The name Indore originated from the Indreshwar temple constructed in 1741 by local landowners.

History

The ancestors of the founders of Indore were hereditary Zamindars and indigenous landholders (Jehangirdars) of Malwa. In Mughal times, the founders of these families received titles such as Singh and Chaudhari, which established their claim to the land. In the 18th century, control of Malwa passed to the Peshwa clan, and the Chaudharis came to be known as “Mandloi”s (derived from Mandals) because of the language they used and eventually the Holkars conferred the family with the title of Rao Raja. (pp. 68-70) Major General Sir John Malcolm’s Central India Part I). The family retained its possessions of royalty, which included having an elephant, Nishan, Danka and Gadi even after the advent of Holkars and also retained the right of performing the first puja of Dushera (Shami Pujan) before the Holkar rulers. Under Mughal rule, the family enjoyed great influence and was accorded confirmatory sanads by the Emperors Aurangzeb Alamgir and Farukhshayar, confirming their ‘Jagir’ rights. Rao Nandlal Chaudhary Zamindar, upon visiting the court of Delhi, received a special place in the emperor�s court along with two jewel studded swords (now at display in the Royal British Museum under the family’s name) and confirmatory sanads. Raja Savai Jai singh of Jaipur a personal friend of his gifted him with a special “Gold Langar” which guaranteed a special place to him in all the Durbars of India. The family�s respectability and influence over Malwa was instrumental in the ascent of the Peshwas and Holkars to rulership of this region.

Rao Nandlal Chaudhary, the founder of Indore, was the Chief Zamindar (landlord), and had an army of 2000 soldiers. In 1713, Nizam was appointed as the controller of the Deccan plateau area, which renewed the struggle between the Marathas and the Mughals. From time to time the Maratha invaders kept harassing the people of Malwa and thus Nandlal singh arranged to pay 25000 rupees to them in return for guaranteeing the safety and security of his people, upon which the invaders returned back to the Deccan. (Memoirs of Malwa: Major General Sir John Malcolm: year 1912)

While visiting the temple of Indreshwar near the banks of river Saraswati, Nandlalsingh found the location to be safe and strategically located, being surrounded by rivers on all sides. He started moving his people in, constructed the fort of Shree Sansthan Bada Rawala to protect them from harassment by Marathas and Mughals. The city was named Indrapur (after Lord Indreshwar), and eventually came to be known as Indore.

Baji Rao Peshwa finally received the Viceroyalty of Malwa in 1743 A.D. and was bound by a treaty forbidding him from ever infringing upon the rights of Zamindars. Malhar Rao Holkar was one of the four signatories who guaranteed the proper fulfillment of the conditions. (Major General Sir John Malcolm�s, Memoirs of Central India Vol. I pp.94-95). Upon victory the Peshwas appointed Malhar Rao Holkar as a �Subhedar�, which marked the beginning of Holkars’ reign in Malwa.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Thus, Indore came to be ruled by the Maratha Maharajas of the Holkar dynasty. The dynasty’s founder, Malhar Rao Holkar, (1694-1766), was granted control of Malwa Maratha armies in 1724, and in 1733, was installed as the Maratha governor of the region. By the end of his reign, the Holkar state was de facto independent. He was succeeded by his daughter Ahilyabai Holkar who ruled from 1767 to 1795. She ruled from a palace-fort at Maheshwar, south of Indore on the Narmada River. Ahilyabai Holkar was an architectural patron who donated money for the construction of Hindu temples across India. In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the Holkar kingdom became a part of the British Raj. As a result of this defeat in the Battle of Mahidpur, the treaty of Mandsaur was signed, through which the Cantonment town of Mhow was handed over to the British. The treaty also decreed that the capital of the Holkar state would shift from Maheshwar to Indore.

After India’s independence in 1947, Indore, along with a number of neighboring princely states, became part of the Indian state of Madhya Bharat. Indore was designated the summer capital of this newly created state. On November 1, 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal chosen the capital. The city palace was the seat of administration of the rulers of the Malwa region � The Holkars (26th May 1728 to 20 April 1948 ). The Rajbada was burnt in the 1984 riots, and thus converted into a garden ,till 2006 when the present Maharani of Indore, H.H Ushadevi Holkar, decided to rebuild the wada to its past glory. H.H Ushadevi Holkar invited architects Himanshu Dudwadkar and Shreya Bhargava to design this challenging project and in 2007 the Rajwada found its place back in history. It became the only historic structure in India to have been rebuilt with exactly the same style, materials and method of construction as those of 250 years ago.

