Hi, I'm Prashant Miranda, a watercolor artist, a scribe, and a compulsive wanderer.
I roam around the world capturing age-old monuments and breathtaking landscapes through my watercolors.
And this journey takes me to the very heart of this country, the ever enchanting Madhya Pradesh.
I start my journey from Mandu and I'm already blown away.
These quiet ruins most definitely seem like a story from the Arabian Nights.
The amazing mosques, harems, hamams and palaces are a celebration in stone of life and joy.
My breath quickens as I near this beautiful marble structure, believed to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal and the first marble structure built beneath it.
While the glorious Taj carries on the marble legacy, this Afghan beauty remains elegant in its simplicity.
So, I'm headed to the Rukmati's Pavilion for Sunset and I've heard that when the sun goes down, the local folklore of Bas Badour and Rukmati comes to life.
I reach my next destination, Chanderi, a town famous for its hand-woven sarees.
And I straight away head to the Weaver's Colony to meet Mursi Davi.
The tradition of weaving in Chanderi goes back 700 years and Mursi Davi tells me that it takes one day to weave one meter of cloth.
It's an incredible experience for me to sit at the looms and learn to weave.
Here, master weavers use silk and cotton to create a dazzling weave, distinguished by beautiful borders.
It's clear to see that Chanderi sarees have a sophistication hard to match.
But there is more to Chanderi than just in sarees.
Just like the intricate sarees, the ancient streets and majestic monuments, ruins of forts, palaces and universities, all have fascinating stories woven around.
But a very important trade route here in Chanderi that connected the Deccan in the south to all of North India.
So this was quite a bustling trade route many centuries ago.
But all of this changed when modern highways were built and altered the trade route to Chanderi.
And so this beautiful city was left to be forgotten.
As I reach these ancient caves of Bhimbedkar and see the amazing paintings on the cave walls, I realize I'm looking at the work of some of the oldest artists on the planet.
Looking at these paintings, I just feel amazed at how art has been such an inborn need for humans since the beginning of time.
Like how I go around the world painting my life in these papers, many millennia ago some cavemen roamed these caves and painted their lives.
As I enter Ujjain, I'm hit by this maddening religious fervour.
At every corner I can see ancient rituals and baffling examples of faith.
Walking around the city, I stumbled upon this amazing temple, a temple where instead of just flowers and coconuts, people also offer alcohol.
I think I just found my favourite god.
Still fascinated by the Kaalbeherav, I spent some quiet time painting portraits of some lovely sadhus.
As the sun started to set, Ujjain exploded with lights and sound.
The temples were set ablaze with thousands of veers and the ghats vibrated with the Shippurah Arti.
I sat at the ghats in the middle of the arti and painted a final watercolour as my time in Ujjain ended in a perfect crescendo.
Riding through Orcha, I feel like I've entered the majestic era of the Rajputs.
Orcha is full of grand monuments, some that command astonishment and some that just stand tall silhouetted against the betwa.
Built as a symbol of the friendship between the Bundela Rajputs and the Mughals, Jahangir Mahal is one of the most inspired places I have ever seen.
Walking through the spectacular palace, I feel like the Mughal and Rajput friendship has been masterfully inscribed into the very sandstone of the Mahal.
Another structure that flaunts the ambitious art of the Bundelas is this imposing monument which looks like a fort but is actually a temple.
On the wall of this temple is a ride of enthralling murals and frescoes.
What I find most interesting is that these temple walls don't just depict Hindu mythology but also the going ons in Hindustan at that time.
Scenes of British soldiers, the 1857 rebellion and depiction of daily life cover every inch of the temple, making it a delightful lesson in history.
I've always wanted to see Kajrao ever since I saw pictures of these temples in my history textbooks.
But after coming here, I realise that they're much more than just temples.
These are architectural representations of ancient Hindu philosophies.
The whole concept of temple building was perfected here as a model of cosmos.
And when you will see the temple architecture from here, you could see like someone is sitting in a lotus position and going deep in transit stage of meditation.
So these sculptures symbolise human emotions and the material world, whereas the insides of the temple symbolise spirituality.
And this Hindu philosophy is carved on the temple walls with amazing details and at times a great sense of humour.
Like an elephant that is smirking at an erotic couple or a playful monkey who is pulling down a woman's robe.
As I walk out of Kajrao, I feel blown away by every detail in the temple.
I'm just fascinated by the way the architects and the sculptors of Kajrao translated these ancient concepts and philosophies into these magnificent rock structures.
As I reach Sanchi, I'm eagerly searching for some answers.
I'd always heard of the stupas but I didn't really know what they were.
After coming here, I learnt that the stupas store the body parts of the great Buddha and were brought here by Ashoka, thus making the stupa at Sanchi an important Buddhist pilgrimage site.
But the real beauty of Sanchi are these gateways.
They tell various stories from Buddha's life, the jatkar tales and even the history of Buddhism.
Spoiled for choices from these amazing stories, I decided to paint a funny story from Buddha's life.
After a journey through the ages and seeing the spectacles of history, I entered the wild side of Madhya Pradesh.
Beautiful bird calls and herds of deer welcomed me into the amazing south forest of Bandhavgarh.
My heart was pounding as I traced the pug marks of the most spectacular creature in the wild.
I saw three tigers, a grand, gigantic, spectacular male tiger, lounging on the ground.
I was just seeing three tigers, a grand, gigantic, spectacular male tiger, lounging by the water and shape, licking himself.
You know, just unaware things happening around it, it's just spectacular. And then two little tiger cubs reclining again, licking themselves by the grasses and it's magical.
I can say, I don't feel like I've seen anything like this anywhere else before and it really feels sublime right now.
I couldn't have come to Madhya Pradesh and not visit the very land that inspired Radyat Kipling to write the Jungle Book.
Driving through the dense south forest and lush grasslands with wild beasts all around me, I feel like I'm inside a scene from the Jungle Book itself.
I feel like I'm inside a scene from the Jungle Book itself.
I came to this beautiful little village called Lalpur last evening. The gods are one of the oldest tribes to have lived in India,
and they still preserve their ancient beliefs and way of life.
They have an amazing tradition of art and culture which has been passed down for generations.
One of their most loved art forms is Tattooil. And when Mangala, a traditional tattoo artist, showed me some of the designs, I just couldn't resist.
I have got my first tattoo ever and it's amazing. I've always wanted to have a sun and a moon and a symbolic, simple pattern.
And Mangala Ji's church has tattooed me and these are my first permanent drawings on my body.
And this also happens to be the end of an amazing journey in Madhya Pradesh.
It's a part of India I haven't been to before and hadn't traveled through. And it's so rich and it's culture, it's heritage, it's monuments, thousand-year-old drawings, which for me have been so inspiring.
Completely open arms. I have learned so much and it's going to remain in my heart, being in the heartland for a very long time.
Thank you.
