As I was about to leave for Gwalior, I was very firm in my mind that this time I am not going to waste my leaves. We started on Thursday (12/08/2004) morning by Taj express. Though the train earlier terminated at Agra only, it was because of Late Mr. Madhav Rao Scindia, that I was extended to Gwalior. The journey was nothing special, we had to sacrifice some precious hours of morning sleep as we started at 06:00 in the morning not only to board the train but also to find some place to sit in the “GENERAL-SAMANYA” coach.
As we crossed Dhaulpur, dad showed the fort of Dhaulpur. In the otherwise dusty terrains of chambal, the fort stood out on a hill. This is the place from where Her highness Shrimati Vasundhara Raje, chief Minister of Rajasthan belongs. And immediately I got a new destination to explore, may be during my next visit to Gwalior. In the evening I got news that was not very sweet to my ears. I had planned to leave by Chambal Express the next morning to Jhansi, but I was told that that Chambal Doesn’t runs on Fridays. So the advantage of early start that chambal Express would have given me was not there. I looked for some more trains but with no success.
Now, I had two options, either to delay my trip to Orchha by Saturday or leave by any other train. I was constantly discouraged by all others including mom, dad, and jethima that what is the fun in moving alone? You better abort the plan. But the images of magical medieval “Mahals” were quite live in my mind and I just want to go to Orchha alone or with someone. I had done a lot of Research but no development about Orchha and Barwa Sagar before leaving for Gwalior and the level of excitement was not unprecedented.
Next morning I wake up with a mental dilemma and immediately decided that “if not Orchha, why not Gwalior”. I started for Hajira, from where I started my upward trek. I passed by the many gates that once served as barriers for the invaders. At times took little breaks wherever I found some picturesque views and of course when I had a desire for a tinge of Nicotine. Sometimes I had to wait a long as I wanted a clear blue sky and the clouds were on a move. At last I was at the top of one of the mighty forts of central India.
Gwalior Fort has a long and interesting history of invasions, take-over, and recovery. The fort, it seems was made by the Pratihara in the 10th Century, later held by many Rajput Kings including Kachhwahas, Tomars.
I almost went the whole periphery of the old fort, even going to those areas where I had never gone in my earlier 8-10 visits. My camera was put in Operation Mode at regular intervals. The whole area was looking great, a splash of continuous rains has left the whole area “Green”, full with Grass and other such weeds. But the humid winds with the scorching sun were making it difficult to move. With the sweat not stopping at all and shoe pinching a bit it was like “gain with pain.”
I covered all the major monuments including the Man Mandir, Saas-Bahu Mandir, Teli ka Mandir and many more Mahals. The Mighty Mughals who were at Agra used the Gwalior fort as a royal prison. Aurangzeb put his brother Murad Baksh in Man Mandir and later killed him. The fort has a history of defiance, the Delhi Sultans would waste their energies for months to conquer it and when the Sultan would go back it will fell to the locals again. It happened many a times. Illtutmish laid a seize of Gwalior Fort for a period of Eleven months. He took over the fort but lost immediately afterwards.
Man Mandir is in relatively better state as compared to the other palaces in the Fort. It has interesting designs with tiles of Green, Blue and Yellow colour. The tiles have retained their colours for about 700 years. Prominent figures in the tile work include Ducks, Banana Tree and other such figures.
My next halt was “Saas-Bahu Mandir” for with I had to walk a full kilometer with sun right at the top. The temples were made by Pratihara king Mahipala, one for his mother and other for his wife, so says the ASI Plate at the foot of the temple.
But the temple has a stark similarity with the Jain way of temple making prevalent in the 9-10th Century. Though I have only seen the Jain Temples at Dilwara, Mount Abu in pictures, I was convinced that definitely Jainism might have influenced the Ruler. The intricate carvings in the pillars and doorways are very much like the typical Hindu Style during the Pratihara Period. The temple that I saw when moving towards Barwa Sagar, Jarai ka Math has the same style of carvings.
I took some photographs, tried to picture the Saas Mandir from the Bahu’s and vice versa. I was feeling thirsty and found a “Thela” at the temple gate, asked about water. His reply was negative; he only had “baraf ke Goley’s” which I avoided. Instead I tried to quench my thirst by having Lozenges that I had taken earlier.
Again after some more walking, I reached the Teli Ka Mandir. What to say about it? It was a masterpiece. In 1881, the British under Keith worked for around 3 years to restore the temple to its glory. Scindias of Gwalior paid an amount of 4000 rupees, as a part of total cost (around 7000 rupees). This temple along with the temples of Saas and Bahu were among those temples that faced the wrath of the invading forces of Mohammad Ghori. All the statues were defaced and the carvings filled in with Limestone. My heartiest wishes go out to those British Persons who worked for the restoration of the temples. Later the British converted the temple into a soda factory.
The temple is a massive one with a peculiar style. The layout and design is something that I had never seen. Took some photos while sticking close to the wall separating the temple and the Scindia School Playground. I was exhausted but satisfied at the same time, though I had fired all my cylinders but at the same time I charged myself.
