In Amar Chitra Katha land

We feel we have stepped into an Amar Chitra Katha comic book as we gawp at the gigantic statue of Raja Vikramaditya seated on his legendary throne. The 30-ft throne installed on a raised platform dominates the city of Ujjain. The 32 apsaras from the mythological story are immortalised in statues that dot a garden near the throne. To our delight we discover plaques with their names and histories.

It’s just about two months after the Simhasth Kumbh Mela. But as we drive around this ancient city by the Shipra river there are hardly any signs that over 7.5 crore people had visited the place just recently or that lakhs of them were camping in the fields. Wide clean roads, several flyovers, a well-lit city, newly built plush hotels and resorts on the highway, and, above all, the kitschy statue of Vikramaditya’s throne created by a local artiste are the gift of the Kumbh to the town. Oh yes, water too — the once dry Shipra river has been rejuvenated with Narmada waters brought in through pipelines.

From Indore, the bustling commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, it takes us barely 45 minutes on a lovely highway that cuts through mango orchards and soya bean and corn fields to hit the city that was once regarded as the nucleus of the world. No exaggeration that. Geo-spatially, Ujjain is very important: it is on the tropic of cancer and the prime meridian also passes through it. The calculation of time of the Hindu panchang system and drawing up of calendars began in this city.

Before setting off for Ujjain, we had read up that this city of time boasted an impressive line of astronomers, led by Varahamihira, who was credited with several trigonometric formulas. But what draws lakhs of people to this old Malwa capital every year is, of course, Lord Mahakal — the god of time, another form of Shiva, who presides over the 3000-year-old-city. Dating back to Puranic times, the majestic Mahakaleshwar temple, which features in Kalidasa’s Meghadūta , was built and rebuilt through various empires — from the Guptas to the Malwa kings to the Marathas.

For those who have no respect for time, Ujjain is a good place to see how powerful a force the ticking of the clock was regarded as by ancient India. This is where planetary play was observed too.

We learn that at one time you could get a clear view of Mars from here. Of course, that spot is turned into what else, but a temple now — devoted to Lord Mars, Mangalnath.

The sheer number of temples devoted to the obscurest of deities in the Hindu pantheon that you find at Ujjain is astonishing. Although not religiously inclined, we visit many just to admire the architecture and unique charm of each. Unlike some other temple towns in India, there’s no prohibition or vegetarianism — we notice several bars, and at the Kal Bhairav temple, liquor is the main offering. From the finest Scotch to countrymade liquor, it all vanishes into some mysterious cavern in the deity’s mouth. The government goes along happily with the local tradition and operates liquor vends outside the temple. Apparently, in olden days meat and fish — and sexual favours — were also offered to the deity in the best of tantric traditions but now it’s just the jolly spirits.

But Ujjain is not all temples. The locals seem to be more caught up on the folklore of Raja Vikramaditya, happily perpetuated and reinforced by the Ujjain Municipal Corporation and the Simhasta organising committee. Just before the Kumbh, over ₹1 crore was spent on the Raja’s throne statue. Our driver goes to the extent of telling us that the squall on May 5 that flattened hundreds of tents was caused because pilgrims had pitched tent on the fields where the throne was reportedly buried.

For those who have forgotten the story — Raja Vikramaditya, a lover of arts, was called by Lord Indra to judge a dance competition between Rambha and Urvashi. Impressed by the way Vikramaditya picked the winner, Indra gifted him Lord Shiva’s throne, which had statues of the 32 apsaras who were cursed by Parvati to turn into these lifeless forms. After a long rule, when Vikramaditya died, the throne was buried as no king was deemed fit for it. It was said that people who passed the field where the throne was buried felt a strange aura and behaved unnaturally.

We humour our driver’s superstitious beliefs and ask him to take us to the Bhartrihari caves. Bhartrihari was Vikramaditya’s elder brother, much given to love and romance (he wrote a book on it too), who is shattered when he discovers his favourite wife’s adulterous ways and renounces the material life to become an ascetic. The caves are in a secluded place by the river, near the Gadkalika temple, where we encounter a sadhu with a lovely Dalmatian and a German Shepherd, all seated meditatively.

Ujjain is a city that delights us with its incongruities. A laidback little town where time has no meaning yet deep significance. And to add to the incongruities, this city that lives and breathes in its past is now on the ‘100 Smart Cities’ list. It should not be too tough, given the huge infrastructure push the city has already got to host the Kumbh Mela.

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