INDORE

Indore is called the ‘ Mini Mumbai ‘ of India, situated on the Malwa plateau at an altitude of 553 m above sea level, on the banks of two small rivulets – the Saraswati and the Khan. They unite at the centre of the city where a small 18th century temple of Sangamnath or Indreshwar exists. The name Indore is due to this diety. It is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. It is among the million+ population cities of India with a population of 1,086,673 (1991). It is the commercial capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Indore city presents a happy blend of historical past and promises of rapid future modernization.

Summer: During summer (April-June) the days are hot (35 to 40 �C) with the peak summer (May) day temperature sometimes touching 45 �C. However, unlike other places in central India, the summer nights in Indore are something special. Due to its location on the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau, however hot it may be during the day, in the late evening, cool breeze starts which makes the evenings quite pleasant, referred to as Shab-e-Malwa.

Rainfall: Indore gets moderate rainfall of 30 to 35 inches (760 to 890 mm) during July-September due to the southwest monsoon.

Sukh Niwas :- Sukh Niwas Palace is a historical building made by Holkar rulers with a mixture of Indian and Western styles in its architecture. It was converted into a Picnic Resort.

Indore is known for its wide variety of “Namkeens” , gujrati & chineese food restaurants , bengali sweets.

Indore has one of the finest public transport systems.In December 2005, the municipal corporation launched the Indore City Bus service, an extensive service with 24 routes servicing most areas in city. The service has received very favourable press,^[12] and has been called the first modern bus system in India. The company runs 102 low floor buses, equipped with GPS devices, electronic sign boards and computerized vending machines. The Indore City Bus corporation made a profit of 1 crore rupees within nine months of the inception of its operation and is seen as an excellent model by several other mid size Indian cities.^[12]

The other means of local public transport are the mini-buses (called Nagar sevas by the locals) and the Tempos, which are often overcrowded and uncomfortable. Auto rickshaws are a staple as in all other Indian cities, to get around when other transportation is not available. The tempos and auto-rickshaws are notorious for pollution, but the local government has plans to replace the tempos with vans that run on Liquified Petroleum Gas [2].

The Indore municipal corporation also launched in 2005 the Indore city van, a seven-seater Maruti Omni.

Even Maruti’s latest brand SX4 has been launched as Public transport vehicle in Dec 2007^[13]. The system, known as the Metro taxi system is geared towards the affluent Indoreans and charges Rs. 15 per km till 11.00 PM in the night and Rs. 20 per km from 11.00 to 6.00 AM in the morning. The metro taxi under ACTL operates day tours for places such as Omkareshwar, Ujjain, Dewas, Mandu and Maheshwar.

During the early 60′s to the late 90′s the trucking industry really boomed up Indores economy and made the city popular for businesses. The trucking business from the 60′s to the 90′s era was run mostly by Sikhs who had settled in from Punjab to Indore. Indore, the largest metropolitan city of the state of Madhya Pradesh, is fast emerging as a centre of trade and commerce. In the context of rapid growth of the city, increasing mobility, high travel demand, increasing intensity of traffic, congestion, delays, accidents and other such problems, public mass transport system of the city stands out as the most critical issue. The intra-city public transport system is essentially road based with 500 private minibuses , 550 tempos and 10000 auto rickshaws. Since there was no specialized and effective regulatory agency to monitor the system a special purpose vehicle in the form of public limited company � Indore City Transport Services Ltd.� was set up to operate and manage the public transport system in Indore with private sector participation to overcome financial constraints.

The aforesaid company has identified and took permission for 18 high travel demand routes from RTA and has already started operation of its 37 ultra-modern low floor buses. These city buses with 2 broad doors are allowing passengers to board and alight quickly and easily, save time and fuel, and give better run-times and improved economy to the bus operators. Real time vehicle tracking and fully computerized ticket vending system are some other highlights. O&M and other regulatory measures are being exercised by the company.

The main sources of revenue for the system are the fare box collection, advertising, passes revenue and bidding amount by private participants. The optimum fare structure has been decided to meet twin objective of Equity access to poor and incentive for upper middle class to prefer these buses over their own vehicles. The fares have been kept reasonable to give healthy competition to existing minibuses and tempos, low enough to secure fullest utilization and high enough to ensure viability of the system within the government norms. System of monthly, weekly, employee and student passes will ensure the fullest utilisation of the new system.

