Gwalior

This article is about the municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India. For its namesake district, see Gwalior District.

Gwalior / ग्वालियर
The City of Scindia
—  metropolitan city  —
Maan Singh Palace at Gwalior fort
Gwalior / ग्वालियर Location of Gwalior / ग्वालियर in Madhya Pradesh and India
Coordinates	26°13′17″N 78°10′41″E / 26.221521°N 78.178024°E / 26.221521; 78.178024Coordinates: 26°13′17″N 78°10′41″E / 26.221521°N 78.178024°E / 26.221521; 78.178024
Country	India
Region	Gird
State	Madhya Pradesh
District(s)	Gwalior
Mayor	Mrs. Sameeksha Gupta (elected 15 December 2009)
Population • Density	1,053,505 (2011[update]) • 445 /km2 (1,153 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 196 metres (643 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 474001 (HPO) • Vehicle • MP-07

Gwalior (Hindi/Marathi: ग्वालियर  pronunciation (help·info)) ग्वाल्हेर is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India, lying 122 kilometres (76 mi) south of Agra, and 423 kilometres (263 mi) north of Bhopal, the state capital. Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gird region of India, and the city and its fortress have served as the center of several of historic northern Indian kingdoms. Gwalior is the administrative headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division.

The Gwalior Fort has changed hands many times, from the Tomaras in the 8th century it passed on to the Mughals, then the Marathas under the Scindias (1754), followed briefly by Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Tatiya Tope and the British.

The city has several important educational institutions including the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management, Scindia School, Madhav Institute of Technology and Science and Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education.Gwalior has six universities.Jiwaji university,Maharaja Maan Singh Tomar music and arts university,Rajmata Vijyarahe Scindia agriculture unoversity,Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Educatiom [deemed university],Amity university Gwalior and ITM university.

Gwalior is the fourth largest city of Madhya Pradesh and often called the tourist capital of the state.

Origin of name

According to local tradition, Gwalior owes its name to a sage of former times. Suraj Sen, a prince of the Kachhwaha clan of the eighth century, is said to have lost his way in the jungle. On a secluded hill he met an old man, the sage Gwalipa, whose influence almost took him by surprise. Upon asking the sage for some drinking water he was led to a pond; the waters not only quenched his thirst but cured him of leprosy. Out of gratefulness, the prince wished to offer the sage something in return, and the sage asked him to build a wall on the hill in order to protect the other sages from wild animals which often disturbed their yagnas (or pujas). Suraj Sen later built a palace inside the fort, which had been named "Gwalior" after the sage; eventually the city which grew around the fort took the same name.

Demographics

As of 2011^[update] India census,^[1] Gwalior had a population of 1,053,505. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gwalior has an average literacy rate of 85.20%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 90.85%, and female literacy is 78.82%. In Gwalior, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. Hindi is the main language spoken in Gwalior. There is a strong Marathi influence because of the Maratha rule, and Marathis have played important roles in the development of the city.

Geography

Gwalior is located at 26°13′N 78°11′E / 26.22°N 78.18°E / 26.22; 78.18.^[2] It has an average elevation of 197 metres (646 feet). Gwalior is an historic Indian city located on the periphery of Madhya Pradesh Stand, 100 km (62 Miles) from Jhansi.

Climate

Gwalior
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     17   23 7     8   27 10     7   33 16     2.6   39 22     8.9   42 27     78   41 30     262   35 27     313   32 25     146   33 24     43   33 18     4.2   29 12     7.7   24 7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: IMD
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.6   73 45     0.3   80 50     0.3   91 60     0.1   102 72     0.4   108 81     3.1   105 85     10   94 80     12   90 78     5.8   91 75     1.7   92 65     0.2   85 53     0.3   76 45 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Gwalior has a sub-tropical climate with hot summers from late March to early July, the humid monsoon season from late June to early October and a cool dry winter from early November to late February. Under Koppen's climate classification the city has a humid subtropical climate. The highest recorded temperature was 48^oC and the lowest was -1^oC.

