Finding Grace in the Heartland

Recently, I had the opportunity to revisit Madhya Pradesh, the Indian heartland, and came away with many musings.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

In Bhopal, I noticed several things: The distances were short, the roads were good, and they didn’t flood instantly in a downpour, unlike in Delhi NCR. The cost of living was much better, and the people were amiable, again unlike in Delhi NCR. I went around comfortably in an Uber, and the quality of Hindi spoken around me was softer and sweeter than in—where else—Delhi NCR. Plus, Bhopal was lush and green (Madhya Pradesh has the country’s maximum tree cover), with lakes and hills.

The cultural differences began stacking up, big and small. For instance, those outside the Hindi belt who are rightly angered by offensive and highly regrettable Hindi chauvinism scoff that the Hindi belt is ‘uneducated.’ However, I noticed that residences in Bhopal had names that you were likely to find in Chennai and other South Indian cities. Whereas Delhi-NCR buildings have overly wannabe names like Richmond, Malibu Towne and Beverley Park; even wedding venues called ‘Notting Hill,’ for heaven’s sake, Bhopal’s buildings had more restrained, dignified names like Athenaeum, Coral Cottage and Rainbow Apartments, and, of course, solid Indian names like Suyash and Herambh.