Financial evaluation of the project was carried out with the objective of determining its financial viability and assessing its potential for implementation on a commercial format. At this stage, projected financial analysis estimates the likely returns to the operators, company and people at large.

The great achievement is going to success, after opening the MR-10 Road and BRTS corridor. For public transport buses a special lane will be made for quick services also a special electronic device will be install in all buses, so that they can move smoothly on all red lights. When they activate this device a few distance before reaching the red light the signals will get clear to go for the public bus smoothly.

Demographics

Indore is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh with population of about 1,597,445 according to the 2001 census. [3] Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Indore has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 65%. In Indore, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. The city is undergoing a fast rise in population owing to its growing stature as a commercial city. The average annual growth rate of population is around 3% as per the statistics of census 2001. Hindi is the main language spoken here, however, being ruled by Marathas, there is a large Marathi speaking population; Punjabi & Sindhi are also spoken in Indore. Malvi is the local language spoken in Indore and its surrounding regions.

Trade and commerce

Indore is one of the fastest growing Tier II cities in India. It already is the commercial capital of central India. Its a favoured test market for industries owing to the diversity of its population. Plans are underway for a Software Park . Several shopping malls have been constructed since 2004 and have contributed to changing the staid feel of the city.

Corporate presence

Indore is biggest contributor of revenues to the Madhya Pradesh government. The boom in the Indian Software Services Industry has further helped in creating new jobs and improving the prosperity of the city. Companies like CSC (NYSE CSC), Impetus Technologies, MphasiS, Teleperformance, FirstSource,InfoBeans, Suvi Webdunia, InfoServe Consultants, Armour Software and many other ^[14] smaller and mid-size companies have come up in the field of software. A Special Economic Zone is planned, to boost software exports. Some big Indian companies, like TCS, are expected to start there operations once the SEZ is in place. Indore has been a hub for the automobile, steel and alloy Industry. The nearby industrial hub Pithampur houses many leading industries such as Hindustan Motors(presently known as Avtec Ltd ), Eicher Motors, Bajaj, Anant Steel, Metalman Group, Nicholas Piramal, Bridgestone, Larsen & Toubro, Crompton Greaves, Novino, Panjon and Kirloskar Group,Chinese Construction Equipment Major Liugong.

The electronics complex ie city also houses offices of some of the top IT companies in the country. The development of a mini auto cluster in Pithampur is being promoted by the Government of India. The government has declared a budget of Rs. 5000 crores for building the Asia’s largest testing track for ground breaking research and development.

Indore has also been a hub for agribusiness with several major companies involved in soybean processing having factories around the city. Raw Cotton export from Indore has recently started where facilities of Inland Container Deport at Pithampur is available. Cotton varieties like MECH-1 and H-4 are regularly exported by exporters like Arham Syntex P. Ltd., Manjeet Cotton, etc.

Traditional businesses

Indore is also a center for garment industry. Long back, Textile mills (Hukumchand Mill, Swadeshi Mill, et al) were for a long time the pride of the city. Although, these mills have been shut down – a few have even been dismantled – Indore still has a regional stronghold in wholesale garment business. Textile Exporters like Arham Syntex P. Ltd., Spentex, etc. have come up in recent which are exporting Yarns and Cotton and have global presence. Indore was always a major center for retailing industry. Indore also boasts of being the best shopping destination in central India. The construction of several new shopping malls like the Treasure Island, Mangal City, Orbit, M2K Mega Mall , Cine Mall, Indore Center, C21 Mall (10 Floor Mall)and more coming soon, have helped it manage this reputation. There are traditional markets near Jawahar marg, Rajwada, Siyaganj and Ranipura, where there are wholesellers of almost all sorts of goods. Jail road market has become the biggest whole sale & retail market in the region for mobile accessory & repairing,

Software Technology Park Indore

The M.P. State Electronics Development Corporation has set up Software Technology Parks in major cities of the state to encourage commercial development in the area. The Optel Software Technology Park at Indore is part of this project. The Park has been able to take advantage of its being located in the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh. Key advantages include its central location, and a socio-industrial infrastructure that is comparable to that available in other metros, but at a lower cost.

