Every place, every city and every town has treasures of their own. I was in Indore last month and with some time in hand, decided to get some pictures shot. A friend recommended an early morning visit to Chhatri Bagh for its beautiful architecture. Excitement caught hold of me and I woke up at 6am (yes I did). Didn’t know what to wear to visit the Chhatri Bagh so I decided to put together an outfit from my latest shopping picks – the sports-inspired trend that seems to envelope the summer fashion landscape. A sporty crop top with a pair of trousers that’s a cross between track pants and formal trousers seemed completely season-appropriate. Layering is a great way to minimize the risque nature of the crop top and make it place-appropriate, functioning as a complement to a conservative look rather than drawing all the wrong attention. So I popped on a white blazer and pepped up the look with a delicious and rich plum Falabella & leopard heels.
So there we were early in the morning at Chhatri Bagh – the cenotaphs of the Holkar dynasty (built as an memorial of royalty). Once inside I was absolutely awed by the beautifully carved monuments with canopies. But the moment our attention turned to the whole place, the reaction was disgust, followed by complete anger. The place was very ill-maintained and defaced – there was trash everywhere, the floors were dirty, defaced walls, felt so bad at the sorry state of this significant heritage sites.
Such is the pathetic condition of these beautiful Chhatris that rarely any tourist would like to visit the place. In fact when I asked, even the locals have never been inside. These beautiful structures and historic monuments are a chapter of the history that shouldn’t be allowed to close, they represent the rich heritage and culture of India and are no less than a treasure. But why are they in such dilapidated state? How can the government also neglect this (and similar other) cultural heritage sites? It’s saddening how we also ignore these important matters and let our history and our heritage fall into pieces – just like that.
Hopefully this place draws the attention it deserves and is restored to its glory. Next time you visit Indore, make sure to keep Chhatri Bagh in one of your must visit places list {regardless of its reputation, once inside you’ll not regret visiting this marvel; plan a trip in the early hours}.
Back to the outfit, these hybrid trousers were so comfortable, I am absolutely loving them. Here are a few more pictures of my outfit shot at another location.
