Heritage Gwalior - 8th Century - Temples of Bateshwar

Around 8th century, after the demise of the Pal dynasty, Gwalior was ruled for a couple of centuries by Gurjar-Pratihara dynasty from Kannauj (an area close to present day Kanpur, UP).

Around 30kms from Gwalior, in the distrcit of Morena, on the north-western slope of a range of Vindhyachal hills near the village Padavali, an archaeological site comprising of about 200 ancient shrines is found, called Bateshwar. It’s a surreal sight to see the temple ruins emerging from the jungle when you first visit them. I was at a special advantage since I didn’t know what to expect, whereas you now know what it is going to be like :)

This temple complex, which is spread over an area of 10 hectares, is determined to be from 8th-10th century. These temple shrines, which are mostly of Shiva and some of Vishnu, were built by the Gurjara-Pratihara kings who ruled Gwalior at that time. To get an idea of timeline, that is about 300 years before Khajuraho temples were built.

These ruins comprise not only of temple remains, but gateways, stepped tanks, architectural elements - amalaks, brahmanical icons etc which can be stylistically ascribed to post Gupta to early Pratihara period ranging from 6th to 9th Centuries. the earliest group of temples are having Sanctum proper with flat roof, while temples of later phases are possessed with curvilinear shikhar over the Sanctums. One of the surviving temple, ddedicated to Lord Shiva, known as Bhuteshwara Temple, shows all the features of Pratihara art.

The temples are made of sandstone and in the typical Pratihara style of temple with open pavilions. The Pratihara art and temple building culminated in its finest form a few centuries later at the world famous temples of Khajuraho. So in a way the temple art found at Bateshwara and around are a precursor to it, and show the early stages of development of temple art. 

I observed that the little historic shrine made at the Suraj Kund has same design as the shrines excavated in Bateshwar. There are a few specimen of these little shrines kept in Gujari Mahal(the archeological museum at Fort) as well.

The shrines, that may be for monastic purposes, are surrounded by mounds of invaluable ancient sculptures, its really an unbelievable sight! Looking closely you can find innumerable statues which have exquisite form and expressions.

Lord Shiva lovingly holding Parvati's hand in a possible scene from their wedding

Beautiful expressions of a mother holding her baby

Female figure in a lyrical pose

Intricate carving for the clothes and ornaments on the body

What makes Bateshwar exceptional is that the temples are still being excavated by a team led by K.K. Muhammed,, The Archaeological Survey of India . He started the excavation work in 2005 when initially he had to face resistance from the dacoits of Chambal, who had a strong hold at that time. The workers helping in the excavation and the team had to leave the site several times for their safety in the earlier years of the effort. Gradually, the dacoits understood the value of the temples as their cultural heritage, and left. Also, that was the time when the dacoit situation was controlled to a large extent anyway. Since the excavation work is still on, it is quite fascinating to see the ancient temples emerging,  as the mud is dug out very carefully and painstakingly.

The traditional dacoits left but the new age dacoits did not. There are stone quarries owned and run by the strong men of the area, just about 3-5 km from this amazing site, where fragile historic temples are being excavated! It is easy to imagine what kind of harm the constant blast of explosives are bringing to these valuable and fragile ancient structures. The archeological workers who are so lovingly bringing these out are very sad about this and expect citizens who care for our national heritage to create some pressure on the powerful rogues who are doing the quarrying.

Heritage Gwalior - Fortification of the Gopachal Hill

Suraj Sen, following the rishi’s direction, started fortifying the Gopachal hill. The fortification was completed over multiple centuries by various rulers. The marvelous fort of Gwalior, as we find it today is built on a solitary rocky hill, which has an elongated shape. The fort hill (342 feet (104 m) at the highest point) has a length of about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and an average width of about 300 yards (270 m), and makes for one of the largest forts in India. The massive Gwalior Fort, sometimes called the Gibraltar of India, overlooks the city, that has many historical pockets spread over the area around the fort.

Historians have identified the fort construction to be from early 8th century. It has two main access gates - one from the North East and the other on the South West. The various structures inside the fort walls date from 8th century to modern times. These structures and their purpose are like the sun rings on a tree trunk – left by the various rulers, in their architectural styles – giving us glimpses of the city’s changing destiny. Emperor Babur reputedly described it as "the pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind." The uniqueness of this Fort lies in the fact that the various monuments on the fort, comprising of many palaces, temples, water tanks etc. are made in different time periods and in different architectural style, and for equally different purposes varying from a palace for love, to shrines to jails.

There are multiple enterances to the fort, out of which two main enterences exist today, one on the west side, called Urvai Gate and the other on east side called Hathi Pol or Hathi Darwaza. The path to Hathi Pol has multiple Gates made by various kings over time, till 15th and 16th centuries. The path to Urvai Gates has many huge Jain shrines carved on the stone of the hill, these were made in 15th century.

Heritage Gwalior - Founding Gwalior

Suraj Kund, Gwalior Fort - believed to be at the same spot where Rishi Gwalipa's pond existed.