Indore has been touted as the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh. Formerly a major trading centre, the city, along with its satellite townships of Pithampur and Dewas, has established itself as a strong industrial base. The era of liberalisation has seen Indore at the forefront of a number of privatisation initiatives which include the country’s first toll road and private telephone network. In the midst of such vibrant industrial activity, the city maintains its link with its glorious past. Indore has witnessed the reign of one of the greatest women in Indian history, Rani Ahilyabai Holkar. Malhar Rao Holkar, the father-in-law of Ahilyabai was bestowed Indrashwar or Indrapur (from which the name Indore was derived) by the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao. Widowed when she was barely out of her teens Rani Ahilyabai took the responsibility of Indore into her own hands and was instrumental in planning and building this city. 14 generations of the Holkar dynasty ruled Indore for 220 years. On 16th June 1948, the Holkar State was officially merged with the Indian republic.

Indore is well connected by road, rail and air with the Agra-Mumbai highway passing through the city. It is strategically located, being in close proximity to Mumbai (593 km) and Delhi (807 km) both of which are connected by daily flights operated by Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines.

Top IT companies located at Indore www.impetus.com www.csc.com www.hotwaxmedia.com

Education

Indore is a major educational center of Madhya Pradesh and has many well-known institutions. Indore University, now Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidyala (DAVV) and Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science (SGSITS, formerly also known as GSTI)is ranked amongst the top universities in Central India. Shri Vaishnav Polytechnic, Indore is the top ranked polytechnic school in M.P and also have a position in top 100 polytechnics in Asia.

The city boasts one of India’s best business schools – the Indian Institute of Management. There are also a number of good engineering colleges like 1. Lakshmi Narain Group of Engg. Colleges (LNCT Group) 2. Truba college of Engg. & Technology (TCET). 3. Shri Vaishnav Institute of Technology and Science (SVITS) 4. IES-IPSA (Institute of Engg. & Science – IPS Academy) 5. Acropolis Institute of technology. 6. Medicaps institute of technology and management (MITM) 7. Indore Institute of Science & Technology (IIST). 8. Central india institute of Science & Technology (CIIT) (RKDF Group). which are imparting quality education to the students in the field of technology and engineering .

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College is well known, both nationally and abroad.

Educational Multimedia Research Centr (EMRC), Devi Ahilya University is one of 17 media centre of UGC is carrying out media production for UGC and running two electronic media courses (MBA Media Management & M.Sc. Electronic Media).

Institute of Management Studies (IMS) and International Institute Of Professional Studies (IIPS)are other esteemed colleges of Indore. These institutes offer courses that are provided only by very selected colleges in the country ie Courses like integrated MCA(6yrs), MTech (5 1/2 yrs). IMS and IIPS boast of an extensive network of alumni in various arenas and industries. In addition, the Holkar Science College has been regarded as one of the most prestigious colleges of science in the country for much of the last century. It is also one of the oldest science college, it was established in 10th June 1891.

The city does not fall behind in primary and secondary education. Perhaps the best known school is the Daly College,[4],Some of the oldest schools in city includes Vaishnav Higher Secondary .The Bhavan’s Prominent School, which is rated amongst the top schools of the country. Other good schools include Choithram School, Delhi Public School, The Emerald Heights International school (affiliated to Cambridge University (UK)), Imperial Academy, Indore Public School, South Indian Cultural Association School (SICA school),Vaishnav Academy, Vaishnav Bal Mandir , Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, St. Paul’s Higher Secondary School, St. Raphael’s Girls School, Vidyasagar School.
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advance Technology, formerly Center of Advance Technology, is one of India’s foremost scientific research institutions. It is primarily devoted to atomic research.

Indore has developed as a big hub for preparing students for higher education. There are a number of coaching centers that prepare students for entering into various Indian and international educational institutions.

Indore is the only city in India to have both an IIM(Indian Institute of Management) and an IIT(Indian Institute of Technology).

