Hindola Toran - Lesser Known India Series

Ever heard of 'Hindola Toran' हिंडोला तोरण ?

Even we hadn't! 

What does it mean?

Is it a monument?

Where is it located?

What is the significance?

This story answers all the above questions. To begin with, here is a present day picture of Hindola Toran.

Compare it with a picture dating back to 1871 taken by Joseph D Beglar and preserved in the British Library, UK. 

We visited Hindola Toran recently and were awed by its beauty. Even though in ruins, the sandstone sculpted structure is a marvel of 9th century AD in Gyaraspur tehsil of Vidisha district Madhya Pradesh India. The above picture taken in 1871 shows a higher ground level compared to the present day. It may be because of later excavation and soil run off over the years.

The historical write up held in the British library reads, "The building called Hindola is an ornamental entrance, or toran, leading to a Brahmanical temple. Hindola means simply a ''swing'', and the toran with its two upright pillars and cross-beams has sufficient resemblance to the common Indian swing to justify the people in calling it by this name. The pillars of the toran are carved on all four faces. In the lower panels are represented the ten incarnations of Vishnu, the tortoise and fish being placed together on one pillar, and Buddha, standing with the right shoulder bare, with a small Kalki Avatar on his horse beside him, on the other pillar. The ends of the bracket capitals are fashioned as lions' and elephants' heads, the former facing outwards and the latter inwards. All the figures which once stood on the brackets are now gone; but there are two projecting stones on each face of the architrave with round holes on the under side, showing how far the figures must have leaned inwards. On the south face of the central pinnacle, which represents a small temple, there is a figure of the boar incarnation of Vishnu in the lower panel."

Let the pictures speak. You may corelate the above historical write up with the pictures below.

Talking about pillars, we have the famous thousand pillar temple in Hanamkonda village near Warangal in Telangana state. We had featured another story of eight pillars also in Gyaraspur called 'Aath Khmba' earlier. 

Over the centuries, the village settlements have moved closer to the monument. See the picture below.

We met a daily wage earner employed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for keeping the area clean. He readily shared his knowledge about the 9th century structure. See the video below or click the YouTube link here.

After the hectic hike, it was time for all three generations of the hikers to have a bite. What better place than the dried up lawn in the compound of Hindola Toran!

Hindola Toran and its beauty have attracted many feature film makers. A recent Punjabi film has a song sequence shot around Hindola Toran and Mala Devi Temple (story to follow), both in Gyaraspur. Readers may enjoy the film song by either clicking the thumbnail below or the YouTube link here.

Gyaraspur has numerous monuments dating back to the 9th century AD. We had earlier featured the Aath Khamba Temple in a picture story. More of these lesser-known treasures of India will follow in our future posts.

Location

Hindola Toran is located about 37 kms north-east of Vidisha town. See the maps below courtesy Google Maps.

 

Some of our other stories featuring the lesser-known architectural marvels or tourist spots of India are listed below. Just click to browse the picture story of your choice.

Ruins of Jahazpur Fort in Rajasthan

Devarakonda Fort in Telangana Needs your Support

Gooty Fort in Andhra Pradesh

Kuntala Water Falls in Telangana

There are many more such hidden spots in India. We will share one by one in subsequent stories.
Stay connected and thanks for browsing.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Bharat Ladha/ 22nd March 2023

#vidisha #MPTourism #incredibleindia #lesserknownindia #hindolatoran #athkhamba #gyaraspur #9thcenturyAD #redsandstone #sculptures #carvings #lordvishnu #tenavatars #archway #swing #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #fourpillars

Ath Khamba - Lesser Known India Series

Ath-khamba – meaning eight pillars - are the remains of once a magnificent temple in Gyaraspur, near Vidisha in MP India. It is locally known as Ath-khambha because of the eight surviving pillars standing since 9th Century AD. Rest of the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva has not survived the ravages of the invaders and natural erosion. In Warangal Telangana State, we have the famous 1000-pillar temple. But eight-pillar temple has its own beauty as you will shortly see.

A stone plaque erected by the MP Tourism department describes Ath Khamba thus "The Ath-Khamba or a group of eight pillars of the mandapa and the antarala leading to the sanctum doorway constitute the remains of an ornate Saiva temple. The doorway and the pillars bear a pilgrim record of AD 982."

The red sandstone structure has withered 1200 years of weather and destruction by the invaders. The sculptures and carvings are stunning to say the least. The pictures below will convince you. The next time you are planning a trip to Madhya Pradesh, do include Ath Khamba.

