Khajuraho temples and the Dance Festival had been a wish-list item for both me and Moumita since long. One day when we were showing few Kathak videos to our daughter (who has started going to Kathak classes), kathak videos from Khajuraho dance festival came up. Moumita said, let’s go to the dance festival this year. It all started from there.
There was no direct way to reach Khajuraho from Bangalore. So we decided to go to Gwalior, halt there for a day or 2. Explore. From Gwalior, take a train to Khajuraho. We took train from Bangalore, which after 2 nights in the train, dropped us at Gwalior early morning at around 4am.
Our booking was at Neemrana’s Deobagh. We took the auto to the hotel. When we reached, it was still dark, and honestly it looked like a Bhoot Banglow (A ghost house)…the kind of abandoned old haunted houses which shows in movies.
The hotel had mentioned earlier that the usual room checkin is at 2pm. We would have to accomodate in the sitting lounge till then. And in case, any early check outs happen, then they will allocate the room to us.
I was already apprehensive of this setup. My apprehensions turned into outright fear when I entered this haunted looking place.
The sitting lounge however, turned out to be quite comfortable. We stretched ourselves. The kid fell sound asleep.
Dawn arrived, and slowly the grandeur of the hotel premises revealed itself in front of our eyes.
The hotel was an embodiment of the Mughal architectural charm; a Haveli type setup. There was lot of greenery around. Peacocks roaming around in plenty. It felt like a different world all together. This became our base as we explored Gwalior for the next couple of days.
Day 1: Jai Vilas Palace
The Jai Vilas Palace was constructed in 1874 by Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia (1843-86) of the Maratha Scindia Dynasty, the then-Maharaja of the Princely State of Gwalior. Now it a museum, showing the collections of the Scindias.
The grandest part of the palace – The grand hall, was closed for renovation, though we got to see a sneak peak from one of the side doors.
Day 1: Tansen Mausoleum
One of the highlights of a trip to Gwalior is Tansen’s tomb, where the famed musician, who was one of the Navaratnas of Akbar’s court, is buried. Mohammad Ghaus’s tomb, who is said to be a sufi saint is also in the same premises.
This place is kind of a pilgrimage for lovers and practitioners of Hindustani Classical Music.
Day 2: Gwalior Fort
The Gwalior Fort, is on a hill, mere 4-5 kms from our hotel. The fort has existed at least since the 10th century, and the inscriptions and monuments found within what is now the fort campus indicate that it may have existed as early as the beginning of the 6th century. The modern-day fort, was mainly built by Man Singh Tomar.
There are many temples around the fort premises, while going to the fort, you would also find Huge Jain rock cut sculptures called Gopachal Parvat. They are kind of a marvel themselves.
If I compare this with Rajasthan forts, then the inside of the fort is not that impressive, as most of the carvings, paintings and architecture were destroyed by invaders who attacked the fort through history. Overall the fort premises is very big. We could not cover the whole premises. Our 5 year old daughter got very cranky towards after spending around an hour in the fort. It was also nearing lunch time, so we left in a hurry.
Day 2: Streets of Gwalior and local Buzaar
After lunch at the fort, we went to Sarafa Buzzar. The streets are filled with shops, not of my interest, but I went along, as Moumita trudged along enthusiastically. She did some street shopping.
Post this we went back to the hotel. Next day morning was our train to Khajuraho.
GugaBaba... My Travellogues... 
Leave a comment