Media

Local media in Indore is very strong and flourishing. Indore has been seat of journalism in the state for a long time. There are a number of newspapers, magazines and local TV stations. Although Naidunia is one of the oldest newspaper publication, with a history of 59 years,Dainik Bhaskar is most widely read newspaper of the city and region. Patrika entered the state in May 2008. With this launch on September 30, it will cover the commercial capital of the state as well. The other popular newspapers published from Indore are Raj Express,Dainik Deshbandhu, NewsToday, Nav Bharat, Indore Samachar, Swadesh, Chautha Sansar, Chronicle ,ALMA TIMES,AIITA NEWS and Free Press Journal. Also a weekly edition of Times of India, named as INDORE PLUS is circulated every Friday. Some of the newspapers published in evening are Agni Baan, Prabhat Kiran and Dainik Dopahar. There are about 19 Hindi dailies, two English daily, 25 weeklies and monthlies, 3 quarterlies and one annual paper published from the city.^[15]

The city has local tv stations from various companies. Major local channels are either by Saurabh tv, Raj tv, Bhaskar tv or SR tv

Devi Ahilya University (Indore University) offers a graduation course in Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Indore Press club is an affiliate of the National Press Club. The city has 5 radio stations, viz., Superhits 93.5 SFM (Owned by South Asia FM Ltd.), Radio Mirchi 98.3FM (the very first private radio station of India),My FM (by bhaskar group), Big FM (by Reliance ADA group}, Akashvani station (Government Owned). ashish

An English magazine ‘MALL CULTURE’ (M.P.’s first English magazine and India’s First magazine on Subject Mall Culture, Fashion & Lifestyle) is being published from Indore.

Sports

Indore has two cricket stadiums, Nehru Stadium and Usha Raje Stadium. There are also some sports club for lawn tennis & table tennis. Indore has organized various international cricket matches. Usha Raje Stadium is the biggest cricket stadium of Madhya Pradesh that has a capacity of around 30,000 spectators and offers excellent international cricket facilities to facilitate day-night domestic and international cricket matches in Indore. Two matches have been played in the Usha Raje stadium both India vs England. India luckily won both the matches on the grounds of Usha raje.

Indore is also a traditional powerhouse for the game of basketball which has been growing in popularity over the last 3 to 4 decades. Indore is also the home of India’s first National Basketball Academy and a world class indoor basketball stadium. Indore has successfully organised various National Basketball Championships.

India’s legendary cricket player, Rahul Dravid was born in Indore.

List of Grounds:

1}Central Gymkhana Ground, Indore

2}Daly College Ground, Indore

3}Emerald High School Ground, Indore

4}Industrial Training Institute Ground, Indore

5}Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground, Indore

6}Nehru Stadium, Indore

7}Yeshwant Club Ground, Indore

8}Khalasa Stadiun, Indore

9}Vaishnav Stadium, Indore

The list of noted cricketers include Col. C. K. Naidu,Jamshed Nusserwanji Bhaya,Captain Mushtaq Ali, Narender Hirwani, Amay Khurasia and Sanjay Jagdale. Other well-known sportspersons are late Dr. Sharma (Basketball) and Vaibhav Shah (football/soccer). Dhyanchand Shnakar Laxman & Saleem Sherwani Hocey Player also From Indore (Mhow tehsil) Another upcoming sport is football (soccer). Pioneered by floodlit 5-a-side tournaments in Yeshwant Club, it is gaining popularity all over the city. Yeshwant Club is Indore’s number one club house & one of the premier clubs of India. It also has Mini Golf Course, Lawn Tennis Courts, Racquet Ball courts, Badminton, Swimming, Gymnasium, Billiards Room, Library, Jogging tracks and other sports. Members of the club get together on various occasions. It also has a restaurant & a bar. Yeshwant Club is situated at Yeshwant Colony i.e., M.G. Road & Race Course Road. Indore Tennis Club is on the backside of Yeshwant Club.

The famous Yeshwant Club Ground in Indore, the scene of many heroic deeds by the legendary Holkar team of the 1940s, has since been superseded by the Nehru Stadium, which sports a statue of CK Nayudu, Indore’s favourite son of that era, outside its main entrance as a concession to tradition. India have won only one of their six ODI’s at this venue, which includes one tie against Zimbabwe in the Hero Cup of 1993-94 and one ‘No Result’ against Sri Lanka four seasons later. The latter match was called off after just three overs, both captains concurring with the match referee that the pitch was too dangerous to be played on. An exhibition match was held instead to indulge a 25,000 crowd. Indore was briefly suspended from staging games, but it was again taken off the list of grounds after Australia played an ODI in 2000-01 even though extensive work has been undertaken to modernise the venue.

