>>> result = df.to_json(orient="index")
>>> parsed = json.loads(result)
>>> json.dumps(parsed, indent=4)  
{
    "row 1": {
        "col 1": "a",
        "col 2": "b"
    },
    "row 2": {
        "col 1": "c",
        "col 2": "d"
    }
}