MP07- The Historical Destination !! - By Akash Arora
The sweet morning breeze was filling the room, the
red rays of the sun were pushing themselves inside the window and I was still
absorbed in dreams. Suddenly someone yelled.. “Subah ho gayi Maamu!!” And guess
what it was my mobile alarm. While I was trying to hit the snooze option, My
heart was convincing me to sleep, but suddenly my mind shouted, “Good Morning
Gwalior”…it was like Vidya Balan yelling from the lemon house!!!
Last night I was jotting down some facts about
Gwalior that has always filled every tourist with delight and ecstasy. I hope
it will extend your dimensions of knowledge and love for the city too.
Though
the pace of development is exactly the same as the speed of train which runs on
the world’s largest narrow gauge from Gwalior to Shyopurkala. But one can
proudly say that “slow and steady wins the race”, after having a full panoramic
view of the historical city. The old 'Havelis' and edifices from the past
are still standing silently on the land of Rishi Galav, but their silence also
speaks about their owners and people who lived here centuries back.
Historically and architecturally, Gwalior is simply
impeccable; first as a very ancient seat of Jain worship; second
for its example of palace architecture of the best Hindu period
(1486–1516); and third as an historic fortress. The massive Gwalior Fort,
popularly called "the Gibraltar of India", overlooks the
city. This fort's architecture is uniquely a Chinese influence on Indian
architecture. “The pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind”, described
by Babur. Standing on a steep mass of sandstone, Gwalior Fort dominates
the city and is its most significant monument .The magnificent outer walls of
the fort still stand, two miles in length and 35 feet high, bearing witness to
its reputation for being one of the most invincible forts of India.
There's
alluring story about how the fort of Gwalior came about. There was a king named
Surajsen who suffered from leprosy. He did worship of the sun to get healed
from his sickness and he did. After that, he built the fort of Gwalior. There's
a kund (reservoir) named after him in the fort, called
Suraj kund. In fact, there's plenty of water at the top of the fort. There
are many water tanks which never dry-up and they are always filled with water
even though there's no apparent source of water to them.
Gwalior Fort also occupies a unique place in the
human civilization as the place which has the first ever recorded use of zero.
Also referred as 'Shunya' in sanskrit, this site is of mathematical interest
because of what is written on a tablet recording the establishment of a small
9th century Hindu temple on the eastern side of the plateau. By accident, it
records the oldest "0" in India for which a definite date can be
assigned.
The name of the fort is also linked to the practice
of Sati at the 'Jauhar Kund Palace'. Sati was performed by the
womenfolk of the royal family when the king of Gwalior was defeated in the year
1232 AD.
Situated on the Mountain Area at slopes of Gwalior
Fort are the unique statues of Jain Tirthankars and Gopachal Parvat. The
largest Idol of Lord Parshwanath on Lotus is the largest statue (in single
stone piece) in the world, being 47 feet high and 30 feet in width. Gurudwa
“Data Bandi Chor” ( God, please free the prisoners.) is also built here in the
memory of Guru Hargobind Saheb , the 6th Sikh Guru who was imprisoned here by
Emperor Jehangir for over two years. The charm of the fortress can be compared
to the beauty of the Mrignayanee, famous Gujjar princess. Gujari Mahal present
at the second entrance of the fort was constructed on her demand by Emperor
Maan Singh Tomar, whose palace itself has a tantalizing architecture.
Gwalior is historical city, where each ancient
building has an interesting and intriguing story behind it. Like the one behind
logo of Scindhias. The Mughal Emperor Akbar is also known to have
organized hunting parties near Gwalior. They used start their journey
from the fort itself and collect at a place, now a days known as “Phool Bagh”.
Phool Bagh is also famous for having a temple, mosque, church and a Gurudwara,
in a very close area. Here king and his soldiers used to hire the horses and
usually ride them to the next destination, “Padav”. Padav is basically a Hindi
word given to last stoppage of the journey!! Than again the king with his soldiers
used to race along the way, the road is now named “Race Course Road” and after
praying at a temple, now a days famous as “Gola ka Mandir”; they finally rided
the horses to their destination that is the outer periphery of Gwalior which
was once a big jungle namely “Maharajpura”, the place where Maharaja [king]
visited often!!
Credited as ‘The land of music’, where once lived
Mian Tansen, one of the ‘nine jewels’ of Akbar’s court, Gwalior is not only
historically and architecturally developed. But the India’s largest trade fair
commonly known as “Gwalior Vyapar Mela” is organized every year during winters.
Not only this, every year a national level music festival is organized in
November/December near the Tansen’s tomb .Musicians and singers from all over
India come here to perform in the Music Fest which is telecasted live on
Doordarshan.
Apart from the fabulous fort, there’s a splendor of
a different kind existing in the Jai Vilas Palace, current residence of the
Scindia family. Jai Vilas is an Italianate structure which combines the Tuscan
and Corinthian architectural modes. The imposing Durbar Hall has two central
chandeliers weighing a couple of tonnes, and was hung only after ten elephants
had tested the strength of the roof. Ceilings picked out in gilt, heavy
draperies and tapestries, fine Persian carpets and antique furniture from
France and Italy are the features of its spacious rooms. Eye catching treasures
include: a silver train with cut glass wagons which served guests as it chugged
around the table on miniature rails; a glass cradle from Italy used for the
baby Krishna each Janmashtami, silver dinner services and swords that were once
worn by Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan. These are, besides, personal mementoes of
past members of the Scindia family: the jeweled slippers that belonged to
Chinkoo Rani, four-poster beds, gifts from practically every country in the
world, hunting trophies and portraits. The Scindia Museum offers an unparallel
glimpse into the rich culture and lifestyle of princely India.
Jayaji Chowk is the central focus of Lashkar, with
a large square, a former opera house, banks, tea, coffee and juice stands and a
municipal market building. Thriving bazaars surround the chowk. Many jeweler
shops are situated near Jayaji Chowk aka Maharaj bada. 7 different ancient structures of diverse styles
such as Chinese, Italian, Mughal, Russian, Rajputi, makes the spot different
from other markets.
The ultimate transport service of this ancient city
is ‘Tempo’. Yes, that old 3 wheeler rickshaws which were once used by kings
when the used to go for family visits.You can hire one such vehicle to visit
each attraction of the city including the Bahadura sweets. It is a shop famous
for its especially delicious ‘Boondhi Laddoo’.Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former
prime minister of India and son of the city ,once described these ladoos as,”
One boondhi ladoo a day, keeps my doctor away!!“
Modern Gwalior has a charming mix of old and new
world. On one side you can see Old architectural sites, buzzing
streets and exotic markets, and on the other side Gwalior
has magnificent Mall, educational universities, modern opulent high
rise buildings and lots of greenery. Keeping alive the culture and customs of
the ancient city. The “Gwalior Gharana” is one side refreshing the spirit of
music, and on the other side the youth is busy converting the city to
“Education Empire” of Madhya Pradesh. One can describe modern Gwalior by these
few lines:
you dislike its crippled ability.
But when you spend some time around
It grows on you and love is found.”
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