Gwalior--A Musical Journey to Past

Hello friends, good evening. Hope all of you are well. Its after a long gap I am again connecting with you through this page again. I don't know how much you missed me but I missed all of you during this time. Due to some official engagements and some personal matters, it had been quite impossible for me to come and post a new story. For this abnormal delay, I am really sorry. 

MaanMandir Palace 

        Today I will take you to a place very much connected to History of Indian Music and Medieval Indian History. It was the homeland of musical legends like Tansen and Baiju Bawra. The rich history of this place with its great architectural marvels is enough to attract many tourists to this place all year round. This small city of North Madhya Pradesh is on the lap of the Vindhya Ranges, offering some great spots to enjoy natural beauty nearby. Apart from this, as you are in Madhya pradesh, you can have some beautiful bites of street foods here in the evening. And lastly, here is something special for sports lovers too. This city is the birthplace of legendary Hockey player Dhyan Chand. This city is the first city in the World to see a Double Hundred in an ODI Cricket match (by Sachin Tendulkar in 2009 against South Africa). Hope you have got an idea of the place about which today's story is going to be. So lets start our journey....

        Before our journey, let us have a look into the history of the place, specially from where the name Gwalior had been derived. It was quite a long time back in 7th Century CE, a local chieften, named Suraj Sen, was coming back from hunting grounds of the thick forests of Vindhyas. While in his return, he was tremendous thirsty, tired and was ailing. He came across a saint, named Gwali Pa, and asked him for some water and a suitable place for rest. The saint told him that, there is a holy stream nearby, where the water has healing properties. But he would only give the direction of the stream, if the king make arrangements to hold the water of the stream for regular use. Suraj Sen approved this condition, and built a reservoir to store the water of the stream, which was later known as Surajkund. From the name of the saint Gwali Pa, the city got its name Gwalior.

Suraj Kund

        With passing time Gwalior was ruled by the Gujjar-Pratihars, Kachhwa clan of Rajputs from Jaipur, Tomars, the Mughals, and then by the Scindias. And all these kingdoms has set up some marvellous architectural and musical brilliance, for which Gwalior will always be a legendary city. And all these makes a trip to Gwalior must for someone who wants to know India. And when I visited Gwalior, in the very first moment I started exploring the city, I realized that I am really going to enjoy the city very much.

        Before exploring it is very much needed in such a city to have a proper plan of route through which you will proceed. And it is highly recommendable to have 2 days to explore all the places at Gwalior. First day, visit the places in the city of Gwalior, and in the second day keep the whole day for the Fort. 

CITY TOUR

Sun Temple, Gwalior

        The tourist spots in Gwalior are more or less scattered in a circular pathway. So, due to proximity to my hotel I started my exploration from Gwalior Sun Temple at Morar. It is a replica of Sun Temple of Konark. It is said that once the Maharaja of Gwalior had a plan of rearing African Lion in Gwalior. He brought 10 lion cubs from Ethiopia and kept them in a large ground in Morar area. Later due to some reasons they all got relocated and the ground named Tapovan was remaining unused. Later in 1980s the Birla group approached to the Scindia family to built a Konark-like Sun Temple in Tapovan. Till now, the temple is maintained jointly by the Scindia family and the Birla Group.

    

Tomb Of Mohammad Ghaus

        In a 15-20 minutes drive from the Sun Temple is the Hazira area of old Gwalior. Earlier I had mentioned that Gwalior is a famous name for scholars of Classical Indian Music. And Hazira is the place where the tombs of Mohammad Ghaus and Tansen located. Mohammad Ghaus was a sufi saint from Gwalior who helped Babur during the annexation of Gwalior. The Tomb of Mohammad Ghaus was built during the rule of Akbar. The tomb has beautiful lattice (jali) works in its walls. The tomb is a beautiful specimen of fusion of Mughal and Lodhi architectural style. Just adjacent to the tomb of Mohammad Ghaus is the Tomb of Tansen. It is much smaller in size as compared to the Tomb of Mohammad Ghaus.

Bird's eye View of Gujari Mahal

from Gwalior Fort

        Just a few km away from the Tomb is the Gujari Mahal Museum. The history of Gujari Mahal is associated with one of the most notable love story of Bundelkhand. During 1480s Raja Maan Singh Tomar of Gwalior was in the woods for hunting. During this venture he came across a local maid named Mrignayani. It is said that Mrignayani saved Raja from a herd of buffaloes which attacked his men. Seeing the beauty and bravery of this lady, Raja wanted to marry her. Mrignayani on return proposed 3 conditions, i, She will not wear Pardah, ii, She will not share the same palace with other queens and iii, She want to stay beside River Rai, a local stream of Gwalior. Raja Maan Singh Tomar approved all her conditions and built this palace. As Rani Mrignayani was a Gurjari by origin, he named the Palace as Gujari Mahal. Today, Gujari Mahal is the State Archaeological Museum of Gwalior. For every visitor to Gwalior, this palace is a must visit as it has a collection of some fantastic sculptures and terracotta works. For every tourists it is must to keep an hour to 1.5 hours to explore this place.

