"What is a city made of? Is it made of brick or walls?
Or is it like a song in heart with rhythm of rise and falls?"
If the poet's question is with respect to Gwalior, he has already given the answer.
Gwalior is special - 'G' for Gwalior and 'G' for Glory. The glory of its past which traverses across the pages of history, withstands the onslaught of odds and frauds of time and emerges as a dome of pride on the horizon of the new
century. With a manageable population about 1 million, this is a
modern city of India always on the forefront of technology and development. This blending of Gwalior with the modern and the ancient is unique. It gives comfort to everyone. Here you are not in a 'jungle of concretes' - lost, forgotten, stranger, meaningless, worthless - and yet you are in a modern city with all facilities. Pollution but not so much; noise but not headachy; society cults but no lunatic styles; kitty parties but less mini skirts and cocktails; water crisis but not as much as in Delhi. From historical point of view, this is one of the oldest cities of India with a glorious past and rich spiritual-cultural heritage. It has survived a curvature of rise and falls of empires, has been associated with such lofty personage as the Seer Galav and immortal musician Tansen. No wonder if Gwalior has acquired an enviable position in the map of India, not only as a point for tourism but also as a center of trade and industries, education and technology, military power and policing. Thus the pride of the past, the capital of the royal Gwalior state till the independence of India, the summer capital of old Madhya Bharat, the apple of discord of the ancient India which withheld the Turkish invasion and thwarted the greedy siege of Mehmood Ghaznavi, the cradle of Rajput, Tomar, Kachchwaha and Scindia dynasties, has evolved into the towering confidence of today - indomitable and indefatigable in all its disposition.
From whatever corner you look around this city, you will trace its pride, you will face its glory - the Fort of Gwalior, described to be as one of the best and invulnerable forts of India and, according to the Mughal Emperor Babar "the pearl amongst the fortresses of Hind." Standing on a steep mass of sandstone, the two-mile long and 30 feet high Fort steeps along the heights of sky and takes you down the memory lane when there was a Rajput Chief named Suraj Sen suffering from a deadly disease who met the sage Gwalipa who cured his illness with waters of a small reservoir now well-known as 'Surajkund'. The name 'Gwalior' derives from the same mythological sage 'Gwalipa'. Suraj Sen and his Rajput clan ruled over Gwalior for long and left for the posterity a series of palaces and temples and when you visit Gwalior Fort you will be able to see some of them still remaining in a dauntless shape and luster.
A major attraction is the Sas Bahu ka Mandir, 11th Century, (the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law temple). Teli ka Mandir, 9th Century, is another fine example of old architecture carved out of local sandstone. Tomar kings were the next rulers on the throne of Gwalior and Man Singh, in 15th Century, was the most famous king of this dynasty. As a lover of art and music, his gifts to Gwalior are really precious. One of the remainders of his time on the Fort is 'Man Mandir'. The sweet-savoring tales of the 'love-intoxicated' Man Singh and his beloved Mrignayani, a beautiful girl of low birth, is well besmeared in the soils of Gwalior Fort and whisper in the ears of those who listen to the subtle: "Love eternal that our heart endures; omnipotent, gracious, our utopian tower..". Gujari Mahal is such a monument of love associated with the bold and beautiful Mrignayani.
Tansen, the Indian music maestro and one of the 'nine gems' of Akbar the Great, gave Gwalior an international identity, an eternal pride which will never diminish. Buried in the heart of the city his tomb is a splendid example of early Mughal aryear a music festival is organized here and attracts singers and musicians from all over India. Gwalior Fort has been the witness of diverse and rapidly changing scenario of a number of historical events. It saw Marathas, touched the feet of great Sixth Guru of the Sikh, Guru Har Govind Singh, who was kept imprisoned on the Fort by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and associated with this event a beautiful towering Gurudwara is visible on the Fort, it saluted Laxmi Bai - the Rani of Jhansi - and saw her martyrdom, squinted at the Mughals in whose time the Fort became a virtual jail, became a center of activity during Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 - the first Revolt against the British rule - and ushered the Scindias, the Royal Architects of modern Gwalior, into an era of independence. On the Fort, many of the remains and emblems of such diverse past are still intact for visitors and tourists. If Gwalior is the Pride of India, the Fort is the Pride of Gwalior - a pride which will never fall.
From every point of view, Gwalior is explorable, rich and attractive.