Summers start in late March, and along with other cities like Nagpur and Delhi are among the hottest in India and the world. They peak in May and June with average daily temperatures being around 33-35^oC (93-95^oF), and end in late June with the onset of the monsoon. Gwalior gets 970 mm (39 in) of rain every year, most of which is concentrated in the monsoon months from late June to early October. August is the wettest month with about 310 mm (12 in) of rain. Winter in Gwalior starts in late October, and is generally very mild with daily temperatures averaging in the 14-16^oC (58-62^oF) range, and mostly dry and sunny conditions. January is the coldest month with average lows in the 5-7^oC range (40-45^oF) and occasional cold snaps that plummet temperatures to close to freezing.

Gwalior can be visited from late October to early March without much discomfort, but the months from April to June should be avoided due to the extreme heat. The monsoon months see sustained, torrential rainfall and risk of disease, and should also generally be avoided.

citrus fruits are grown with irrigation

Transportation infrastructure

The city is well connected by Rail, Road and Air.

Railways

The Gwalior Junction GWL is part of the North Central Railways.

Gwalior's main station is one of the major commercial railway stations of the North Central Railway of Indian Railways, whose zonal headquarters is in Allahabad. The station has won awards from Indian Railways for clean infrastructure in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992. Express trains such as the Bhopal Express, Taj Express and Bhopal Shatabdi stop at Gwalior.

Gwalior is, perhaps, one of the few places where both narrow gauge and broad gauge railways tracks are still operational. The Gwalior narrow gauge track is the narrowest in India and the narrow gauge train have been declared as world heritage by the international heritage council.

Gwalior is well connected by train services to all parts of the country, including 4 metros. There are direct trains to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata (Howrah), Chennai, Trivandrum, Indore, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jammu, Lucknow, Bhopal, Bangalore, Amritsar, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad and other major towns. Gwalior is the main station serving most of the important and long distance trains. There are two other stations within the city limits, named Gwalior Birla Nagar and Gwalior Sithouli. These stations interconnect to other stations and also serve the short distance trains connecting Gwalior to nearby towns and villages.

There are other narrow gauge stations within the city, named Gwalior Grasim Factory and Motijheel.

Roads

Gwalior is fairly well connected to other parts of Madhya Pradesh and India with national and state highways. The proposed North-south-Corridor of the Golden-Quadrilateral Highway project passes through the city.The Agra-Bombay national highway (NH3) passes through Gwalior, connecting it to Shivpuri on one end and Agra on the other. The city is connected to the Jhansi by the National Highway 75, towards the south of the city. In the Northern, the city is connected to the holy city of Mathura via National Highway 3. There are bus services to and from all major and minor cities near Gwalior, including Bhopal, Agra, Delhi, Jabalpur, Jhansi, Bhind, Morena, Datia, Jaipur and Indore.

Air

Gwalior Airport is also called Rajmata Vijya Raje Scindia Vimantal.

Gwalior Airport (IATA: GWL, ICAO: VIGR) is an airport in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. It has an Indian Air Force Base which stations Mirage bombers.

Airlines and destination

Airlines	Destination
Air India	Mumbai,Delhi
Air India Regional	Delhi,Jabalpur
Ventura Airconnect	Bhopal,Indore,Jabalpur

Local transport

Gwalior's public transport system consists of tempos, horse-drawn tongas (which run fixed routes much like a bus system) and auto rickshaw taxis. Municipal corporation'"Gwalior City Bus" covering some routes in the city.

The tempos and auto-rickshaws are often cited as a cause of pollution and road congestion, and the local government has plans to replace the tempos with vans that shall run on Liquefied Petroleum Gas. However, taken in itself, this solution ignores the congestion and pollution caused by private cars, which is far more significant especially considering that the impact of private cars is actually caused for the benefit of a very small section of the city's population.

