Tag Archives: Indore

Saved from the funeral pyre: an airport is named after this remarkable queen

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AHILYABAI HOLKAR WAS born in 1725. She married Khanderao Holkar (1723-1754), the only son of Malhar Rao (1693-1766),  the founder of the kingdom of Indore.

 

Statue of Ahilyabai Holkar at Indore airport

When Khanderao was killed in battle, his devastated wife wanted to commit sati: to throw herself onto his funeral pyre. However, her father-in-law and the subjects of the kingdom successfully persuaded her not to commit suicide. Following that, her father-in-law trained Ahilyabai in military matters. Khanderao’s only son, Malhar’s successor, Male Rao Holkar, ruled from 1766-1767. After his brief reign, cut short by illness, Ahilyabai became ruler of the Kingdom of Indore, which was part of the Maratha Empire.

 

Ahilyabai was one of the world’s most remarkable queens. As Wikipedia summarised:

“She is renowned for good governance, social welfare, and humanitarian work along with religious, educational, and cultural advancements. She contributed to the growth of Indian architecture through the commission of various temples, Ghats, and Dharmshalas. Ahilyabai’s Matha, or charitable endowments, spread across India.”

 

As a result, she is now revered as a saint. Apart from her philanthropic activities, she was also involved with military matters (in 1765, she commanded the artillery during an attack near Gwalior), and transferring her capital from Indore to the holy town of Maheshwar.  As if this were not sufficient,  she also transformed Indore into a modern city where commerce and industry were encouraged.

 

In view of the above, it is very apt that Indore’s airport bears her name. It is called Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport. We flew from it to Bombay. A statue of Ahilyabai greets passengers as they arrive in the hall with the airline check-in desks.

  The airport is smallish, but lovely. The departure lounges are spacious and airy, and there is a good variety of refreshment counters. Some of the walls of the airport have fine examples of art in the style practised by the tribal Gond people. Compared with many other airports I have used, that serving Indore is one of the most pleasant. Ahilyabai would have been pleased to have this place named in her honour.

The writing is on the shirt, not on the wall

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RECENTLY I  SAW two eye-catching T-shirts. One that was seen in Indore, speaks for itself.

Top shirt seen in Indore, bottom one in Bombay

The other, spotted while waiting for our luggage at Terminal 2 in Bombay Airport, might look Greek to you, and indeed it is. The rear of the shirt reads when translated into Latin script ‘karimenes sardeles’, and beneath it, written in Latin script “Traditional Greek sardines, Pyrgos, Greece”. This refers to a brand of sardines from Pyrgos on the Greek Aegean island of Santorini.

I asked the man wearing this shirt whether he had got it in Greece. He said that he had bought it at a branch of H&M in India. I asked him what the Greek words on his shirt meant. He had no idea, neither had he ever heard of sardines. Well, I had no idea that this shirt was a best-selling item sold at H&M.

Bouquets of banknotes for brides and grooms in Indore

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AT INDIAN WEDDINGS, money is often gifted to the happy couple, usually amounts of rupees ending in 1 (eg 51, 101, 501, 1001, etc). Today (26 December 2025), by chance, we found ourselves in a part of the city of Indore, Sarafa Bazaar, where jewellery and things for use in weddings are sold.

 

Amongst the numerous shops, we found several that were selling items we had not seen before.  They are decoratively made bouquets of genuine Indian banknotes. These are assembled geometrically around colourful decorative ornaments, and, in some cases, flowers.

 

When we asked a shopkeeper what purpose these amazing, attractive arrays of banknotes served, he said that they were for what sounded like the ‘dulhan’ (bride in Hindi). The prices of these bouquets is the sum of the banknotes contained within them and the ornamentation, as well as the labour costs.

 

While writing this short piece, I  found out that these banknotes bouquets or currency garlands can also be presented to bridegrooms.

 

I do not know how widespread is the practice of presenting banknotes arranged decoratively. So far,  I have only seen it in Indore.

The only road in Indore named after a British man

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A ROAD IN INDORE NAMED AFTER A BRITISHER

A STATUE OF of Robert North Collie Hamilton (1802–1887) who was British Resident of Indore during the first war of independence in 1857, stands within the garden of the Lalbagh Palace in Indore.

According to a website about the city’s Lalbagh Palace (www.freepressjournal.in/pbd-indore/hamilton-road-only-road-of-indore-named-after-britisher) :

“In the year 1857, a group of freedom fighters gathered at Hamilton Road to protest against the Britishers. On the same day Hamilton was going on leave and his acting officer Sir Henry Marion Durand had taken charge. Sir Durand, angry at the protestors, ordered British army to attack them. When Hamilton came to know this he cancelled his sanctioned leave and ordered the army to not to attack”

The Hamilton stands close to a statue of Queen Victoria.

Because of Hamilton’s actions, he is remembered in Indore not only by the statue but also the city contains a short road named after him. It is the only road in Indore named after a British person.

The cemetery where Roman Catholics in Indore are buried

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THE CITY OF Indore has a population of about 3.1 to 3.5 million. Of these, about 17750 are Roman Catholics. Indore is a diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Bhopal. The diocese was established in 1952, having formerly been Mission Sui Iuris of Indore established in 1931. There are well over 12 Catholic churches in Indore.

 

It so happens that the hotel where we are staying in Indore (in December 2025) is a few hundred yards away from the Kanchanbagh Roman Catholic cemetery, which we took a look at today.

 

Flower garlands on graves

The older graves are raised mounds not too dissimilar from Sephardic gravestones. However, each grave is surmounted by a cross. What interested me was that on many graves there were fresh flowers. There is nothing surprising about this except that many of the flowers are ‘malas’ (garlands) such as are commonly found draped around Hindu effigies and shrines.

 

At the far end of the cemetery there is a large hall in which funeral masses are held. There is a bas-relief depicting the Last Supper at the altar within the hall.

 

On one side of the hall, there are the newer graves. These consist of flat rectangular slabs on which names are listed. These are the names and dates of the people buried beneath a slab. The idea is that several people will be interred beneath each slab, and their names recorded on it. No doubt, the new system is designed to make efficient use of the burial ground. I wondered about this because there seemed to be plenty of unused land in the graveyard.

 

I am pleased that we entered the cemetery because seeing it made me become aware of the surprisingly large number of Roman Catholics in Indore.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY READERS

I HOPE THAT 2026 WILL BRING YOU CONTENTMENT, GOOD HEALTH  AND PROSPERITY