We reached Bhopal late
evening and checked into a nice comfortable Raj Bhoj Hotel.
Bhopal is the capital
city of Madhya Pradesh, known as the city of natural and artificial lakes and
is also one of the greenest cities in India.
I couldn't see all the lakes but did see one big lake
(on route) a Bada Talaab aka Bhojtal that had a 32 feet statue of Raja Bhoj,
the king of Malwa in the water closer to the promenade.
According
to legend, Bhopal was founded by Parmara Raja Bhoj, King of Malwa, in the 11th
Century AD. He was intellectual, believer of justice, art lover, musician and a
good administrator.
We had stopped earlier
at Tropic of Cancer spot to click few shots
Tropic of Cancer, otherwise known as
northernly circle of latitude, was used by ancient travellers, who used the heavenly
guides, as the crucial demarcation lines. Many of my fellow travellers got off
the bus to click pictures with that sign in the background.
Bhopal attracted
international attention in December 1984, when there was leakage of deadly
poisonous gases composed mainly of methyl isocynate. We passed by the affected
area, that was shanty. This part of the city bears the scars of that disaster. The
impact of the disaster continues to this day in terms of physiological and
neurological disabilities, blindness,, breathing and birth disorders.
The city is developing
into the smart city and there was lot of constructions going on. Very close to
our hotel was a most innovative Peoples’ mall, (still under construction) but worthy of our
visit.
Spread over 80acres,
PeoplesMall is the perfect option for spending a leisure time with family
and friends. It is no ordinary mall with shops, food court and multiplex but it
also has a huge theme park in its complex that has ship, airport and railway
station. We hired an electronic cart to explore the area that had miniature
monuments from around the world that included the replicas of Taj Mahal, Red
fort, Taj hotel of Mumbai, Statue of liberty, Japanese and Chinese monuments
and many more important monuments.
There were street
performers, live.music and many more such entertainment. For children there is
water park and car rides. There is go-carting for youngsters. I was told that
this complex is also used for wedding and other important events at its large
open spaces. It is a must see place when visiting Bhopal