        After Gujari Mahal, now it is time to visit the Municipal Museum of Gwalior, that is also known as Kala Vithika. Situated near the Railway station this museum is a place to study the heritage and culture of the city through paintings and sculptures. One must keep atleast 2 hours to explore the museum. Photography is prohibited inside the museum.

Jai Vilas Palace

        15-20 mins from the museum will lead to Laskar in South Gwalior. Laskar is famous for The Jai Vilas Palace of the Scindias. This Palace houses the H.H. Maharaja Sir JiwajiRao Scindia Museum. The luxurious palace was built by Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia in 1874. This palace shows a mixture of Tuscan and Corinthian style of architecture. Only 38 rooms of this palace holds a museum, the rest is still used by the Scindia family as there residence. The Darbar Halls, Crystal Staircases, Large Jhaars, Drawing Room of Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia, Living room of Maharaja Madhav Rao Scindia, Bedrooms of Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia and his wife Maharani Chinkubai Raje are the main attraction of the palace. 

Silver Chariot of Jiwaji Rao Scindia

        Gwalior is the Birth place of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan. The ancestral house of Ustad is presently converted to the museum of music, known as Sarod Ghar. This is a must visit when you are in Gwalior. It is situated on the road leading to Urvahi Gate of the Fort or Scindia Chhatris from the Jai Vilas Palace.

        About 2-3 km from the Jaivilas Palace is the Chhatris of Scindia Kings. In 1817CE the first Chhatri was built here to commemorate Jayaji Rao Scindia. Other Chhatris present here belongs to Jiwaji Rao Scindia, Daulat Rao Scindia and Shakya Raje Scindia. The stone cravings of these Chhatris are beautiful. With these Chhatris the city tour of Gwalior comes to an end.

FORT TOUR

Jain Statues at Gopachal Hill

        The main attraction of Gwalior is the Gwalior fort, which is on the top of the Gopachal Hillock. Just 3km from Jai Vilas Palace is the Urvahi Gate, the main entrance to the fort. While ascending to the hill-top one can find many statues of Jain Tirthankars on the left side of the road. These statues were built by Raja Dungar Singh and Raja Kirti Singh of Tomar Dynasty during a time period of late 14th to early 15th century. There are altogether 1500 idols of different size and the highest of these is the 58ft high Adinath Statue. 

Tiles work at MaanMandir Palace

        The magestic Gwalior Fort has a lot of things to explore. First thing to visit is the Maanmandir Palace, the residence of Maharaja Maan Singh Tomar. Maan Singh Tomar and his queen Rani Mrignayani were patron of Art and Music. And while exploring this palace, one can actually experience the love of  the King for Music and Art. The Stone cravings of this palace is fantastic. The exterior walls of the palace is decorated with yellow, green and turquoise coloured tiles with geometric patterns. The combination of yellow sand stone walls with such decorations is marvelous. The rough terrain of Gopachal Hills with the harsh dry climate of Gwalior, makes the designs much more soothing to the eyes. The designs are so beautiful that Mughal emperor Babur described this fort as "Pearl among the Fortresses of Hind". The main court room of the palace is the place where regular musical ceremonies took place. There are galleries in the terrace from where the queens and other ladies of the royal enclosure enjoyed such ceremonies. 

Stone Cravings at MaanMandir

Palace

        During the Mughal period specially after Akbar, this fort was used as a royal prison. Aurangzeb imprisoned his brother Murad and nephew Sulaiman Shikoh in MaanMandir Palace. In 1661 both of them were executed in an underground chamber of this palace. 

Terrace at MaanMandir Palace from where ladies of

Royal family enjoyed classical music

by Tansen or Baiju Bawra

        Just after the Maanmandir palace, there are two old palaces, Vikram Mandir and Karn Mahal. Vikram Mandir was originally built as a temple by Raja Vikramaditya, son of Raja Maansingh Tomar. It was destroyed during Mughal raids and later on it was rebuilt as a palace. From the roof of this palace one can have a beautiful view of the entire fort area. The Karn Mahal was built by Raja Kirti Singh Tomar, who was also known as Karn. 

Vikram Mandir

Karn Palace

        After these twin palace there is the Jahangir Palace. this palace offers a bird's eye view of the Gujari Mahal. The entire city of Gwalior is visible from this palace. According to locals, this palace is built by Jahangir, but it is just a myth having no historical proof. 

View from Jahangir Palace

        In the west of Jahangir Palace is the Chhatri of Bhim Singh Rana. After the death of Aurangzeb, Gwalior was captured by the Maharana Bheem Singh of Bhind. After his death, his successor Maharana Chhatrasal built this chhatri as a memorial to him. The Chhatri is adjacent to a small waterbody. According to some locals, it is called Bhimtal, as it was dug by Bhim Singh. But some historians pointed out that this waterbody was originally a place for Johar, where women of Tomar clan of rajputs sacrificed themselves to maintain their social dignity after loss in battles against the Mughals. 

