Chamunda Mata Tekri, Dewas

Rising abruptly some ninety metres above the flat Malwa plains, the Tekri is a rock hillock in the heart of Dewas, crowned by the twin Devi temples that give the town much of its spiritual identity.

• At the summit sit two shrines side by side: Tulja Bhavani, revered locally as Badi Mata (the elder goddess), and Chamunda Mata, the Choti Mata.
• Together they draw a steady flow of pilgrims who climb for darshan, and the hill swells with fairs, lamps and drumming during both the autumn (Sharadiya) and spring (Chaitra) Navratri festivals, when the whole town seems to face uphill toward the goddesses.
• The two temples reflect one of the quirks of Dewas's past.
• In princely times the town was famously shared between two ruling houses — Dewas Senior and Dewas Junior, both governed by branches of the Puar (Pawar) Maratha dynasty, sometimes even splitting a single street between them.
• By tradition each royal house was devoted to one of the two mata shrines on the Tekri, so the hill came to hold both goddesses at its crest.
• The hill also has a literary footnote: the English writer E.M.
• Forster served as private secretary to the Maharaja of Dewas Senior in the early 1920s and later titled his memoir of that time "The Hill of Devi," a reference to this very rise.
• Reaching the top is part of the experience.
• Devotees can climb a stone stairway of roughly three hundred steps, punctuated by small shrines and resting spots, or ride a ropeway (udan khatola) that glides pilgrims and day-trippers up in a few minutes — a boon for elders and children.
• From the parapets the reward is a panoramic sweep of Dewas rooftops and the open Malwa plateau, especially lovely at sunrise and sunset.
• Set about 35 km south-east of Ujjain, it makes an easy half-day outing paired with the temple-city.
• For food, keep to the pure-vegetarian Malwa staples: warm plates of poha topped with sev and a coil of jalebi are the classic morning ritual at carts around the Tekri base and the Dewas bus stand, while simple pure-veg bhojanalayas and namkeen shops along A.B.
• Road serve thalis, sabudana khichdi and bhutte ka kees.
• During Navratri, seek out the fasting-friendly (vrat) stalls.
• Ask for the pure-veg kitchen if a place looks mixed, and cool down with plain, bhang-free lassi or thandai rather than any intoxicant.