Nalkheda. We reached Sanjay's maternal aunt's place in Nalkheda at around 5 pm. Next morning we took leave from them to proceed to Indore via Ujjain. But before leaving Nalkheda we visited the famous Baglamukhi temple. It is said that this temple was built by Yudhishthira at the direction of Lord Krishna to win the war of Kurukshetra.

At Ujjain we went to a cousin's place where we had breakfast. Then we went to Indore. Sanjay did a part of his schooling from Daly college and his B Tech from SGS Institute of Technology and Science in Indore. After he started working also he lived there till 2000 and considers Indore to be his home town. We have lots of relatives there.

A commercial hub, Indore is the largest and most populous city in the state of MP. Considered the commercial capital of the state, it has been consistently ranked as the cleanest city in India since 2017. It was ruled by Holkar dynasty under Maratha empire. Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder ruler of Holkar dynasty constructed the royal palace known as the Rajwada which is a tourist attraction. Rani Ahilyabai Holkar was daughter-in-law of Malhar Rao and succeeded him after his death as her husband expired earlier. She shifted the capital to Maheshwar.

Famous for streetfood Indore has an iconic food street known as Chappan as the street once had 56 shops. It has been given a make over by the District administration and is one of the most favourite spot among tourists as well as locals. Sarafa Bazar is another popular street food market which is a jewelry market by day and foodie's haven by night.

In Indore we met Sanjay's sister and another cousin. After lunch and afternoon tea we left Indore for Maheshwar. Our first visit to Maheshwar was a unplanned one in March 2023. We were travelling back to Mumbai after a trip to Indore. During lunch time we were wondering where to stop when I noticed a road sign indicating direction to MP tourism lodge Narmada Resort in Maheshwar. It was some 20 km from the NH 3 we were travelling on. On a whim we decided to go there for lunch. When we reached MPT Narmada Resort on the bank of Narmada river, we loved it so much that we decided to stay there that day.

Maheshwar is situated on the bank of Narmada and it's ghats are beautiful. Rani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore established Maheshwar as the capital of the Holkar Dynasty. Daughter of a shepherd family, she was married to Khande Rao Holkar, son of Malhar Rao Holkar. When her husband expired, her father-in-law prevented her from committing sati saying he needed her assistance to rule his kingdom. Mentored by her fanther-in-law in administrative and military affairs, she started administering the Sate of Indore first on behalf of her minor son after death of Malhar Rao in 1966. That's why she is also referred to as Rajmata. Her son also died next year and she became the queen in 1767 and reigned for almost three decades till her death in 1795. Often hailed as the Philosopher Queen, she was a brave warrior, brilliant strategist, able administrator and benevolent ruler. Her exceptional leadership skills were evident in the 30 years of peace and financial stability that her kingdom experienced under her reign. Being a progressive thinker, she repealed a traditional law that allowed the state to confiscate the property of childless widows. She built roads, wells, dharmsalas, ghats not only in her state but all over India. She renovated temples destroyed by Islamic invaders and resurrected the jyotirlingas across the country. She was a patron of art and culture and promoted the famous Maheshwari sarees. It is believed she designed the first Maheshwari saree. Her personal life was full of tragedies and she lived an ascetic life living on a single meal for many years devoting herself to social welfare. She was referred to as Devi Ahilyabai by her subjects and even now the people of her erstwhile kingdom hold her in great reverence.

During our previous trip we visited Maheshwar Fort which stands on a hill overlooking the Narmada on the South and Maheshwar town to the North. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar reconstructed the fort and built her personal residences, offices, and darbaar audience hall within the fort . The whole fort complex constitutes two cenotaphs, temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and a grand palace. The fort is also referred to as Ahilya Fort. Presently a part of the premises converted to a museum with heirlooms of royal family is open to public. Part of the fort complex now houses a heritage hotel (Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel) run by the royal family. After visiting the fort we sat on the ghat putting our feet inside the water. Small fishes started nibbling on our feet giving us an experience of fish therapy for free. As we sat there absorbing the tranquility waiting for evening aarti, we got to witness a sublime sunset over Narmada with the fort as the backdrop! Next morning we were blessed again to watch a glorious sunrise at the same place.

This time we reached Maheshwar at around 7 pm and went to the MPT Narmada Resort. No room was available there except some very expensive suits. So we looked for other options and checked into Hotel Sai Kripa. It's a new hotel with decent infrastructure and a parking space. I was not exactly happy about the cleanliness standard but decided to overlook as it was late and we were just halting for the night. The rent was 2000 INR. There was no kitchen and they got Khichdi for us as per our wish from outside which was quite ok. It was a hot day and since morning we travelled a lot visiting family members. Felt tired and slept off early.

Next morning, on 12.05.2024, we got up early and went to the ghat. The ghats of Narmada in Maheshwar are very beautiful. Maheshwar Ghat, also known as Ahilya Ghat, is situated right below the Maheshwar Fort. It was built by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar. The ghat here is lined up with many small temples and one can see small and big Shivalinga's all along the ghat. We took bath in the river, walked around the ghat enjoying the magnificence of the fort from outside. On the way back to hotel had poha for breakfast from a roadside vendor.

We checked out and left Maheshwar at 8:45 am. This was our second trip to Maheshwar and we hope to visit again as it is on the way to Indore and we love this place. Sanjay feels very attached to Narmada and Maheshwar is the place to be in if one wants to be near Narmada.

That day we reached Mumbai home just before 8 pm after breaks for lunch, tea and few purchases. It was nice to be home after spending almost two months on the road. We were happy that we could enjoy such a long road trip without facing any hassle collecting a treasure trove of memories and experiences.