Gwalior

Hi all, find here a few shots of last weekend’s outing to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. I didn’t get there until after one in the morning after taking the sloooowwww train from Delhi. It was optimistically called the GT Express.

Stealing auto rickshaw

Great to escape Delhi and be immersed in a completely untouristy place, only saw a couple of other foreigners. Gwalior has an amazing assortment of rambling/decaying palaces and temples sitting on a fortified rocky plateau overlooking the town. Around the base of the hill religious gods and deities have been carved out of the cliff faces. It was first settled 1500 years ago and the oldest temples there date from about 900AD.

The carvings date from the 15 century and are from the Jain religion which has links with Buddhism.

Pink shrine and.....
Fierce guardian lion

Temple Teli ka Mandir dates from the 9th century

Sashahu temples in the distance

The mother-in-law temple

The daughter-in-law temple

Sashahu temples sit right on the cliff edge, the first is known as the mother-in-law temple and dedicated to Vishnu and the second smaller one is the daughter-in-law temple dedicated to Shiva.

Man Singh Palace and main gate to Gwalior fort

Spot the marching ducks!

Internal courtyard at Man Singh Palace

Man Singh Palace dominates the main entry to the fort. Mosaic tiling is still visible in blue, green and yellow with tigers, elephants and a crazy frieze of marching yellow ducks! Inside, the palace is a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare with lots of tight, narrow, winding passage ways leading to dark and dingy rooms over three levels. There was a power cut just as I got to the basement level! Finding my way out was interesting. I read later that the prince Aurangzeb incarcerated his brother down there and slowly poisoned him to death with opium!

Well near Man Singh Palace

Equally good was the temperature at a balmy 28 degrees and realizing I had a first class ticket for the real fast train home. Thanks to Indian Railways I experienced the hottest curry ever – eye wateringly, face reddening, mouth burningly/blisteringly hot. Hot, but good.

I hope everyone is good and I’ll post some more photos on the site soon. Love James.