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| HOME > India > Madhya Pradesh > Gwalior | ||||
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Gwalior Pop: 800,000 Area Code: 0751 Gwalior, 120km southeast of Agra, on the main Delhi-Mumbai railway line, is worth a visit. The fort on top of the hill, overlooking the city, is impressive. Also worth seeing is the impressive Jai Vilas Palace, an opulent, European-type palace. The present royal family in Gwalior is the Scindias. The Maharaja of Gwalior was given a twenty-one-gun salute during the British Raja for his loyalty during the Uprising of 1857. The royal family is still popular. The city itself is not so interesting. It is the type of place that after visiting the fort and palace, one will usually want to leave immediately. It is convenient to visit Gwalior while traveling between Khajuraho
and Agra. Businesses are often closed on Tuesdays. In late-November
and early December, there is an important classical music festival here. Over the years, the Rajputs, Delhi Sultans, Mughals, Marathas, and the British controlled the fort. At the end of the 14th century, the Tomar dynasty took control of Gwalior. The Tomars, a Rajput group, defended the fort against the Delhi Sultans in 1505 while many of their neighbors were defeated. In 1516, the fort was attacked by Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi and finally captured a year later. The Mughals later took the fort and in 1754, the Marathas captured it. The British and Marathas fought over the fort for the next fifty years. Eventually, the Scindias (one of four main ruling families of the Marathas) took control, under British direction. During the Uprising of 1857, the Maharaja of Gwalior backed the British,
although his troops revolted. When the British retook the fort, the
Rani of Jhansi was killed while courageously charging out to battle. Information Money can be changed at the State Bank of India, Bada Chowk, and at the Usha Kiran Palace. The GPO is at Bada Chowk. The postman for poste restante is usually
here late on weekday mornings. The fort has two entrances, the Urwahi Gate in the southwest, which is approached through a barren ravine, and the Gwalior Gate next to the Old Town in the northeast. Both have a long steep ramp leading up to them. The southern ramp is much longer, and there is not much to see on that side. The approach to the northern gate is more interesting (and shorter). It is possible to take an auto-rickshaw or taxi up the hill if it is too difficult to walk. I took a taxi up to the southwest gate and then walked around the fort to the main area in the northern part of the fort. I then exited from the northeast gate and walked down to the old town. If you plan to walk both ways, it is best to enter the north gate and then exit out the South Gate. It is easier to find a rickshaw around the northeast gate than the southwest gate. Along the walls of the near vertical sandstone cliffs, leading up to the southwest entrance, are rows of different size Jain sculptures of the tirthankaras dating from the 7th to 15th centuries. One statue of Adinath is 19m (63ft) tall. It is said that the Mughal Babur had many of the sculptures defaced in 1527. The Teli ka Mandir is a tall, 9th century temple containing excellent sculptures on the outside walls. Next to this temple is the large Suraj Tank. It is said that the sage Gwalipa gave King Suraj Pal water from this tank and cured him of his leprosy. On the east side of the fort at the midway point are the two Sas Bahu Temples, both of which have nice carvings on them. Sas Bahu means “mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.” They are both Vishnu temples built by the Kachhapaghata kings in the 11th century. From here you can get a good view of the city below. Nearby is the tall, white Bandi Chhor Gurudwara. This gurudwara marks the place where Emperor Jahangir imprisoned the sixth of the ten Sikh gurus, Har Gobind, for two years. Visitors are expected to cover their heads with a cloth before entering (cloths provided). Inside, men chant the Sikh scriptures. If you enter from the northeast, you will first pass through Alamgiri Gate (1660). Just inside the gate, at the base of the hill, is the Gujari Mahal Palace, built by Man Singh Tomar for his favorite queen. Inside is an Archaeological Museum with sculptures and paintings from the area. The sculpture of a tree-goddess from Gyaraspur is considered a valuable piece of art and is usually kept locked. The curator will display it in special cases. Open daily except Mon 10 am to 5 pm. Admission Rs 2. You then proceed up the hill to Badalgarh Gate (also called Hindola or Swing Gate), after which you will come to Ganesh Gate. There is a temple here dedicated to Gwalipa, the sage after whom the fort is named. You will then pass Jain and Hindu sculptures, and then arrive at the Chaturbhuja Mandir, or Four-Armed Temple, (876 AD). After passing the temple, you will enter the Hathiya Paur (Elephant Gate), where a large stone elephant once stood guard and then enter the fort itself. On your right is the Man Mandir Palace, built by Man Singh (1486-1517), the most impressive and well-maintained of the palaces here. It has many small alcove rooms with lattice screen windows and blue, yellow, and green tiles forming pictures of ducks, elephants, parrots, tigers, and banana trees. Downstairs are the rooms that were used during the hot summer months to stay cool. There are also dungeons here. Aurangzeb imprisoned his brother here in the 17th century, and slowly killed him through starvation and intoxication (he was fed only boiled and mashed poppies). The Sikh guru Har Gobind was also imprisoned here for two years, before being released. At the north end of the fort are ruined palaces and tanks. There are four other palaces, two built by the Rajputs and two by the Mughals. The Vikramaditya Palace has a hall with a domed roof. The Karan Mandir is a long, two-storey building with a long pillared hall. The large Jauhar Tank next to them is where the Rajput queens committed jauhar (mass suicide) in 1232 when the Delhi sultan Iltutmish was about to seize the fort. There are also the Shah Jahal Mahal and Jahnagiri palaces, but they are not as interesting. The Sound and Light Show is shown to the left of the
Elephant Gate as you enter the fort. The English show plays daily at
7.30 pm. Admission Rs 10. Amitabha Bachchan, the famous movie star,
narrates it. Two Belgian chandeliers hang in the Durbar Hall upstairs, each weighing 3.5 tons and measuring 12.5m high. The room was also painted with gold, said to weigh 58 kg. It also contains the largest handmade carpet in Asia (40m long), which took twelve years to weave. In the banquet hall on the ground floor, on the huge dining table, are tracks for a silver toy train set that would carry items around the table. There is also an antique Rolls Royce outside. The palace is open daily except Mon 10 am to 5 pm. Admission Rs 50 for foreigners; Indians Rs 15. Keep your ticket stub, as it is checked twice at the two different buildings. If you take an auto-rickshaw, ask for the museum entrance and not the palace entrance, as they are a good distant apart. Tombs of Tansen and Muhammad Gaus To get here, follow Fort Rd from the fort’s northeast entrance. Turn right after walking about fifteen minutes. In the same garden is the Mausoleum of Muhammad Gaus.
Muhammad Gaus helped the Mughal Emperor Babur capture Gwalior Fort in
the 16th century. The walls of the tomb have intricate, stone-cut jali
screens. Where to Stay—Lower Train Gwalior is on the main Delhi-Mumbai line. The
superfast Shatabdi Express connects Gwalior with Delhi (3½ hr,
#2001, 7 pm) via Agra (1½ hr) going north, and Jhansi (1 hr,
#2002, 9.30 am) and Bhopal (4½ hr) going south. Normal express
trains travel north to Delhi (5 hr), Agra (2 hr), and south to Indore
(12 hr) and Mumbai. Bus Regular buses leave from the government bus stand to Jhansi (3 hr), Agra (3 hr), Shivpuri (3 hr), Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, and Jabalpur. There are two morning buses to Khajuraho (9 hr). Private buses depart from the Lashkar bus stand.
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