The first one-dayer was in 1983-84, but by far the most arresting performance at the Nehru Stadium was been Ian Botham’s bludgeoning 48 ball hundred in 1981-82 against a respectable Central Zone attack comprising Gopal Sharma, Rajinder Singh Hans and Parthasarathy Sharma. Botham survived two chances before his luck finally ran out on 122, collected from 55 balls and decorated with 16 fours and seven sixes. Mike Gatting at the other end made just 10 in the same time.

Healthcare

Indore is prominent in India for its universal health care facilities with leading hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.
The prominent hospitals of Indore include

• Maharaja Yashwantrao Medical College and Hospital
• Choithram Hospital and Research Centre
• CHL Apollo Hospital
• Bombay Hospital
• Dr. R Hardia’s Eye Hospital
• Vishesh Hospital
• Shri Aurobindo Hospital
• Gokuldas Hospital and Research Centre
• Dental College & Hospital
• Bhandari Hospital and Research Centre
• National Pathology Lab

Apart from these, there are many other mid size and small nursing homes and care centres catering to various ailments.

Indore is a major regional hub for medical care and there are adequate facilities available for Cadiothoracic and Bypass surgeries, Sleep Studies, Allergy Test, Immunotherapy, Total knee and hip replacement. The Facilities are rated 8th in Rank in India by One of prominent Magazine.

Culture

Over the years the city of Indore has welcomed people from all castes, creed and color. People from all corners of the country have migrated & settled in the heart of Madhya Pradesh for their livelihood, education or just for its peaceful culture. Indore today can boast of being a true cosmopolitan city with people of various ethnic and linguistic groups living in perfect harmony. Indore also has a INTACH (Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter, which is currently engaged in preserving, documenting and conserving the rich heritage of Indore. The convener of Indore chapter is Mrs Gita Sanghi and Co-Convener is Ar Himanshu Dudwadkar. Indore has a varied mix of architecture which ranges from Maratha, Mughal,to Colonial and Art deco. The presence of organisations such as INTACH has surely paved the way for Indore to successfully restore its glorious past.

The people are highly social and progressive which is why all cultures from south, north, east & west have mingled in the life of Indorians reflecting the true spirit of unity in diversity.

The mixed culture can be invariably seen in the typical food habits ranging from South Indian ‘Idli-Dosa’ , ‘Vada-Sambar’ to ‘Dal-Bafla’ typical Malwa Food.

Food

ndore is famous for its culinary range. People of Indore (and for that reason, the entire Malwa) are well known gastronomes. Sweets and Namkeen (tasty salted snacks – a typical Indian preparation) of Indore are famous all over India. Sarafa (Jewellery market, near Rajwada) and Chappan Dukan (56 shops) are the two well known gourmet hangouts of the city. A special dish of the Malwa region, including Indore, is the Dal Bafla.

Indore is known for its wide variety of “Namkeens”, Gujarati and Indochineserestaurants, and Bengali & Rajasthani sweets.

The staple food (snacks) of the city is Poha-Jalebi. People are also fond of Sabudane-ki-Khichdi. Life in Indore starts early with cups of ‘Chai’ (tea) with Poha & Jalebi followed by lunch which invariably includes popular ‘besan’ (gram flour) preparations. Later in the day one can easily find snacks like ‘Khaman’, ‘Kachori’ – ‘aloo kachori’, ‘dal kachori’, ‘Dahi Chat’, ‘Tokri Chat’, ‘samosa’, ‘petis’, ‘Baked Samosa’, ‘Bhel puri’, ‘Pani Puri’, ‘mathri’ etc. Numerous shops of sweets have enjoyed nice business in Indore. Late nights another market comes alive at 11:00 PM in Sarafa (in the heart of city) where one finds lots of delicacies to enjoy after a nice dinner like – ‘Gajak’,'Bhutte ka kis’, ‘Dahi Bada’ ‘Gulab Jamun’, ‘garadu’, ‘Rabri’, ‘aalo tikiya’, ‘Halwa (JMB Gajar, Moong)’, icecreams, milkshakes, rabdi (milk custard), malpuye, etc. and finally tasty ‘paan’ to end your day.

Indore is also famous for it’s nonvegitarian cuisine. Muglai dishes are very famous specially of saify hotel. Gastronomous Chicken Lollipops, Chicken-Tikka, ‘Murg-Malai’, ‘Biryani’, ‘Nalli Gosht’, ‘Paye’ and often nahari gosht is very famous. Bafle-Gosht is a delicacy of Indore and Malwa Region.

