Indore(Marathi/Hindi:इंदूर/इन्दौर), pronunciation (help·info) is the commercial capital of the Malwa region and the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the Malwa Plateau, just south of the Satpura Range. It is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh. Indore is the administrative headquarters of the Indore District and Indore Division, and formerly served as the capital of the former princely state of Indore and the summer capital of the erstwhile state of Madhya Bharat.
Origin of name
The name Indore originated from the historical temples of Indreshwar and Indrapur. With time this was changed to Indore. Recently, there have been some talks to rename the city to Indur [1] .
History
The ancestors of the founders of Indore were The “CHIEF” hereditary Zamindar’s and indigenous landholders (Jehangirdars) of Malwa. This family ruled vast tracts of Malwa that extended from the confines of Rajputana on the North to the Narmada in the South. In Mughal times, the founders of these families received the titles of Rao and Chaudhari. Eventually, control of Malwa passed to the Peshwa clan, and the Chaudharies came to be known as "Mandloi"s (derived from Mandals) because of the language they used. (pp. 68-70) Malcolm's Central India Part I)
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 a confirmatory sanad. 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 (Zamindar), the founder of Indore, was the chief Zamindar (landlord), and had an army of 2000 soldiers (cavalry and infantry). 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 Rao Nandlal 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, Rao Nandlal 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 "Bada Rawala" there 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.
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-in-law 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, whose capital city was Bhopala.
See also: Malwa
Geography
Indore is located in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, and is close to the centre of India. Indore has an average elevation of 553 metres. The soil pattern is black cotton soil with localised rock strata.
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Climate
The malwa region is has a pleasant atmosphere throughout the year. During the winter season (November - February), the night-time lows are around 10°C. During peak winter season, it can be as low as 2°C to 3°C. The lowest ever recorded low is 1.5°C. During the summer,(April - June), the days are hot (35 to 40°C) with the peak-summer-day-temperature (in May) sometimes touching 45°C. Unlike other places in central India, the summer nights in Indore are cool and pleasant. Due to Indore's location on the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau, however hot it may be during the day, a gentle cool breeze (also referred to as Shab-e-Malwa) in the evenings makes it quite pleasant.
Indore gets moderate rainfall of 30 to 35 inches (760 to 890 mm) during July-September due to the southwest monsoon.
Transport infrastructure
The city is well connected via rail, road and air transport services.
Airport
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport connects Indore to many important cities in India with major airlines operating on these routes. In next few years this airport will function as International Airport. International cargo service is under testing. This airport has good infrastructure and facilities. It has also started a free wireless internet connectivity using Wi-Fi technology.
Railways
Indore is one of the major commercial railway station of western railway. It comes under Ratlam Division of Indian Railways.
Indore is, perhaps, one of the only few places where there are both meter gauge and broad gauge railways tracks are still operational. A unique aspect about these lines is that, here they intersect each other forming a Diamond Crossing. It is a rare intersection of two mutually incompatible lines and has its own issues. Indore is well connected via train services to all parts of the country including all 4 metros. There are direct trains to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata (Howrah), Chennai (Madras), Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jammu, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bhopal, Nagpur, Patna and other major towns. Indore junction is the main station serving most of the important and long distance trains. There are four other stations within city limits, named Rajendra nagar, Lokmanya nagar, Saifee nager and Lakshmibai nagar. These stations interconnect to other stations and also serve the short distance trains connecting Indore to nearby towns and villages.
Indore lies on the longest functional meter gauge line in India between Jaipur and Purna. The first train arrived in the city on meter gauge in the year 1873. Steam engines were serving the city till year 1998-99 but now they are used only for banker services between Mhow and Patalpani stations due to steep gradient of the hilly track.
Indore still needs direct connections to the IT Hub such as Bangalore. People coming from Bangalore have to either get down at Bhopal and go backwards to Indore or get down at Khandwa and go to Indore. The timings at which trains reach to Bhopal or Khandwa are quite late in night. The bottleneck is impending conversion of the meter gauge track between Khandwa and Indore to broad gauge.
Roads
Indore is fairly well connected to other parts of Madhya Pradesh and India with national and state highways. The Agra-Bombay national highway (NH3) passes through Indore. The Agra-Bombay Road runs though the city connecting it to Dewas on one end and Mhow on the other. The city is connected to the Khandwa town by the Khandwa Toll Road, towards the south of the city. In the North-West, the city is connected to the holy city of Ujjain via Ujjain Road. There are bus services to and from all major and minor cities near Indore. The prominent one being Bhopal, Khandwa, Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Ratlam, Khargoan, Jhabua and Agar.
