Culture and cuisine
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Cuisine[edit]
The most famous dishes which make part of the city's cuisine include:
Gwalior Barbat – The Barbat is a typical Gwalior way of cooking mutton in a red hot and spicy gravy using locally sourced kala masala. Gwalior Barbat is the royal signature dish of the Scindia Dynasty. It is a Dassehra speciality and every Maratha home in Gwalior will prepare this dish on the festival.
Gwalior Bedai – A famous local speciality breakfast dish served with chutni and gravy.
Gwalior ke Mangode - is a crispy fritters, spiced with local flair served with sabzi and chutney, embodying the city's street food soul. It is considered as Gwalior's culinary charm.
Apart from that Pohe-Jalebi, Kachori-Imarti, Samosa-Kadhi, Karela Chaat and Gajak are some of the famous local dishes that can be enjoyed in and around the city.
Art and literature[edit]
In more recent times, Akhtar family has been based out of Gwalior for at least three generations with Muztar Khairabadi, his son Jan Nisar Akhtar and his grandson Javed Akhtar being the prominent literary figures. Nida Fazli, one of the most famous Indian Hindi and Urdu poets grew up here. Former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is also a well known writer and poet.
Music[edit]
Raja Man Singh Tomar, the King of Gwalior between 1486 and 1516 CE, was a patron of Drupad (Hindi: ध्रुपद). Dhrupad is a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still-in-use in that musical tradition. Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" (fixed) and "pada" (words). The term may denote both the verse form of the poetry and the style in which it is sung.
Tomb of Tansen
Gwalior holds a major position in the Indian classical music, with being the birthplace of the oldest Hindustani sangeet gharana – Gwalior Gharana. Gwalior holds an unparalleled reputation in Sangeet and has retained Indian traditions and the wealth of music intact over the years. The Gwalior Gharana is not only the oldest Khyal Gharana but it is also one of the most prominent gharana being the one to which most classical Indian musicians can trace the origin of their style. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the great Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605). Akbar's favourite singer was Tansen, who came from the Gwalior area and whose ashes were buried in Gwalior after his death. The Tansen Tomb in Gwalior was constructed in his remembrance. Tansen Festival started in the 1930s, and currently artists from all over India come to perform in the festival.
Baijnath Prasad (also known as 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 Vrindaban under Swami Guru Haridas Ji. He was the court musician of Gwalior along with Nayak Charju, Bakshu, and others.
Sarod player Amjad Ali Khan is also from Gwalior. His grandfather, Ghulam Ali Khan Bangash, became a court musician in Gwalior.
UNESCO: Creative Cities Network for Music Category[edit]
In November 2023, UNESCO announced the inclusion of Gwalior in its flagship Creative Cities Network programme.
Tansen Music Festival[edit]
The Tansen Sangeet Samaroh (Tansen Music Festival) is celebrated every year on the Tansen Tomb in Gwalior during the month of December. Tansen Samaroh is a platform where artists from all over India gather and participate to deliver vocal and instrumental performances. The Tansen Sangeet Samaroh is organised by the government of Madhya Pradesh, in association with the Academy of the Department of Culture. During the festival, music lovers and artists from all over the world gather to offer their tribute to Tansen. The academy offers honours to senior celebrities and junior artists by including them in the Samaroh through their performed music.
Sarod Ghar[edit]
This Museum of Music has been set up in the old ancestral house of musician Hafiz Ali Khan. It houses ancient instruments of the Indian masters of the past. It also houses a collection of photographs and documents. Sarod Ghar is an institution devoted to promoting Indian classical music, heritage and culture. Through this 'window' to the past, music lovers can gain a better understanding of the evolution and history of Indian classical music and a deeper perspective and insight into the context of the art as it exists today.[citation needed]
Media and communication[edit]
There are newspapers, magazines, local TV stations and four FM radio stations in Gwalior.
Dainik Bhaskar is the leading and one of the oldest and most widely read newspapers. Swadesh and Naidunia are other well-established newspapers. More newspapers published in Gwalior are BPN Times, Raj Express, Dainik Madhya Raj, Nav Bharat, Youth Engine, Dainik Jagran, People's Samachar, Dainik Adityaz. Evening newspapers are Sandhya Samachaar, Gwalior Sandesh, Sudarshan Express.
"Aalekh-Life in Pages" is one of the leading youth magazine published and widely read across the city. SouLSteer magazine is a bi-monthly lifestyle and automotive magazine in Gwalior.
The radio industry has expanded with private FM channels being introduced. The FM radio channels that broadcast in the city include Big FM (92.7 MHz), Red FM (93.5), Chaska FM (95 MHz), My FM (94.3 MHz), and Lemon (91.9 MHz). The state-owned company, Doordarshan, transmits two terrestrial television channels. Major local channels include Hathway Win, Harsh Networks, KMJ Communications, and DEN networks.
Sports[edit]
Lakshmibai National University for Physical Education (operational since 1957) is the largest physical education institutions in Asia. Gwalior also has the Railway Hockey Stadium with artificial turf. Captain Roop Singh Stadium is a cricket ground with a capacity of 45,000. The stadium has hosted 10 One Day International (ODI) matches. Of the ten 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 also hosted day-night encounters. One match of the 1996 Cricket World Cup was also played on this ground, between India and West Indies.
Dhyan Chand was a famous hockey player from Jhansi which is near Gwalior. Ankit Sharma is a cricketer from Gwalior and plays in the Indian Premier League. Athletics are also played in this city, Vishal Kaim was the youngest hammer thrower of India when he participated in National Athletics Games in 2006 at the age of 14 years.[citation needed]
Stadium and Sports University[edit]
Captain Roop Singh Stadium
Captain Roop Singh Stadium is a cricket ground in Gwalior. The stadium has hosted ten One Day International (ODI) matches. Of the ten matches played so far, the first one was played between India and West Indies on 22 January 1988. It can hold 45,000 people at a time. It was originally a hockey stadium named after great Indian hockey player Roop Singh, brother of hockey player Dhyan Chand. The ground has flood lights and has hosted day-night encounters as well. One match of the 1996 Cricket World Cup was also played on this ground, between India and West Indies. This ground is notable for hosting the ODI between India and South Africa in which Sachin Tendulkar scored the first-ever double century in ODI cricket.
The Lakshmibai National University of Physical Education (LNIPE), Gwalior was established by the Ministry of Education & Culture, Government of India as Lakshmibai College of Physical Education (LCPE) in August 1957, the centenary year of the War of Independence. It is located at Gwalior, where Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, a heroine of the war, died during the rebellion in 1857. The Institute started as an affiliated college of the Vikram University, Ujjain and then came to the folds of Jiwaji University, Gwalior in 1964. The institute was given the status of National importance, and hence it was renamed as Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE) in 1973. In recognition of its unique status and character and to facilitate its further growth, the college was conferred the status of an ′Autonomous College′ of Jiwaji University, Gwalior in 1982.
Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia International Cricket Stadium at Shankargarh is a newly built international stadium at Gwalior West. It has a seating capacity of around 100,000 spectators. It is also equipped with flood lights for night matches, 9 full length pitches, a swimming pool, sauna bath, modern gym, dressing rooms, 30 corporate boxes, media rooms, practise area, conference halls.
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Training Centre for Disability Sports – Gwalior (formerly Centre for Disability Sports) is an autonomous body established by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India.
The Railway Hockey Stadium, Gwalior is one of the largest and well equipped morden hockey stadium situated in the city.