Letter from Bhopal
Bhopal, in India’s Madhya Pradesh (“Middle Province”), is the historic seat of the Gond Kingdom and later of the Mughal Nawabs of Bhopal. It has for centuries been a center of the arts. Most Westerners know Bhopal only as the site of a horrific 1984 industrial accident, one for which a American chemicals company fought tooth and nail to avoid taking responsibility. But the city today is a cultural mecca, boasting late Mughal architecture, gorgeous Hindu temples, a municipal tiger reserve — and a rich heritage of Gond tribal art. In any country but India, it would be a major international tourist destination. In India, it is but one among many extraordinary cultural destinations.
The time to visit is early in the year, when you can catch the Bhopal Literature & Art Festival. I was lucky enough to attend the 2026 edition, held at the Bharat Bhavan (“India Pavilion”), a major arts center nestled on the shore of Bhopal’s Upper Lake. Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes, and the Upper Lake is the biggest; wherever you go in Bhopal, you’re sure to skirt its shore. I was at the Bhopal LitFest to launch the Indian edition of my book Democracy with Dharma (published in the West as Dharma Democracy). None other than the famous Indian television news anchor Rahul Shivshankar did the honors.
Based on the many requests for autographs before the event, it was clear that most of the audience was there to see Rahul, not me! But they stayed for the book discussion, and peppered me with questions once the formalities were concluded. No university ever assembled a more intelligent, more skeptical, more probing audience panel for a book launch. It was a challenge fielding so many penetrating questions, but at the same time a pleasure. No author worth reading wants an easy ride at a book event. It was wonderful — and the books sold out at the sales stand.
Not that I was the star of the LitFest; far from it. I attended several sessions that were even more packed than mine. But the biggest attraction of all was the art. Bhopal is the metropolis of central India’s Gond tribal belt, and if you’ve never seen Gond art, you should. You can find many magnificent examples on last year’s festival website (this year’s paintings have not been posted yet). Gond art is inexplicably inexpensive; I picked up a painting in Bhopal for under $100, to complement one I bought a few years ago in Delhi for just $200. Travel to Bhopal, and for less than the cost of your flight you can acquire an entire collection. And it is gorgeous.
India is awash in literature festivals, and you can spend all of January each year traveling the length and breadth of the country hopping from one to another. But only in Bhopal will you see (literally) hundreds of high-quality Gond paintings on display — and for sale. The books are the same wherever you go, even if you buy them on Amazon. But for a full cultural vacation, go to Bhopal. The LitFest put me up at the extraordinary Numa Jehan Palace Hotel, and I recommend it for everyone else, too. For roughly the price of a roadside motel in the United States or a mediocre “pensione” in Europe you can enjoy a truly elegant Indian experience.
My only unmet wish from the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival was the time to see the rest of Bhopal. I caught tantalizing glimpses of mosques, temples, shops, museums, and (yes) even the tiger reserve, without having the time to visit any of them. A trip to Bhopal city should be a minimum of one week; to tour the area as well, two weeks. I can’t wait to get back. I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone at the LitFest for so graciously hosting me, but even more for introducing me to Bhopal, one of the great culture capitals of India. I can’t wait to go back — next time, purely for pleasure. It won’t be long before international tourists start discovering what Indian tourists already know. I only hope to return before the word gets out.
Salvatore Babones is the executive director of the Indian Century Roundtable and the author of Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third World's First Democracy.