History

Gwalior may have been held by the Guptas or some of their subordinates, but the oldest historical evidence shows the fort was conquered by the Hunas in the early sixth century. The evidence for this is a stone inscription of the time of Mihirakula recording the construction of a temple to the sun god. It is now in India Museum, Calcutta.^[3] Subsequently, the Gwalior was taken by Gurjar Pratihars of Kannauj.^[4] From inscription found such as Rakhetra stone inscription, scholars assert that Gwalior was under the possession of Gurjara Pratiharas till at least 942-43 AD^[5]

In the 10th century, after Gurjara Pratiharas, Gwalior was taken by the Kachwaha Rajputs. Qutb-ud-din Aybak captured the city in 1196. Shamsud-din Altamsh took control of the area in 1232. By the 15th century the city had a noted singing school which was attended by Tansen. It first fell to the British in 1780, but was one of the cities taken during the Sepoy Rebellion.^[6]

Today Gwalior includes the former city of Lashkar. Laskar was the capital of Gwalior state, one of the princely states of India during the British Raj. It then served as the capital of Madhya Bharat from 1950 to 1956.

At the heart of Gwalior is Gwalior Fort, improved by by Raja Man Singh Tomarwhere a previous structure existed, of the Tomar dynasty. This formidable structure was reputed to be one of the most invincible forts of India. It occupies an isolated rock outcrop. The hill is steepened to make it virtually unscalable and is surrounded by high walls which enclose buildings from several periods. The old town of Gwalior lies at the eastern base of the fortress. Lashkar, formerly a separate town that originated as a military camp, lies to the south, and Morar, also a formerly separate town, lies to the east. Gwalior, Lashkar and Morar are presently part of Gwalior Municipality.^{[citation needed]}

Massive Gwalior Fort, popularly called the Gibraltar of India, overlooks the city. Emperor Babur reputedly described it as "the pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind." This fort's architecture is unique. It shows Chinese influence on Indian architecture, as Chinese dragons have been crafted at the hilt of the pillars. This influence was because of trade between China and India during that period.

After the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545, who was ruling the North India at that time, his son Islam Shah shifted his capital from Delhi to Gwalior and constructed 'Sher Shah Mandir' or Palace/Fort in the memory of his father Sher Shah Suri. Islam Shah operated from Gwalior till his death in 1553. Islam Shah had appointed the Hindu warrior 'Hemu' or Hem Chandra Vikramaditya as his Prime Minister in Sher Shah Fort for the first time, who later on became the Vikramaditya king at Delhi and established 'Hindu Raj' in North India, by virtue of winning 22 battles continuously from Punjab to Bengal and defeating Akbar's army in Agra and Delhi on 6 October 1556.

In the east of the city are two magnificent examples of early Mughal architecture: the mausoleum of the 16th century Sufi saint Ghous Mohammed and the tomb of Mian Tansen, a great singer and one of the 'Nine Jewels' of the Mughal Emperor Akbar's court. Right next to them is the Gujari Mahal, built by Gujjar king Man Singh Tomar on demand of his consort Gujar princess "Mrignayani" (meaning having eyes like deer).^[7] The Mughal Emperor Akbar is also known to have organized hunting parties near Gwalior^[8]

Close to the heart of the city is splendid Jai Vilas Palace, patterned on the palace of Versailles; it combines Tuscan, Italian and Corinthian styles of architecture.

Rich in cultural heritage and architectural marvels, Gwalior has the added advantage of its proximity to Agra, the city of Taj Mahal; Khajuraho, the city of great temples; and Delhi, the national capital.

Historically and architecturally, Gwalior is interesting first as a very ancient seat of Jain worship; secondly for its example of palace architecture of the best Hindu period (1486–1516); and thirdly as an historic fortress. Many historical places are found near the Dabra-Bhitarwar Road. Prior to the founding of Gwalior the region was also known by its ancient name of Gopasetra. The great Apabhramsha poet Pandit Raighu lived in Gwalior. Gwalior had an institutional seat of the Bhattarakas of Kashtha Sangh and later Mula Sangh.

View from the summit of the Gwalior Fort showing the palace of the Maharajah of Scindia. circa 1882.

