Gwalior is a town where I grew up and indeed it was a King’s country. Strange it may seem, I studied in old havelis and palaces, which was donated to institutions for educational purpose. My friends from the royal Maratha household grew up with me and shared stories of the Family heirchy. The former state of Gwalior was formed in the mid eighteenth century by Ranoji Scindia, a Maratha chieftain. The house of Scindia remains a powerful force within the province of Madhya Pradesh and India till today. The state was taken over by the British Raj temporarily in the early nineteenth century. The havelis therefore show some British influence. Gwalior was given back to the Scindias in 1886
