India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (274 page)

8 Bhopal & Sanchi

Bhopal is 744km (461 miles) S of Delhi; Sanchi is 46km (29 miles) NE of Bhopal

Despite its exciting marketplaces, grand old mosques, and lovely palaces, the capital of Madhya Pradesh is perhaps best known as site of the world’s worst urban industrial disaster (see box below). But most foreign visitors find themselves in Bhopal in order to visit nearby Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most impressive Buddhist monuments in Asia. Architecturally unique and far from the beaten tourist track, the monuments and surrounding ruins are tranquil, free of hawkers and touts, and a worthwhile diversion from the more frequented destinations of Varanasi, Agra, Khajuraho, and Delhi.

If Bhopal’s few monuments, its market, and the glorious Buddhist monuments at Sanchi leave you with time on your hands, head for the caves of
Bhimbetka,
where red-and-black prehistoric drawings recall the antics of ancient dancers and hunters, sticklike in the company of tigers and charging bulls.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

On the night of December 2, 1984, a tank at the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant near Bhopal ruptured, leaking highly poisonous methyl isocyanate gas into the atmosphere. By the time it had dissipated, 1,600 people were dead—but final estimates are as high as 20,000. A claim of $6 billion in compensation was initially demanded by the government, but it settled out of court for $470 million. Adding insult to injury, the money, paid to the government, took 7 years and many more deaths before even a fraction of it reached the victims. More than 2 decades later, survivors continue to protest the haphazard and inadequate manner in which the families of the victims were compensated. Evidence suggests that the continuing effects of the gas disaster may have affected as many as 300,000 people afflicted with various cancers and birth defects. Effigies of the Union Carbide bosses are regularly burned at memorial protests (failing to reach more than the evening news), and many victims continue to go without aid or recourse from the law. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, having abandoned the factory, has started up elsewhere as Eveready Industries India Ltd.

ESSENTIALS

VISITOR INFORMATION
For extensive information about any destination in Madhya Pradesh, as well as transport options, contact the
Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC)
at its Bhopal hotel, Palash Residency (45 Bungalows, New Market, T.T. Nagar;
0755/255-3006;
www.mptourism.com
). Sanchi is 46km (29 miles) from Bhopal, less than 2 hours by road. Regular train services from Bhopal pass through Sanchi.

GETTING THERE & AWAY
As the state capital, Bhopal is well connected by air with numerous cities (including Delhi, Mumbai, Gwalior, and Indore). Bhopal is also on a main railway line, and frequent
trains
connect the city with Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi (for Orchha), Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

GETTING AROUND
Taxis and auto-rickshaws are easy to flag down.

GUIDED TOURS
Mrs. Rekha Chopra, of
Radiant Travels
(243/B, First Floor, Krishna Palace, M. P. Nagar, Zone I;
0755/254-0560
or 94-2530-3572) is not only an experienced tour guide, but introduces visitors to basic Indian cuisine with vegetarian meals at her home.

WHAT TO SEE & DO IN BHOPAL

No one spends much time in Bhopal itself, but the “City of Lakes” is not without its charms, and a handful of sights are worth setting time aside for. Note that most places are closed on Monday, and on Friday mosques are off-limits, unless you’re Muslim.

A visit to the
Chowk (Bazaar),
in the heart of the Old City, can be a wonderful way to gain insight into the daily lives of Bhopal’s warm, friendly citizens. Its ramshackle streets are lined with old havelis and atmospheric stalls; it’s impossible not to get involved in the village vibe, where shopping, hard-core haggling, and gossiping occupy one’s time. Shop around for embroidered velvet cushions,
tussar
silk, silver jewelry, and intricate beadwork. While you’re in the Chowk, visit lovely
Jama Masjid;
built in 1837, it features gold-spiked minarets, distinguishing it from the “Pearl Mosque,” or
Moti Masjid
(1860), farther south. Sporting three large white Mughal domes and two soaring minarets,
Taj-ul-Masjid
, one of India’s largest mosques, was started at the end of the 19th century by Bhopal’s eighth ruler, the great queen Shah Jahan Begum, but was only completed in the 1970s.

Designed by the preeminent Indian architect, Charles Correa, the breezy, modern
Bharat Bhavan
(Shamla Hills;
0755/266-0353;
Rs 10, Fri free; Feb–Oct Tues–Sun 2–8pm, Nov–Jan Tues–Sun 1–7pm), overlooking Upper Lake, is one of the best cultural centers in the country, showcasing some wonderful contemporary and tribal art exhibitions.

If you’re set on seeing a white tiger,
Van Vihar National Park
is the place to do it. Zoo conditions at this “safari-park” are better than elsewhere in India, but it’s still a depressing place to see a wild animal (Zoo Rd.; Rs 100, vehicle entry Rs 30; Wed–Mon 7–11am and 3–5:30pm; carnivores are fed around 4pm).

EXPLORING THE BUDDHIST COMPLEX AT SANCHI

Now a deserted site resembling an
X-Files
set, the monuments of Sanchi have not only survived despite nearly 2,000 years of neglect, but the stupa at Sanchi is considered India’s finest and most evocative example of ancient Buddhist architecture. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka—famous for converting to Buddhism during a personal spiritual crisis after massacring thousands during his military campaigns in Orissa—was responsible for laying the foundations in the 3rd century
B.C
. Set upon a squat hill affording lovely views of the surrounding countryside, the complex of
stupas
(fat, domelike monuments housing Buddhist relics), monasteries, and temples probably owes its location as much to the serenity of the site as it does to its proximity to the once-prosperous city of Vidisha, where Ashoka’s devoted Buddhist wife, Mahadevi, lived. Located at the confluence of the Bes and the Betwa rivers and two important trade routes, the Buddhist complex elicited the patronage of Vidisha’s wealthy merchant communities. Even during the invasions of the Hun, life at Sanchi appears to have gone undisturbed, and is believed to have continued until the 13th century
A.D
., when a resurgence of Hinduism and an increasingly militant Islamic movement led to a decline of Buddhism in India. The site was deserted for more than 500 years before its rediscovery—again by a British military adventurer-type—in 1818. Today, aside from the attractive complex of ruins, Sanchi is little more than a railway station, a few guesthouses, snack stands, a museum, a restaurant, and a shop.

During the excavation that has taken place over the last century, the ruins of around 55 temples, pillars, monasteries, stupas, and other structures have been unearthed. It appears that Sanchi is unique in that its monuments cover the gamut of Buddhist architectural structures—dating from the 3rd century
B.C.
to the 12th century
A.D.

The star attraction is Ashoka’s large hemispherical
stupa,
which rises from the ground like a massive stone-carved alien craft. Around the middle of the 2nd century
B.C.
, a balustrade was erected around the stupa,
and the mound was covered in stone by the rulers of the Sunga dynasty.
Facing the cardinal directions and contributing to the mystical appearance of the main stupa are the four intricately carved gateways, erected around 25
B.C.
under the later Satvahana rulers. These striking entranceways feature finely detailed panels depicting incidents from the life of the Buddha and tales from the
Jatakas.
Note that at that time, the depiction of the Buddha in human form had not yet emerged, so instead he is depicted symbolically, as a bodhi tree, lotus, wheel, pair of feet, or stupa.