Chhatri of Bhim Singh Rana

        The other things to visit inside the Fort Complex is the 80 pillared Bawri and the Chaturbhuj Temple. Chaturbhuj Temple was built in 875CE by Pratihar king Vaillabhatta. This temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu has a speciality. There is a inscription in the temple from where we can get an idea of Gwalior in Gurjar-Pratihar era. In this inscription the symbol "0" to represent the word "zero" was first used. 

Chaturbhuj Temple

        After the fort Complex there are still a lot to explore in the hill-top. A southward journey from the fort complex takes it to the Saas-Bahu Temple. This Temple was built by King Mahipal of Kacchapaghata dynasty in 11th century, and dedicated to Lord Vishnu. According to some local folklore, once some king of Gwalior had a queen who was a Shaiva, so she could not worship her deity as there is no temple dedicated to Lord Shiva inside the fort. So the King built a Shiva temple for his queen. And thus the big temple remained as a place of worship for the his mother, who was a Vaishnav and the smaller one for his wife who was a Shaiva. Though there is no historical proof of this story. 

Interior of Saas-Bahu Temple

        A km drive from the Saas-Bahu Temple is the Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhor. It is said that Guru Hargovind was arrested by Emperor Jahangir in 1605CE along with 52 other local kings, as they were failed to pay taxes to the Emperor. After this arrest it was seen that health of Begum Noor Jahan was detoriating. Some advised the emperor that this illness is due to curse given by the Guru, and it would be better to free the Guru. Jahangir sent his men to Gwalior to release Guru Hargovind. Guru proposed a condition that all the 52 kings had to be set free along with him. Jahangir approved the claim and told the Guru that he will set free as many kings who would succeed to held Guru's clothings.  The Sikh Guru made an apron which had 52 strings and in the day of his release, he along with 52 kings got free from the charges. It is said that this Gurudwara is situated at the place where Guru Hargovind was arrested. Though this story has no historical evidence. 

Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhor

        A few minutes from the Gurudwara is the Teli ka Mandir, the oldest temple in the Gopachal Hill. This temple, dedicated to lord Vishnu, was commissioned during 8th century by some Pratihar king. The structure of this temple has a similarity with contemporary south Indian temples. According to locals, this temple was built by the local oil merchants, and not by any king or any royal men. So this temple got such a name. One can see the Suraj kund on the way to this temple from the Gurudwara. Surajkund is associated with the history of origin of Gwalior.  

Teli ka Mandir

        So after these long tour if one thinks that, the Gwalior exploration is finished then he is somewhat wrong. Without experiencing the light and sound show at the Fort premises, Gwalior exploration is incomplete. So must watch the light and sound, where the history of the fort along with the history of Gwalior Gharana of classical Indian Music is depicted. With the gigantic MaanMandir Palace in the Front and in evening darkness you can feel the history and the musical journey to the past of the city might seem to be live and it is a great experience. 

Night View of Gwalior Town from

Gopachal Hill-top

        After the light and sound show at the Fort our journey is completed. So, how is the story friends? Must comment me whether you liked it. And if there is any place is missing in this blog, which I may had missed in my tour, please tell me about that place and your experiences too.

        So for today, it is all over. Will be connected to you soon with some other new places and new experiences. Before finishing, here are some travel tips below, which will help you in your trip to Gwalior.

British Residency at Gwalior Fort

TRAVEL TIPS

Best Time to Visit-- Any time of the year except April, May, June, that is the summer months.

How to Reach-- Gwalior is well connected by railways from any part of India. Regular bus service is available from Delhi, Agra or Jaipur. 

Where to stay-- There are many hotels in Gwalior where you can stay according to your budget.

For food lovers, there are many things to taste here. Near Railway station you will get many Chikki and Gazak stalls. It is a real miss if you miss to taste it. You will get a lot of street food options at Naya Bazar, Chowri Bazar and Lashkar localities...

From Gwalior if you have time, you can also visit Morena, which is about 30-40km away and it will take a day to explore Morena. 

Gwalior Fort at Night

Many tourists visit Gwalior as a sightseeing from Agra, but if you want to explore Gwalior and want to feel the rich history of Gwalior, this tour is not at all recommended. Have at least 2days for Gwalior, without that you will miss a lot of this city. 

When you are touring Gwalior Fort, must take a guide. Without a proper guide it is difficult to visit every part of the fort and you will miss the history and many fantastic folklore about the fort. 

There are few people you will face before your trip, they will say you that Gwalior is a place of Traitors, there is nothing to visit in Gwalior. Just don't pay any attention to such rubbish advice. Gwalior has a lot to explore. So, plan your trip and have a good outing here at Gwalior...