Sweets: Moong ka Halwa, Gajar ka Halwa, Rabri Gulab Jamun, Ras Malai, Ras Gulla, Mithe Tukade, Bengali Sweets and Nagori ki Shikanji{In sarafa bazaar}, Sapna Sandwich point at Railway Station.

Savouries: Sev with all its varieties, Mixtures , Dhania-Chivda, Dal Moth, Papdi, Gathiya, Khaman, Kachori-Samosa, Petis, Garadu, Aalo Tikiya, Pani-Puri, Bhel-Puri, Saboodana Khichadi, Dahi Bada, Pakoda, Bhutte ka Kis.

Drinks: Shikanji (Milk Preparation+Dry Fruits), Lassi, Cold Milk, Hot Boiled Milk with Malai & dry fruits+keshar, Jal-Jira, Nimboo Shikanji, Fruit Juice, Shakes, Ice cream Soda, Santrola.
On 24th Feb, 2008 6.30pm, a Guinness Book of World Record representative announced Indore to be the host of the biggest tea party with over 30,000 people sipping the Brook Bond Red Label tea, breaking the previous record of 14,718 people taking tea in Nishiao city of Japan in 2006.

The event, organised by Dainik Bhaskar, also raised funds to the tune of Rs.50 million for city development.

Main festivals

All national festivals, eid Ganeshotsav, Deepavali, Gudi Padwa, Bhaubeej and other others like Nagpanchmi, Ahilya Utsav, are celebrated with equal enthusiasm.

• Indore celebrates Rang Panchami. This festival is celebrated five days after Dhulandi. This is also celebrated like Holi, but colors are mixed with water and then either sprinkled or poured on others. The local municipal corporation arranges a special event in which they sprikle color mixed water in the main streets of old Indore.
• Ganeshotsav is the main festival after Deepavali and is celebrated in a unique way in Indore city. In earlier times, when textile mills flourished in Indore, the workers of these mills contributed money and labour to arrange a carnival of floats (known as “Jhanki” in local Hindi language).
• Makar Sankranti is a ‘Kite Festival’ when people fly kites and competitions are held to cut each other’s kites in the sky on 14th January each year.
• Gudi Padwa is the new year for maharashtrians.as Indore has a large maharaahtrian population gudi padwa is celebrated widely.
• (Eid ) Eid-ul-fitr concludes 30 days of fasting during the holy month of Ramazan for the Muslim community.
• CHETI-CHAND IS CELEBRATED BY “SINDHIS “IN THE MONTH OF APRIL, AS THE BEGINNING OF NEW YEAR.

Government and politics

Politically, Indore is a traditional BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) stronghold.

Total Number of Parliamentary Seats: 1

Member of Parliament – Sumitra Mahajan – BJP

Total Number of Constituencies for State Assembly�: 9

• Indore 1
• Indore 2
• Indore 3
• Indore 4
• Indore 5
• Rau
• MHOW
• Sanver
• Depalpur

City Mayor: Mr. K M Moghe

District Collector:  Raghvendra Singh – IAS

I.G.: Smt. Anuradha Shankar

Indore Development Authority President: Shri Prabhat Parashar

Trivia

• The gates of Lalbagh Palace, Indore, are a replica of the gates of Buckingham Palace in London. They were cast in England and then shipped to Indore.
• Indore has a huge cricket bat called “Vijay Balla” made out of concrete with names of the players of the Indian team who won the 1971 series against Gary Sobers’ West Indies team.
• 40feet (12m) high idol at Bada Ganapati is the largest idol of Lord Ganesh in the world.
• RRCAT(formerly CAT), Raja Rammanna Center for Advanced Technology is India’s main Research center on Laser and Accelerator Technology, under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
• The famous Radio Mirchi 98.3(then 98.4) FM was started first in Indore, then spread to ten other cities of India including 4 metros.
• Until the early 1990s, Bollywood movies were released on Thursdays in Indore, and released elsewhere on Fridays.
• The first private landline telephone service in India was launched in Indore by Airtel by the name Touchtel.
• Because of similarity between the lifestyles, fashion and taste Indore is nicknamed Mini Bombay.
• The 250 year old Rajvada of Indore is the only structure in India which has been reconstructed as it existed using the similar materials and methods of construction in 2007
• Only city in India to have both IIM and IIT