Location: Ath Khmba is located near the bus stand in Gyaraspur in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh. See the two maps below courtesy Google Maps.

Gyaraspur is 36 kms north-east of Vidisha.

Ghumakkad was not aware of the lesser known treasures like Ath Khmaba but for Bharat Ladha who lives in Vidisha. He is a living encyclopedia of the region including wheat farming. My engineering batch mate from BITS Pilani and a buddy, Bharat Bhai is a farmer. More on his farming pursuits in another story. Thanks Bharat Bhai and family for three wonderful days of discovery in MP.

More in the series 'Lesser Known India' will follow.

We end with a quotation by Carl Sagan who said 'You have to know the past to understand the present'.

Stay connected and thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Bharat Ladha/ 16th March 2023

Postscript: Our reader Kishor Thakre commented:

"अब तुम भी ज़रा हुस्न-ए-जहाँ-सोज़ को रोको 

हम तो दिल-ए-बेताब को समझाए हुए हैं 

 - कैफ़ी चिरययाकोटी 

हुस्न-ए-जहाँ-सोज़ - beauty which singes the world."

#vidisha #MPTourism #incredibleindia #lesserknownindia #athkhamba #gyaraspur #9thcenturyAD #redsandstone #sculptures #carvings #khajuraho #shivatemple #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #eightpillars

Magic of Sandstone KBG-73

What is common between the Red Fort in Delhi, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Sonar Quilla in Jaisalmer, Havelis in Khichan, National Art Gallery in Edinburgh, Dallas County Courthouse or The Delicate Arch in Utah, USA?

They are all built using the sandstone! Except The Delicate Arch, all are man-made structures/buildings. The Arch on the other hand, has been created by Nature's own forces of wind, snow and water. According to Wikipedia, Sandstone is a clastic (denoting rocks composed of broken pieces of older rocks)  sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. 

Why Sandstone: It is used for making buildings because it is suitable for both indoors as well as outdoor areas. Due to their sedimentary nature, they are adaptable stones ideal for ornamentation and façade cladding purposes. Sandstone is a natural stonework which is affordable for everyone. It does not require any special products for cleaning. Inalterable colours that last over time. Resistant to fire and heat. No wonder most of the Forts and Palaces in northern India were made using the sandstone because of ease of availability from Rajasthan.

Colours of Sandstone

Does the sandstone come in only one colour? No, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and white. The Arches National park has the red sandstone. Ghumakkad shares below few pictures of the yellow and red sandstone structures from Jodhpur, Khichan and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India. 

The Delicate Arch USA

"Nature's Namaste!"

" Bending and touching mother earth’s feet makes me stand strongly"

"We might be far apart but, we will meet at the top"

These are some of the captions that the readers gave for a picture of The Delicate Arch. Located in the Arches National Park, Utah USA, the sandstone arch is Nature's own creation. All the pictures featured here are courtesy our daughter Akanksha who had visited the Park recently with her family and friends.

The Contest

The picture below was featured as KBG-73, the 73rd edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad captions contest. 

The Contest received more than 50 captions listed below from the readers round the globe.