According to history, the original fort of Gwalior was founded by the Bargujar Kings during the 34th/35th century of Kali yuga as per puranas available with them. His palace is the most interesting example of early Hindu work of its class in India. Another palace of even greater extent was added to this in 1516. The Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan added palaces to these two, the whole making a group of edifices unequalled for picturesqueness and interest by anything of their class in central India. Among the apartments in the palace was the celebrated chamber, named the Baradari, supported on 12 columns, and 45 ft (15 m) square, with a stone roof, forming one of the most beautiful palace-halls in the world. It was, besides, singularly interesting from the expedients to which the Hindu architect was forced to resort to imitate the vaults of the Muslims. Of the buildings, however, which so excited the admiration of the first Mughal emperor Babur, probably little now remains.

Jai Vilas Palace in Lashkar is a marvellous palace museum, part of which is open to the public and gives a glimpse into the life of the royal family. The Fort area is also home of the Scindia School, a well-regarded institution founded by the late Maratha Maharaja Madhavraoji Shinde of Gwalior in 1897.

The Telikā Mandir or 'oil-man's temple', owes its name to Teli, a term for an oil grinder or oil dealer. Many suggestions have been put forward to explain this name historically, but in actual fact the name is not old, the temple being used for processing oil before the British occupied the fort and used the building, albeit temporarily, as a coffee shop. The Telikā Mandir is the loftiest temple among all the buildings in Gwalior fort with a height of about 30m. The temple consists of a garbagriha, that is sanctum proper for the deity, and an antarala to enter into the temple. It can be approached by a flight of steps provided on the eastern side. The most striking feature of the temple is the wagon-vaulted roof, a form used over rectangular shrines which normally accommodated a row of Mother Goddesses.^[9] The goddesses from the interior vanished centuries ago and have not been traced, even in fragments. The exterior walls of the temple are richly decorated with sculptures many of which are damaged; the niches, shaped like temples, are empty. The building carries a dedicatory inscription to the goddess in a niche on the southern side, but otherwise does not have any history.^[10] The architectural style, discussed by a number of architectural historians, points to a date in the late eighth century.^[11] The building was thus erected just as the Gurjara Pratihāras were asserting their power over central India. The entrance gateway on the eastern side is a later addition of the British period, made by Major Keith in 1881. It was erected as a way of saving various historic pillars and other pieces no longer in their original context.

Teli-ka-Mandir

A striking part of the Jain remains at Gwalior is a series of caves or rock-cut sculptures, excavated in the rock on all sides, and numbering nearly a hundred, great and small. Most of them are mere niches to contain statues, though some are cells that may have been originally intended for residences. According to inscriptions, they were all excavated within a short period of about thirty-three years, between 1441 and 1474. One of the colossal figures is 57 ft (17 m) high, taller than any other in northern India.

Gwalior fort also has the Gurudwara Data Bandi built in the memory of the sixth Sikh Guru Har Gobind. This Gurudwara is particularly large and grand, built entirely of marble with coloured glass decorating the main building. Recital of the Guru Granth Sahib creates a peaceful and sacred atmosphere. Mughal kings used to visit Gwalior regularly. During the sikh genocide of 1984 many sikhs were burned alive here. There is a Gurdwara that was converted to a mandir of "kalli devi" and process is on to take it back by sikhs.

Revolt of 1857

Gwalior is also known for its share in 1857 revolt mainly due to Rani Lakshmi Bai's heroic resistance and death . After Kalpi (Jhansi) fell into the hands of the British on May 24, 1858, Lakshmibai sought shelter at the Gwalior fort. The king of Gwalior was not willing to give up his fort without a fight as he was afraid of the British. But the soldiers laid down their arms in respect for the Rani of Jhansi. Thus the freedom fighters entered Gwalior without a fight. The British wasted no time in attacking Gwalior. It was the fiercest, bloodiest battle ever fought on Indian soil.  Lakshmibai's courage, strength, and ability as she valiantly fought the British army's vastly superior forces, are remembered to this day. She died fighting and Gwalior was captured. Tantya Tope was hanged and Rao Sahib escaped.^[12]

Art and culture

Gwalior is a well acknowledged place of art, associated with historic as well as contemporary evidence. In August 2005 a mural created by Aasutosh Panigrahi and five other artists was acknowledged as World's Largest Indoor Mural by the Guinness Book of Records.