It was very different feeling. I made my way towards the main gate, stopping once in between for some water + chips + smoke. Gwalior has been rediscovered.
As we crossed Dhaulpur, dad showed the fort of Dhaulpur. In the otherwise dusty terrains of chambal, the fort stood out on a hill. This is the place from where Her highness Shrimati Vasundhara Raje, chief Minister of Rajasthan belongs. And immediately I got a new destination to explore, may be during my next visit to Gwalior. In the evening I got news that was not very sweet to my ears. I had planned to leave by Chambal Express the next morning to Jhansi, but I was told that that Chambal Doesn’t runs on Fridays. So the advantage of early start that chambal Express would have given me was not there. I looked for some more trains but with no success.
Now, I had two options, either to delay my trip to Orchha by Saturday or leave by any other train. I was constantly discouraged by all others including mom, dad, and jethima that what is the fun in moving alone? You better abort the plan. But the images of magical medieval “Mahals” were quite live in my mind and I just want to go to Orchha alone or with someone. I had done a lot of Research but no development about Orchha and Barwa Sagar before leaving for Gwalior and the level of excitement was not unprecedented.
Next morning I wake up with a mental dilemma and immediately decided that “if not Orchha, why not Gwalior”. I started for Hajira, from where I started my upward trek. I passed by the many gates that once served as barriers for the invaders. At times took little breaks wherever I found some picturesque views and of course when I had a desire for a tinge of Nicotine. Sometimes I had to wait a long as I wanted a clear blue sky and the clouds were on a move. At last I was at the top of one of the mighty forts of central India.
Gwalior Fort has a long and interesting history of invasions, take-over, and recovery. The fort, it seems was made by the Pratihara in the 10th Century, later held by many Rajput Kings including Kachhwahas, Tomars.
I almost went the whole periphery of the old fort, even going to those areas where I had never gone in my earlier 8-10 visits. My camera was put in Operation Mode at regular intervals. The whole area was looking great, a splash of continuous rains has left the whole area “Green”, full with Grass and other such weeds. But the humid winds with the scorching sun were making it difficult to move. With the sweat not stopping at all and shoe pinching a bit it was like “gain with pain.”
I covered all the major monuments including the Man Mandir, Saas-Bahu Mandir, Teli ka Mandir and many more Mahals. The Mighty Mughals who were at Agra used the Gwalior fort as a royal prison. Aurangzeb put his brother Murad Baksh in Man Mandir and later killed him. The fort has a history of defiance, the Delhi Sultans would waste their energies for months to conquer it and when the Sultan would go back it will fell to the locals again. It happened many a times. Illtutmish laid a seize of Gwalior Fort for a period of Eleven months. He took over the fort but lost immediately afterwards.
Man Mandir is in relatively better state as compared to the other palaces in the Fort. It has interesting designs with tiles of Green, Blue and Yellow colour. The tiles have retained their colours for about 700 years. Prominent figures in the tile work include Ducks, Banana Tree and other such figures.
My next halt was “Saas-Bahu Mandir” for with I had to walk a full kilometer with sun right at the top. The temples were made by Pratihara king Mahipala, one for his mother and other for his wife, so says the ASI Plate at the foot of the temple.
But the temple has a stark similarity with the Jain way of temple making prevalent in the 9-10th Century. Though I have only seen the Jain Temples at Dilwara, Mount Abu in pictures, I was convinced that definitely Jainism might have influenced the Ruler. The intricate carvings in the pillars and doorways are very much like the typical Hindu Style during the Pratihara Period. The temple that I saw when moving towards Barwa Sagar, Jarai ka Math has the same style of carvings.
I took some photographs, tried to picture the Saas Mandir from the Bahu’s and vice versa. I was feeling thirsty and found a “Thela” at the temple gate, asked about water. His reply was negative; he only had “baraf ke Goley’s” which I avoided. Instead I tried to quench my thirst by having Lozenges that I had taken earlier.
Again after some more walking, I reached the Teli Ka Mandir. What to say about it? It was a masterpiece. In 1881, the British under Keith worked for around 3 years to restore the temple to its glory. Scindias of Gwalior paid an amount of 4000 rupees, as a part of total cost (around 7000 rupees). This temple along with the temples of Saas and Bahu were among those temples that faced the wrath of the invading forces of Mohammad Ghori. All the statues were defaced and the carvings filled in with Limestone. My heartiest wishes go out to those British Persons who worked for the restoration of the temples. Later the British converted the temple into a soda factory.
The temple is a massive one with a peculiar style. The layout and design is something that I had never seen. Took some photos while sticking close to the wall separating the temple and the Scindia School Playground. I was exhausted but satisfied at the same time, though I had fired all my cylinders but at the same time I charged myself.
It was very different feeling. I made my way towards the main gate, stopping once in between for some water + chips + smoke. Gwalior has been rediscovered.
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