Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh, is a combination of a regal past and modern urban planning. Famous for it's scenic beauty, it stands on the site of an 11th century city -- Bhojapal, founded by raja Bhoja. The founder of the existing city was, however, an Afghan soldier of fortune, Dost Mohammed.

The two lakes of Bhopal are in it's nucleus. Bordered along their shores stand silent sentinels, mute witnesses to the growth of a city. Bhopal today presents a balance of the old and the new. On one hand we have the old city with it's teeming market places, beautiful old mosques and palaces that announce the glory of it's former rulers, among them a succession of powerful Begums who ruled Bhopal from 1819 to 1926. On the other is the new city with it's verdant, exquisitely laid out parks and gardens, broad avenues and streamlined modern edifices.