Hi friends, it’s time for another travel story. In a word we’re ‘wanderers’, we believe that exploratory travel broadens our perspective personally, culturally, and politically. Suddenly, the palette with which we paint the story of our life has more colors.
Our insatiable hunger for new experiences and knowledge led us to Central India. Though we had no fixed destination in mind, nonetheless, for convenience’s sake we decided to stay at Gwalior and then explore other areas.
The drive from home to Taj Usha Kiran Palace in Gwalior took all of eight hours via Agra and NH-44.
We were particularly interested in Bateshwar Temples Complex, which is a group of ruined temples spread over the western slope of an isolated hill located south-west of Padavali village in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. The temples are believed to be constructed during the 6th to 9th Century AD, by the kings of the Gurjar-Pratihar dynasty. Almost all temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva, and their size ranges from a few feet to 30 feet high. It is believed that the complex had 400 temples, but an earthquake sometime in the 14th Century destroyed most of them.Ironically, the Bateshwar Temple Complex was saved from the smugglers of antique art & sculptures because of the dreaded dacoit Nirmal Gurjar. He had made the ruins his home along with his gang, and nobody would ever try to lay hands there. Somehow a few officials of the Archeological Survey of India got in touch with him and he agreed with their proposal for the restoration of the temples. Nirmal Gurjar was neutralized by UP Police in December 2005.
The temple complex of Bateshwar is still difficult to reach because the route from the main highway is all dirt track and the drive is treacherous. Besides, very few people have the gumption to go there and explore primarily because the site is still under development and quite lonely, too.
Our next stop was Garhi Padavali Temple, which was built during the 10th Century AD. It’s fascinating to watch the art & sculpture made about 1100 years ago, and still surviving.
Another extremely interesting place we visited is Mitavali village, The 1200 years old Chausath Yogini Temple is located on a hillock, and the steep climb to the top is treacherous, but once you reach there, it’s rewarding. There is a resounding similarity of the architectural design with the Parliament building of our country. Looking intently, it occurred to me that all I knew to date was the architect of our Parliament building was Edwing Landseer Lutyens, but he was inspired by this structure built century, without a doubt.
We also visited the Gwalior fort which houses Shastrabahu Temple (A.K.A. Saas-bahu Temple), Teli ka Mandir, Gujri Mahal, and other very interesting and historically important structures.
On a trip to the Archaeological Museum, we encountered invaluable sculptures, said to be defaced and damaged by Mughal invaders. However hard we tried to view history as history, but it was a nauseating feeling. This reminded us what Thomas Jefferson had famously said, “traveling makes you wiser but less happy.”
– Travel travelogue shared by Ruchi Jain