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature were held once in Gwalior city. It was presided by President of the Conference writer Kusumavati Deshpande (and wife of Kavi Anil) in 1961. She was the first female president of the annual Sammelan since its inception in 1878.

Culturally Gwalior is the confluence of two rich cultures Bundeli and Braj. Bundelkhand covers Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Sagar, Shivpuri, Guna, Sheopur and adjoining areas.

Ahiri dance

This dance is related to people who have traditionally been in the business of cattle herding. In different parts of the state these people are known by different castes such as Ahir, Baredi, Gwal, Raut, Gwala etc. These people believe that they are descendants of Krishna.

Music

Gwalior is also known as city of Music. Tansen, born in Behat, trained in music at Vrindavan, served Raja Ramchandra Waghela of Bandhawgarh, then went to Agra under the patronage of Akbar. After the death of Tansen in Fatehpur Sikri and cremation in Agra, the ashes were buried in Gwalior. Tansen Samaroh is held every year in Gwalior. Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is also from the royal city of Gwalior. His grandfather Ghulam Ali Khan Bangash became a court musician in Gwalior

Gwalior holds an unparalleled reputation in Sangeet. Baijnath Prasad alias Baiju Bawra was a classical singer (Dhrupadiya) who lived in Gwalior for his whole life under the patronage of Man Singh. Baiju was born in Chanderi and was cremated there. He received his musical training in Brindaban under Swami Guru Haridas ji. He was the court musician of Gwalior along with Nayak Charju, Bakshu, and others.

Main festivals

All national festivals, Diwali, Holi, Makara Sankranti, Eid-ul-Fitr, X-Mas, Rakhi,Mahavir jayanti and other local ones like Nag-Panchmi, Ahilya Utsav, Ganesh Utsav, Gudi Padwa (Marathi new year), Navratri, Dussehara, Durga Puja are celebrated with equal enthusiasm. Last decade has seen a rise in celebration of events like Valentine's Day, Rose Day and New Year's Eve.

Gwalior also celebrates Rang Panchami quite differently. This festival is celebrated five days after Dulendi or Holi. This is also celebrated like Dulendi, but colors are mixed with water and then either sprinkled or poured on others.

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in a unique way in Gwalior city. People of Gwalior arrange a carnival of floats (known as "Jhanki" in the local Hindi language) in various places of city.

Makar Sankranti is a 'Kite Festival' on 14 January each year; people fly kites and compete to cut each other's kites in the sky.

Media and communication

There are a number of newspapers, magazines, local TV stations. Dainik Bhaskar is one of the oldest and most widely read newspapers.

Other popular newspapers published in Gwalior are BPN Times, Raj Express, Dainik Madhya Raj, Nav Bharat,Youth Engine, Patrika,Swadesh, Naidunia, Dainik Jagran, People's Samachar, Patrika, Dainik Adityaz.

Evening newspaper : Sandhya Samachaar, sudarshan,

Electronic media

The radio industry has expanded with a number of private FM channels being introduced. The FM radio channels that broadcast in the city Big FM (92.7 MHz), Radio chaska FM (95 MHz), My FM (94.3 MHz), Raseela (91.9 MHz). State-owned Doordarshan transmits two terrestrial television channels. The city has local TV stations from various companies. Major local channels are Hathway win, Harsh Networks, KMJ Communications, DEN networks,gwaliorhelp.

Communication services

Gwalior is covered by a large network of optical fibre cables. There are three fixed telephone line operators in the city: BSNL, Reliance and Airtel. There are eight mobile phone companies in which GSM players include BSNL, Reliance, Vodafone, Idea, Airtel, Tata DoCoMo, Aircel, Videocon; CDMA services offered by BSNL, Virgin Mobile, Tata Indicom and Reliance.