There is a small village, about 15-20kms from the present day Gwalior, called Sihoniya. Around early 3rd century, a king named Suraj Sen lorded Sihoniya and around. One time Suraj Sen went for hunting and got lost in a thick forest. He tried to find his way out for a long time but could not, and became very thirsty. He then saw a hermit. The hermit called Suraj Sen towards him. Suraj Sen went to the hermit and humbly paid his reverence. The hermit pointed him to a nearby pond, where Suraj Sen quenched his thirst and also soaked himself in the cool and pure water. He then noticed that the water had cured him of a serious long term skin disease he was living with. Suraj Sen realized that the hermit was no ordinary man. Suraj Sen went to the hermit with extreme happiness, lied on his feet and expressed his deep gratitude towards him. The hermit’s name was Gwalipa. Gwalipa gave his blessings to Suraj Sen and directed him to develop this area as his new capital, make a fort and move to this place. He also asked him to change his last name from “Sen” to “Pal” and declared that his descendants will rule the land as long as they use the name “Pal”.

This little Shiva temple is next to the Suraj Kund.

From that day Suraj Sen became Suraj Pal. The place was named Gwalior after the hermit’s name Gwalipa. Thus “Gwalior” was founded and Suraj Pal started ruling from this new town. The hillock then named Gopachal was later fortified and the town grew on the eastern side of the fort. Suraj Pal, who is believed to be a “Kachhap” or “Kushwaha Chhatriya”, ruled Gwalior for a long time and was followed by 84 descendants over many peaceful centuries. The 84th descendant Budh Pal decided to drop the name “Pal” given by Gwalipa, and called his son Tej Kiran. Tej Kiran got married to a princess from Amber(Rajasthan) and started living in Jaipur. In his absence his sister’s son Ramdev Parihar (or Pratihar) started taking care of Gwalior, and later became the king. The Parihars ruled Gwalior for another 100 years.

Heritage Gwalior - Introduction

Just three hours from Agra lies a sleepy small town called “Gwalior”. May be its sleeping for the first time in last many centuries, for it has been the stage for many a plays of Indian history and culture. Gwalior’s continued history of last almost 1400 years has a wealth of historical, architectural, cultural and spiritual heritage. Its dramatic story is a story of valor, love, art, deceit, brutality. 

Even though Gwalior has amazing historical, architectural and cultural wealth, it does not show up prominently in the tourism map. It is not clear why the po

tential of tourism in Gwalior is so overlooked even though it is so close to Agra, a mere 3 hours by road. Gwalior has extreme climate and the summers get quite hot and are prolonged, but it still has a potential of strong tourism for at least 4 months in winters, which might be very beneficial for the sleepy economy of the town.

Through this photographic project I want to raise the awareness about this magnificent place, and the wonderful national heritage it has in store. I also want to put together a book which will have history, lore, art history, details of the buildings, places in Gwalior, and other interesting facts. The more people know about the hidden treasures of the place the more they will want to visit the place. That would help the local business and economy while preserving the heritage in Gwalior. Also, I, along with a group of people who are passionate like I am about this cause, plan to meet the people of consequence in administration and media in that region, to see what is that we can do to bring anything which helps in this. My dream is to bring tourism to my hometown for at least a few months every year, and I will do whatever I can to give this cause a try. Promoting tourism not only helps the local economy but provides stronger incentives to more people, not just the heritage lovers, to care for the archeological and historical sites. Increased tourism will also hopefully provide more funds for preservation in some way.

Heritage Gwalior

I have started working on a photographic project on Gwalior, my home town. What I want from this project is to raise awareness about the amazing heritage wealth Gwalior has, to bring prominence to Gwalior on the tourism map of India which in result will help preserve the classical marvels and also make a positive impact on the local economy.

In the coming weeks and months I will be bringing the story of Gwalior - in pictures and in words. Stay tuned. :)

Fine Art Photography Exhibition - Reminiscing through the Folds of Memory

Hello Friends,

You are cordially invited to my first solo exhibition of fine art photographs, "Reminiscing from the Folds of Memory", Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat(next to hotel Lalit Ashok), Bangalore, from February 16th to 19th.

The exhibition will showcase some of my favorite fine art photography work I have done in recent years and also a collection of images I have made over last few years, in various parts of rural India.

As the urban life is getting more and more hi-tech, fast paced and excessive, villages still seem to provide a glimpse of the simpler times. Even though Indian villages may not be exactly what they were a couple of decades ago, but the chasm between urban and rural is still the same, or may be even more. The scarcity in villages suddenly gives a perspective to our lives of over abundance in cities. I also find it extremely fascinating, that although lives in cities are moving in fast forward, villages in India still give a chance to witness many activities which have been carried out in the same fashion as they were thousands of years before, as if they are a link between me and my distant ancestors. They still nurture the close relationship between nature and humans where nature is at a larger scale, unlike in cities where it has been dwarfed by human activities and structures.

In these images I have tried to capture the austere beauty of rural India. It is an attempt to bring back the fleeting memories of subtle joys like the gentle breeze over the fields, the quiet afternoons with the grinding mills' chimney making constant "hup-hup" sound and occasional calls by peacocks, the tinkling bells of cows and goats at dusk, or the clear cool night skies. It is an attempt to focus on beauty, order and grace in places that are written off as poverty stricken, dirty and mundane. These images coming from countryside to our lives in cities, create a sort of juxtaposition in mind, of minimal against extravagance, pause against pace, grace in scarcity against hideous in snazzy. I hope my images bring some degree of calmness and joy from that other world, to those who never have had any exposure to rural life, or to those who remember it with nostalgia.

The images in this series have been made in villages of MP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamilnadu, Kashmir and Karnataka, over a period of last 4 years.

Please make some time during those 4 days of exhibition and visit the show, please bring your friends and family along too. Your encouragement is sincerely appreciated. :)


cheers!!
rachna

deccan herald writes about me