Bhopal: Where History Whispers and Art Breathes

Walking through memory and everyday life 

Over the next few days, we explored the place—old and new.

We crossed Iqbal Maidan, with tall havelis—or manzils, as they are called here—surrounding it. One could sense the riches of a bygone era in their scale and presence.

We visited Sadar Manzil—built with large colonnades and finely carved arches around a generous courtyard. It was being renovated into a hotel, and as I moved from one space to another, I kept thinking what a fine and opulent stay it would become.

As we reached Chowk Bazaar—the core of the city—the real Bhopal unfolded. Once enclosed within walls and gates, this area still holds Jama Masjid Bhopal at its center. Narrow lanes of the local bazaar surround it—shops selling pearl purses, crystal jewellery, shiny shoes, and embroidered lehengas and sherwanis inviting people from all around.

The regular hustle and bustle of the market is broken intermittently by the sound of azaan.

Over the next four days, while the students got busy studying the mosque, a temple haveli nearby, Iqbal Maidan, and Shaukat Mahal, I found myself gleefully shopping in those lanes.

Encountering different expressions 

We visited the Tribal Museum, designed by Revathi Kamath. With three large interconnected pavilions and a central courtyard binding them together, it celebrates the rich tribal culture of the state.

It offers a diverse display—how tribes live, their forms of worship, the crafts they practice, the spirits they believe in, and the tools they use. It is a brilliant and messy exhibit with the capacity to overwhelm the visitor.

A visit to Bharat Bhavan felt like the opposite.

This structure is a contemporary piece of poetry, sitting on the bank of Upper Lake. Its connected courtyards lead to terraces that open onto the water.

One could sit here and simply be – as I did when I returned alone the next day. To sit and do nothing.

The place allows you to connect and converse—with yourself, with others, and with the place itself.

Jokingly, I told my colleague: the Tribal Museum is like a loud and beautiful folk song, whereas Bharat Bhavan is that classic you return to when you seek solitude.

Moments that stayed and a journey back in time 

Bhopal did not stop to amaze me a single day.

As we visited Darul Uloom Taj-ul-Masajid—the biggest in India and one of the largest in Asia—the vastness of its courtyard did not overshadow the brilliance of its scale and proportion.

On another morning, we visited the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, an anthropological museum spread across a vast expanse of land.

It showcases the tribes of India—both in the open landscape and within built galleries. A host of displays—carved objects, musical instruments, daily articles, masks, and different crafts—kept us engaged.

But what especially made my day was a Gond painting of a large blue elephant, created by a National Award–winning artisan from near Bhopal.

Visit to Bhimbetka Rocks

On the last day, we visited a place I was most curious about—the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.

Located about 40 kilometres from the city, these awe-inspiring caves are spread like a small settlement. The rocky outcrops themselves are an extraordinary natural phenomenon. You reach the site by passing through forested land, and almost immediately, you are transported to a time when this place must have been alive with people—hunters and gatherers.

People who lived nearly 30,000 years ago—braving the elements, facing the wild—yet expressing their lives through paintings that have refused to fade.

Paintings that remind you that human beings have always been storytellers.

Here is where people must have gathered in open clearings ,perhaps boasting about their hunts.

And one cannot help but wonder—what stories a mother might have told her children, sitting under these ancient outcrops.

What the place leaves you with 

Bhopal and its environs hold stories—in Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, it speaks in whispers of prehistory; at Gauhar Mahal, it converses through arches and courtyards; and at Bharat Bhavan, it allows you to simply be.

Though fragmented by time, these feel like parts of one long piece—a continuing conversation across millennia.

I went to Bhopal to learn about the city with my students.

I left as someone who had been spoken to by a place.