Entertainment

Gwalior has three shopping malls, DD City Mall with Fun Cinemas multiplex, Maya-Gitanjali Mall with Gold Digital Multiplex and The Central Mall There are several gaming zones, three Discothèques,[DnD, Barcode, and Spectrum] and a water park in Gwalior."Sun City Amusement Park" is a family entertainment center in Gwalior.

Education

Gwalior is called the education hub of Madhya Pradesh because it has many national level institutes of every field of education. It has Six universities - Jiwaji University, Lakshmi Bai National University for Physical educatiom, R.V.S. Agriculture University, ITM University , Raja maan singh Music and Arts University , Amity University.The proud of Gwalior is (MITS) Madhav Institute of Technology and Science,which is a autonomus college and one of the top engineering colleges in India,(Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management), which is a deemed university and one of the top engineering colleges in India(Outlook 25th Rank),Rustamji Institute of Technology(the first Engineering College in India established by a Para Military Force), Indian institute of Tourism and Travel management and Indian institute of Hotel management are other esteemed colleges and institutes. The famous Scindia School is also located in Gwalior.

Areas of the city

The old town

The old town of Gwalior, commonly called Hazira, which is of considerable size but irregularly built, lies at the eastern base of the rock. It contains the tomb of the Sufi saint Khwaja Khanoon & Muhammad Ghawth, erected during the early part of Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign, and the tomb of Mian Tansen, a great singer and one of the 'Nine Jewels' of Akbar's court. A town called by his name Ghauspura situated near the tomb of Mohaommed Ghaus.

Close to the heart of the city is splendid Jai Vilas Palace, patterned on the French palace of Versailles. The town has a museum situated in the Gujari Mahal.

Lashkar

The name of Lashkar is a Persian word meaning 'army' or 'camp', as this was originally the camp, and later the permanent capital, of the Scindia dynasty of Gwalior state. 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 jewellery shops are situated near Jayaji Chowk aka Maharaj bada. A source of water for the city is Tighra Dam, built on Saank river 20 km north of here. The Gajra Raja Medical College, founded in 1946 by the Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia and the Maharani Vijayaraje Scindia, is situated in Lashkar on Palace Road, near Katora Taal, together with a group of many hospitals.

Morar

Morar, formerly a separate town, lies three miles (5 km) east of the old city. It was formerly a British military cantonment. Morar was the scene of the most serious uprising in Central India. By 1900 it had become a centre for local trade and had an important training industry, with a population of 19,179 in 1901.

The second Temple of the Sun in India is situated in Morar at Residency Road after The Konark Sun Temple. This Sun Temple was built by the Aditya Birla Trust.

The cantonment area makes up a large area of Morar which is official residences for the Indian Army. It has many canteens for Army personnel. Saint Paul's School and Pragati Vidyapeeth School are nearby.

Morar is generally a rural farming town. There is a big Galla Mandi. The area is known as the green part of Gwalior because much of the area is still rural. There is an air force base in the region called Pinto Park.

Thatipur

Thatipur is said to have got its name from a state army unit no. 34 which used to be here. Gandhi road divides Thatipur into two areas. On going along the road, one enters Morar at one end and Balwant Nagar on the other. It primarily consists of Darpan Colony,Madhav Rao Scindhiya Enclave, the government blocks and Suresh Nagar. Places of note are the Dwarikadhish Mandir, Bhagwan colony, the Tomar building, Chauhan Pyau, Galla Kothar, Ramkrishna Aashram, Gayatri Vihar, Shakti Vihar, Shakuntalapuri, Shanti vihar and Mayur market along with Sai Baba Mandir in Shakti Vihar Colony.

Healthcare

Gwalior is prominent for its health care facilities with leading hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. The prominent hospitals of Gwalior include Gajara Raja Medical College and associated J.A. Hospital, Kamla Raja Hospital, Sahara Hospital, Mascot Hospital, Birla Hospital, Cancer Hospital & Research Institute and many other good private doctor clinics. The Cancer Hospital & Research Institute is a nationally acclaimed medical center in Oncology. There is also a charitrible hospital named SATCH Shri Anandpur Trust Charitrible Hospital where treatment is done of no cost, its totally free.