Local transport
Indore had lacked proper means of public transport for long. However, recently the municipal corporation has launched Indore city bus covering most of the areas in Indore city and vicinity. The local buses are supposedly (and arguably) the best in India and are equipped with GPS devices to track them. The seats are arranged in variable level, so the passengers on the back seats have same quality of journey as compared to passengers on front seats on bumpy roads. Each bus has nicely dressed and well mannered drivers and conductor who would greet you in English/Hindi. The bus stops have digital display to show the arrival and departure timings for various routes from that particular stop. As a matter of record, the city bus service has earned a profit of whopping 1 crore rupees within nine months of the inception of its operation.
The other means of local public commuting are the mini-buses (Nagar sevas in local language) and Tempos, which are often overcrowded and highly uncomfortable. You can also hire an auto-rickshaw to get around places in the city which are not covered by bus routes.
The tempos and auto-rickshaws rather infamous for pollution, but the local government has plans to replace the tempos with vans that shall run on Liquified Petroleum Gas [2].
Demographics
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Indore is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh with population of about 1,597,441 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.
Trade and commerce
Indore is one of the fastest growing Tier III cities in India. It already is the commercial capital of central India. Its a favoured test market for industries owing to the cosmopolitan nature of its population.
Corporate presence
Indore is biggest contributor of revenues to the Madhya Pradesh government. The boom in the Indian Software Services Industry has helped in creating new jobs and improving prosperity of the city. Companies like CSC (formerly PMS) and Impetus Infotech India pvt ltd and thousands of smaller and mid-size companies have come up in the field of software. A Special Economic Zone is coming soon 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 Soybean cultivation with most major companies in soya processing (inculding Ruchi Soya) operating from here. The nearby industrial hub Pithampur houses many leading industries such as Hindustan Motors, Eicher Motors, Bajaj, Nicholas Piramal, Bridgestone, Larsen & Toubro, Gajra Gears etc. The electronics complex in the city also houses offices of some of the top IT companies in the country.
[edit] Traditional businesses
Indore is also a center for garment industry. Long back, Textile mills (Hukumchand Mill, Swadeshi Mill, et al) were 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. Indore was always a major center for retailing industry. Indore also boasts of being the best shopping destination in central India. Recently, new shopping malls like Treasure Island and Mangal City have come up, the traditional markets near Jawahar marg, Rajwada & Siyaganj are still the first choice of the masses.
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.
An example is the Optel Software Technology Park at Indore.
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.
Situated approximately 4 km. from the city centre, the Optel Park has often been called a "software developer's dream come true".
Education
Indore is a major educational center of Madhya Pradesh and has many well-known institutions. Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (formerly Indore University) is ranked amongst the top universities in Central India. The city boasts one of India's best business schools - the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). There are also a number of good engineering colleges; example are Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technical Studies (SGSITS) and Shri Vaishnav Institute of Science and Technology. The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (MGM) is well known, both nationally and abroad. 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.
The city does not fall behind in primary and secondary education. Perhaps the best known school is the Daly College. Founded in 1882 for royal families, it is rated amongst the top schools of the country. Other good schools include St. Raphael's Girls School, St. Paul's Higher Secondary School, Sri Sathya Sai Vidhya Vihar (popularly known as Sathya Sai), South Indian Cultural Association (SICA) School, Christian Eminent Higher Secondary School and Choithram School.
The Center of Advance Technology (CAT) is one of India's foremost scientific research institutions. It is primarily devoted to atomic research.
Competitive Zone
Indore has developed as a big hub for coachings of competitive exams. Gupta Tutorial for IIT-JEE, Khare Classes for PMT etc are some reputed and leading institutes here.
Media
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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. Naidunia is one of the oldest and established newspaper publication, with a history of 59 years. The other popular newspapers published from Indore are Dainik Bhaskar, Raj Express, NewsToday, Nav Bharat, Indore Samachar, Swadesh, Chautha Sansar, Chronicle and Free Press Journal. Some of the newspapers published in evening are Agni Baan, Prabhat Kiran and Dainik Dopahar. There are about 19 Hindi dailies, one English daily, 25 weeklies and monthlies, 3 quarterlies and one annual paper published from the city. (Source: http://www.iscos.org/vol3/rp1.htm)
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya offers a graduation course in Journalism and Mass Communication.
The Indore Press club is an affiliate of the National Press Club.
Sports
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Indore has two cricket stadia, Nehru Stadium and Usha Raje Stadium. There are also some sports club for lawn tennis & table tennis. Indore has organized various international cricket matches.
