Madhya Pradesh reveals its stripes to Kersi Khambatta as he hops onto his bike and journeys through the heart of India.
The fact that Raipur’s airport is named after Swami Vivekanand, a gentle, deep-thinking philosopher rather than the usual martyred politician, makes me smile. The good Swami spent much of his life here, in this little state capital in the upper reaches of Chhattisgarh, the point of entry for anyone wishing to go to Kanha National Park. It’s a four-hour drive across the border into Madhya Pradesh, once a land of swashbuckling bandoliered dacoits with mile-wide Robin Hood streaks, today known to house one of India’s largest, densest and most contented populations of the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Chhattisgarh used to be part of Madhya Pradesh once, a massive piece of real estate nestled shoehorned in the middle of India. The road to Kanha Earth Lodge makes for a swift journey, even as life outside the car passes in a calm and unhurried manner, the pace of pastoral life plodding on as steady as the clip-clop of buffalo herds; the smells are sweetly rural and a feast of samosas and endless amounts of chai sets us back by a princely 30. The honesty and simplicity suck us in, even as, at first, everything seems new and untested. In time, a distinct personality of this state called Madhya Pradesh will emerge, but for now, the best way I can describe it, from the gentleness of the people, their shy smiles and utter lack of guile, is definitely somewhere-north-of-Maharashtra and definitely not-quite-Uttar Pradesh. Agriculture and miscellaneous industry may be the prime movers of commerce here, but there is no scoffing the dollars and cents that its national parks bring in, which only means one thing—the tiger.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April/May 2017 من Condé Nast Traveller India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April/May 2017 من Condé Nast Traveller India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THE 2024 HOT LIST
Our pick of the best new hotels in the world
SHOPPING IN ABU DHABI
From a barbershop café to Emirati gems, home-grown brands offer a fresh counterpoint to the UAE capital's glitzy malls and designer labels.
LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF
No place delights in retelling its own tale quite like the city of angels. Now, a wave of chefs, hoteliers, and entrepreneurs is remixing the classics to usher in a new golden age.
LOVE & TRAVEL - DECOUPLING
Ona long trip through Spain, Sophie Yun Mancini bids a tender goodbye to an old love
LOVE & TRAVEL - REFLECTIONS
For writer and translator Sara Rai, Banaras has her heart and is everywhere all at once. On a trip to Palermo, she wraps her way around the two cities in one breathless sentence
LOVE & TRAVEL - DEPARTURES
Chef Manu Chandra looks back on a time that brought home the power of love and travel
LOVE & TRAVEL - SUMMER
Travelling in a wheelchair, author Jarred McGinnis makes the most of a chance solo parenting trip
LOVE & TRAVEL - PERFUME
Author Divrina Dhingra distils the varied fragrances of the many places she has called home
CARNIVOROUS IN COIMBATORE
A Texan vegetarian fell for Kongunadu cooking, quail and all.
WHERE TO STAY - THE FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL USA
An eclectic palette and worldly flourishes fill this 19thcentury mansion turned hotel in New York.