Sports in Gwalior

Gwalior is also a sporting city of Madhya Pradesh. Lakshmibai National university for physical education is one of the largest physical education institute in the country operational since 1957. Gwalior also has The Railway Hockey Stadium with artificial turf.Roop Singh the famous indian hockey player and olympian was from Gwalior. Gwalior also a international Cricket Ground with a capacity of 45,000 named Captain Roop Singh Stadium. Veteran Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar created a world record by scoring 200 runs in a single innings of an ODI match at this stadium only and on 24 february 2010.

Future Developments

Various governments schemes are now been introduced in Gwalior, not only governments but also private Projects are also been introduced. The most important of all these are the SADA counter magnet city, which been under the Indian urban development NCR plan. The SADA city would create well developed housing facilities for thousands of Gwalior citizens. It is also been introduced to increase the investments in the sectors like - Education,Industry, real estates etc. Along with SADA other projects like SAHARA city homes, WINDSOR hills, ELIXIR MK city, SUNIL MANTRI city (SADA, WEST Gwalior). The city also hosted the MADHYA PRADESH INVESTURE MEET 2009 and got a tremendous response from the investors. Although, the closing of prominent industries like Hotline, Cimmco, Grasim Gwalior caused a huge downfall in Gwalior's economical market but now the revival process has successfully begun.

Places of interest

• Maharaj Bada is the biggest and most important market of Gwalior. Seven ancient buildings of different styles of architecture (Italian, Russian, Mughal, Rajputi, Chinese, etc.) can be viewed.

The town hall situated in bada

• Gopachal Parvat is situated on the mountainous terrain at the slopes of Gwalior Fort. Gopachal Parvat contains unique statues of Jain Tirthankaras. The idol of Lord Parshvanath seated on a lotus (carved out of a single stone) is the largest in the world, towering at 47 feet in height and 30 feet in breadth. There is a series of 26 Jain statues in a single line. Built between 1398 and 1536 by Tomar kings, these Jain Tirthankar statues are one of a kind in architecture and a treasure trove of old Indian heritage and culture. Gopachal Parvat is located approximately 2 km from the railway station and bus stand.

• Tomb of Rani Lakshmibai, a famous freedom fighter, at Phoolbag area.it is here were the great Warrior Queen of Jhansi laid her life in 1857 fighting against the britishers. It is also her burial place.

• Vivsvaan Mandir (Sun Temple), made by Ghanshyam Das Birla in 1986, is an excellent example of architecture. This temple is similar to Konark's sun temple.

• Jai Vilas Palace is close to the heart of the city; it was patterned on the Palace of Versailles, combining Tuscan, Italian and Corinthian styles of architecture.

• Gwalior trade fair was started in 1905 by Maharaja Madho Rao, king of Gwalior. It has become the biggest fair of Madhya Pradesh and, indeed, one of the most colorful fairs of the whole India. it starts in the second week of January and continues until February.

• Modern 5D is the MP's first multi-dimensional theater launched in the 2011 trade fair of Gwalior. It is indegeniously built by Gwalior's leading enterprise Modern Techno Projects (P) Ltd. Modern 5D is recognized as India's first own multi-dimensional theater.

• Shyam Vatika is a banquet hall which has the world's largest indoor mural recognized by Guinness World Records.
• Chatrri's of Scindias is situated close to the city near achaleshwar temple and is the burial place for the Scindias who ruled the city for many years. Designated persons like Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia, Vijayaraje Scindia and His Highness Jivajirao Scindia are buried here.

• Tansen's tomb: Gwalior is the birthplace of the famous musician Tansen. He was one of the nine gems of Akbar.