Indore is also a traditional powerhouse for the game of basketball which has been growing in popularity over the last 3 to 4 decades thanks to the dedication and efforts of Dr. J.M.Sharma. 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.
The list of noted cricketers include Col. C.K. Naidu, Cpt. Mushtaq Ali , Narender Hirwani and Sanjay Jagdale. Other well-known sportspersons are Dr. J. M. Sharma (Basketball) and Vaibhav Shah (football/soccer).
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.
Healthcare
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Indore is prominent for its health care facilities with leading hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. The prominent hospitals of Indore include Maharaja Yashwantrao (MY) Hospital, T.Choithram Hospital, CHL Apollo and Bombay Hospital.
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 multi ethnic and multilingual people living in perfect harmony.
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-Sambhar' to 'Dal-Bafla' typical Malwa Food.
Food
Indore 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 and Chappan Dukan (56 shops) are the two well known gourmand hangouts of the city. A special dish of the Malwa region, including Indore, is the Daal Bafla. Indore is known for its wide variety of "Namkeens" , Gujarati and Indochinese food restaurants, and Bengali sweets.
A research on Indorians has attributed the large number of heart disease and hypertension patients to their diet. The staple food (snacks) of the city is Poha-Jilebi. People are also fond of Sabudane-ki-Khichdi. The life in Indore starts early with cups of 'Chai' (tea) with Poha & Jalebi followed by lunch which invariably includes popular 'besan' preparations. Later in the day one can easily find snacks like 'Khaman' , 'Kachori' - 'aloo kachori', 'dal kachori', etc. , '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','Bhutta kis', 'Gulab Jamun' , 'garadu', 'Rabri', 'aalo tikiya', 'Halwa : - Gajar, Moong' , icecreams, milkshakes etc. and finally tasty 'paan' to end your day.
Sweets :Moong ka Halwa, Gajar ka Halwa, Rabri Gulab Jamun, Ras Malai, Ras Gulla, Bengali Sweets and not to forget - The thick Shikanji - available at Sarafa & 56 Shops at Palasia.
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 & Thirst Quenchers : Shikanji (Milk Preparation+Dry Fruits), Lassi, Cold Milk, Hot Boiled Milk with Malai & dry fruits+keshar, Jal-Jira, Nimboo Shikanji, Fruit Juice, Shakes, Icecream Soda, Santrola.
Main festivals
All National Festivals, Diwali, Holi, Eid-ul-Fitr, Rakhi and other local ones like Nag-Panchmi, Ahilya Utsav, Ganesh Utsav, Garba (Navratri Utsav), Dussehara, Durga Puja are celebrated with equal enthusiam. Last decade has seen a rise in celebration of events like Valentine's Day, Rose Day and New Year's Eve.
Indore also celebrates Rang Panchami quite differently. This festival is celebrated five days after Dulendi or Holi. This is also celebrated like Dulendi, but colors are mixed with water and then either sprinkled or poured on others. The local muncipal corporation arranges a special event in which they sprikle color mixed water in the main streets of old Indore. In former times they used Fire Brigade vehicles for his, perhaps now they might have bought some other vehicles for the same purpose.
Ganesh Chaturthi 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).
Movies
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The Indoris are movie buffs like most Indians. One can see large crowd of patrons on the Opening Nights of the flick. New movie multiplexes viz. PVR, INOX, AD Labs have added feathers to the glam quotient of the city, lately.In the hey days movies were released on the Thursdays which elsewhere used to be released on the Fridays. Because of these practice Indore used to hold a special place in Bollywood to provide the first information whether a movie opeaning is good or bad ,thus deciding the fate of the movie.
Government and politics
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Indore is traditional BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) stronghold.
Member of Parliament - Sumitra Mahajan
List of educational institutions
colleges of Indore
Indian Institute of Management, Indore
Institute of Engineering & Technology, DAVV
SGSITS - Engineering College
Shri Vaishnav Institute of Technology & Science
MediCaps Institute of Technology and Management,Indore [4]
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College MGM Indore.
