INDORE STANDS OUT

Steeped in history on and off the cricketing field, 'cleanest city of country' stands apart

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

YOU only need to spend a few hours in Indore to know that this city is clean. Like, real spick and span clean. Sure, last October this city was awarded ‘the cleanest city of India’ for a sixth year in a row but seeing is actually believing. Most other Indian cities, divided by size, demography, topography and region, are unified in that two most innate of Indian things; paan stains and stench of urine. Indore, which hosted the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January, is free of both.

In other ways, though, the umbilical cord is firmly in place. Most Indian cities have localities or roads after former leaders, politicians or figureheads; the ubiquitous Mahatma Gandhi Road is present. Next to it, a busy intersection is named after Veer Sawarkar. One of the boards on top of the intersection suggests a Nehru Nagar is nearby. A stone’s away from the Veer Sawarkar Square is Chappan Bhog, a food street closed for vehicular traffic. A ‘#WE <3 Modi’, in stencil art and big font size, invites people to treat one part of the place as an instagrammable spot. If Chappan Bhog is the city’s gentle food heartbeat in the mornings, in the nights, it is the Sarafa Bazaar, situated next to the Rajwada Palace (a historic royal residence). As long as you are vegetarian, your palate will party all night long (you get everything from tandoori chai to a Burj Khalifa dosai).