• Gwalior Fort: Babar used to say about this fort that it was a pearl among the fortresses of India. stands on an isolated rock, overlooking the Gwalior town, and contains a number of historic buildings. It is one of the biggest forts in India and a postage stamp has been issued by the Indian Postal Service to commemorate the importance of this fort. From historical records, it is established that it was built in the 8th century. The fortress and the city have been integral to the history of the kingdoms of North India. It is said that the Mughal Emperor Babur (1483–1531) described it as, "The pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind". The fort, also given the epithet "Gibraltar of India', provides a panoramic view of the old Gwalior town, which is to its east.

• Roop Singh Stadium is a cricket ground. The stadium has hosted 10 One Day International (ODI) matches. Of the 10 matches played so far, the first one was played between India and West Indies on 22 January 1988. The ground has flood lights and has hosted day-night encounters as well. One match of 1996 Cricket World Cup was also played on this ground between India and West Indies. This ground is famous for hosting the ODI between India and South Africa in which Sachin Tendulkar scored a double century (the highest score ever in ODI cricket).

• Zoo, famous for its unique collection of animals including White tiger named Yamuna .Another digital zoo is also under construction.

• City Mall, one of the biggest malls of Madhya Pradesh. A multi-storied grand structure, it houses shops and showrooms of many national and international brands and has a number of eateries, and a Fun Cinemas multiplex. There are also some international and world-famous fast food restaurants like Domino's Pizza and McDonald's in DD City Mall.
• Tighra Dam: located on outskirts of city, Tighra is a nice place for an outing.Tighra Dam is now been used to store water from the sank river and supply water to whole of the city.

	North: Morena, Bhind
West: Sheopur	Gwalior	East: Datia
	South:Shivpuri

Gallery

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  Sun Temple

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  Tighra Dam

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  Statue Guarding Entrance to Gujari Mahal

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  One of the Seven Gates of the Gwalior Fort

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  Gujari Mahal, now a museum, inside Gwalior Fort

See also

• Gwalior Fort
• Scindia
• Social Activist Guru Radha Kishan
• Asiatic Lion
• Extinction
• Gajara Raja Medical College
• Gir Forest National Park
• Gwalior State
• IIITM Gwalior
• In-situ conservation
• Jiwaji University
• Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
• List of colossal sculpture in situ
• Muhammad Ghawth
• MITS Gwalior
• Shyam Vatika
• Wildlife conservation

References

1. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
2. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Gwalior
3. ^ Fleet, Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings and their Successors, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, vol. 3 (Calcutta, 1888).
4. ^ National Centre for Human Settlement and Environment (India) (1995). Vācham, Volume 6. National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment. p. 3. 
5. ^ Sisirkumar Mitra (1977). Early Rulers Of Khajuraho. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. ISBN 978-81-208-1997-9, ISBN 978-81-208-1997-9. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=irHN2UA_Z7gC&pg=PA58&dq. 
6. ^ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer, p. 740
7. ^ India (Republic) Office of the Registrar General (1972). Census of India, 1961, Volume 14, Issue 5. Manager of Publications. p. 11. 
8. ^ http://www.google.com.pk/imgres?q=akbarnama&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=ixyEuEoV-Vu96M:&imgrefurl=http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/475-638&docid=So7hrNVbFmZpHM&w=212&h=350&ei=VIiFTrXVPMPf4QTGspWHDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=244&vpy=281&dur=9662&hovh=280&hovw=169&tx=97&ty=205&page=3&tbnh=133&tbnw=82&start=41&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:41
9. ^ M. Willis, Temples of Gopakṣetra: A Regional History of Architecture in Central India (London, 1996).
10. ^ Willis, Inscriptions of Gopakṣetra: Materials for the History of Central India (London, 1995), illustration.
11. ^ Willis, Temples of Gopakṣetra.
12. ^ "Lakhmi Bai". http://www.indolink.com/Kidz/laxmiBai.html. 

External links

• Official Website of Gwalior
• Gwalior Municipal Corporation
• Satellite map of Gwalior Junction and nearby railway stations
• Gwalior Information Centre
• Under Construction Website of Gwalior city