School of Computer Science (formerly known as Institute of Computer Science and Electronics)
Institute of Management Studies, DAVV, Indore
School of Economics[5]*
Holkar Science College
Medicaps Institute of Technology and Management
Swami Vivekanand College Of Engineering
International Institute of Professional Studies (IIPS)
Swati Jain College
Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies
Prestige Institute of Mangement and Research
Chameli Devi Institute of Management & Research
Shri Aurobindo Institute Of Medical Sciences [6]
Lakshmi Narain College Of Technology, Indore
Rishiraj Institute of Technology [7]
Maharaja Ranjit Singh College
Shri Vaishnav Polytechnic
Venkteshwar Institute of Technology, Indore
Renaissance College of Commerce and Management
Indore Indira School of Career Studies
Central India Institute of Technology
Major schools of Indore
St. Paul's Higher Secondary School
The Daly College
Shri Agrasen Vidyalaya
Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar School
Indore Public School
Delhi Public School
Shree Vaishnav Academy
Bal Niketan Sangh
Shree Vaishnav Higher Secondary School
Imperial Academy
Choithram School [8]
The South Indian Cultural Association School [9]
Tilok Chand Jain Higher Secondary School
Progressive Education School
Emerald Heights International School
St. Raphael's Higher Secondary School
Shri Ramkrishna Mission Vidyapeeth
Queen's College
Government Bal Vinay Mandir Higher Secondary School
Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1
Atomic Energy Central School
Shree Devi Ahilya Higher Secondary School
Malwa Cambridge Higher Secondary School
Vidyasagar School
Sarafa Vishya Niketan, Indore
The New Digamber Public School
Sanmati Higher Secondary School
Shri Gujarati Samaj A.M.N.English Medium School
Engineering colleges
The list is incomplete but Indore has about 25 Engineering Colleges.
Swami Vivekanand College of Engineering, Indore, http://www.svceindore.ac.in
Vaishnav Institute of technology and Science, Indore , http://www.svits.co.in
Institute of Engineering & Technology, DAVV,http://www.iet.dauniv.ac.in/
Shri G.S. Institute of Technology and Science
Medi-Caps Institute of Technology & Management,http://www.medicaps-institute.ac.in/
Rishiraj Institute of Technology,http://www.ritindore.org/
IES IPS ACADEMY Indore
Chameli Devi Institute of Technology & Management
Indore Institute of Science and Technology
MALWA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY(www.malwa-institute.com)
Lakshmi Narain College Of Technology, Indore
Central India Institute of Technology
Polytechnic
Shri Vaishnav Polytechnic, Indore
Management
Institute for Professional Studies (IPS)
Govindram Seksaria Institute of Management and Research (GSIMR)
International Institute of Professional Studies (IIPS)
Prestige Institute of Management & Research (PIMR)
Indian Institute of Management, Indore
School Of Economics [10]
Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management
Places of interest
Shree Sansthan Bada Rawala - Historical home of the founder of Indore, Rao Nandlal Chaudhary "Zamindar". It contains the famous personal library of philanthropist Niranjan Zamindar and has over 28,000 books and other artifacts of historical importance.
Rajwada - A seven storied palace built during the Holkar era.
Lal Bagh Palace - A beautiful palace spread across 200 acres of land . It is now a museum and one can see the artefacts of the Holkar era.
Kaanch Mandir - Digambar jain temple with exquisite glass work
Krishnapura Chhatri - By the banks of the much polluted Khan river, it is at a walking distance from Rajwada.
Devlalikar Kala Vithika - A well-known art gallery named after famous painter Vishnu Devlalikar
Indore Museum - A must-see for lovers of sculpture.
Indore Zoo - Has an impressive collection of animals and birds. But animal lovers may be shocked by the neglect.
Gommatgiri - A pilgrimage spot for Jains (West Indore).
Hrimkargiri - A pilgrimage spot for Jains (West Indore).
Bijasan Hill - Famous mata temple on the hill (West Indore).
Khajrana Ganesh temple - Temple of Lord Ganesh.
Ralamandal - A nature park in Indore, it used to be the hunting preserve of the Holkar Maharaja.
ISKCON Temple - Temple of Lord Krishna built by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Mhow Cantonment - An old Cantonment town near Indore, founded in 1818. Has a very charming market and an old world charm. Foreigners cannot enter without permission.
Patal Pani - A beautiful waterfall near Mhow. Patal Pani has a small railway station - the first after Mhow as one travels on the metre gauge track towards Khandwa.
The temple of Janapao - On the Agra Mumbai road. 16 km from Mhow. The temple is on top of a hill in the village of Kuti. According to legend, it is the place where Jamadagni, the father of Parshurama, had his ashram. It is famous for a mela (fair) held on Kartik Purnima - the first full moon after Diwali,
Sitlamata Falls - In the village of Manpur which is part of Mhow Tehsil and is 25 km from Mhow. There is a temple in a cave here. It was in this cave that the English resident in Indore was kept safely by the Bhil tribals during the 1857 uprising by Indian troops