No.	Name	Caption for KBG-73 Contest
1	Aayush Paroolkar(11yrs)	Old is gold…oops, sandstone.
2	Aayush Paroolkar	There was an arch, but no bridge.
3	Ajai Bhumri	प्रक्रिति : अजेय
4	Amandeep Kaur	Paradise's gate is made of red rocks!
5	Avinash Tiwari	A new biginning
6	Avinash Tiwari	Agey bhi janey na tu!
7	Avinash Tiwari	Aao dildar chalo, arch ke paar chalo!
8	Bharat Ladha	Entry gate to the world of Nature.
9	Bharat Ladha	Toofano ke baad bhi khade hai seena taan!
10	BR Natarajan	God alone can a tie a string to this arch to shoot an arrow on the lions
11	CD Sawant	Nature's victory
12	C Raghuram	Stand tall, bend only in humility. Don’t let anything erode core values.
13	Deepak Jena	Without stones there is no arch.
14	Deepak Jena	An arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.
15	Geeta Bhargava	Depicts humbleness. Bending to receive blessings from Mother earth.
16	GR Sreenivasan	A grand spectacle created by none other than Nature itself.
17	J Ramamoorty	Tender image of our wonderful past
18	Jaishankar	Gateway to splendour
19	Kapil Bhargava	Life is a balance of holding on and letting go…!
20	LS Bhargava	Existence of Arch technology in ancient times.
21	Manju Khaitan	To be an artist to be in life.
22	Poonam Bhargava	Welcome gate of nature!
23	Pradeep Siwach	Gateway to Heaven
24	Prashant Jadenavar	No matter what passes through me, my penance is unshakeable!
25	PRR Rao	God's gateway to hills
26	Radhika Sareen	Double edged door..
27	Radhika Sareen	CEO's Office....open door
28	Radhika Sareen	A broken glass ceiling
29	Rajendra Singh	Nature, the supreme architect!
30	Rakesh Bajaj	Gateway to happiness.
31	Ranajit Sen	Perfect 10
32	Rashmi Bhargava	Who knew paradise was made of red rocks
33	RB Dhavare	Gate-way to Nature's Beauty & Bounty.
34	Ritu Bhargava	Perfect art by God
35	Ritu Bhargava	कुदरत ने तराशा है, इंसानों ने संभाला है।
36	Ruma Purkayastha	Gateway or getaway? The beckoning archway.
37	Shereen Sultana	Nature's selfie booth!
38	Supradeep Sen	Creator's beauty lies in the arch
39	Susmita Ganguly	Holding up the sky.
40	Susmita Ganguly	Welcoming Gate.
41	Swayam Misra	A Panoramic view of nature
42	Swayam Misra	We might be far apart but, we will meet at the top
43	Tejaswini Artworks	A dinosaur waiting for it’s egg to hatch
44	Unknown	Bending and touching mother earth’s feet makes me stand strongly.
45	Unknown-2	We may call delicate arch .But the arch shows the strength by bending and uniting. And also showing that how delicately one can allow people to cross the arch and reach their destination without any obstructins
46	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature's arms greeting mankind.
47	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature's Namaste!
48	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature greets Humans
49	Veeky Baths	My silence is  it not a weakness, the beast in me is sleeping
50	Vinay Prasad	Lovely arch
51	Vinod Dhanuka	Balance in Life is Welcome
52	Vinod Dhanuka	Persistence makes Lasting Impression
53	Yogesh	Mehra-be-khas

KBG-73 Winners

Our Jury has selected the following five winning captions. Congratulations to the winners.

Avinash Tiwari loves golf, gardening and music. A former Colonel of Indian Army, he is a War Veteran of 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. Having done enough route marches with his troops, he detests long morning walks except on the golf course. He is a regular contributor and winner of KBG contests. His  caption 'Aao dildar chalo, arch ke paar chalo!' आओ दिलदार चलो , arch के पार चलो based on a popular Hindi song means 'Come hearty, let's go across the Arch!' was the Jury's immediate choice.

Ruma Purkayastha is an educator  and wellbeing coach who learns something from her grand children  everyday! She majored in psychology and was Principal of a leading school in New Delhi. Her caption 'Gateway or getaway? The beckoning archway!' captured the essence of the picture and its location. Ruma has won the KBG Contest previously also.

Shereen Sultana appreciates Nature and has been a past winner of several KBG Contests. With an MBA in finance she applies her creative thinking in life. Her caption 'Nature's selfie booth!' was short and sweet.

Kapil Bhargava holds an MBA and has worked with leading telecom corporates. As a Covid survivor, he has been taking motivational cum encouragement session pro-bono for the last two years. Kapil is a free lance trainer for personality development and anti-tobacco awareness. His simple caption 'Life is a balance of holding on and letting go!' appealed to the Jury.

Vinod Dhanuka is former CEO of IL&FS. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, he is fond of travelling and music. Ever willing to lend a helping hand, he lives in Mumbai. His short and crisp caption 'Balance in life is welcome!' was much liked by the Jury. He has won the KBG Contest in the past also.

We thank our Jury Anchita and Akanksha for taking time off from their hectic schedules in California. Thanks are also due to Vijay Gulechha of Khichan for research inputs.

Magic of Sandstone

We hope we were able to illustrate the magic which sandstone can create. Magic which has lasted for centuries. Do visit some of the sandstone forts, palaces and buildings featured in our story. You may share the names and pictures of more sandstone structures which you have visited. 'Sandstone Tourism' as Ghumakkad calls it, is a fascinating way to learn about Nature's building materials and creations. We hope to bring you 'Marble Tourism' story some other day.

Thanks for browsing.

Stay connected, more KBGs and other picture stories are coming your way!

      - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 29th April 2022

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