Forts - If These Stones Could Tell a Story

 

Forts evoke days of yore, proud sentinels of the land, looking in the eye of the enemy, hand to hand battles, chivalry and sieges. Forts could be small city states with fort palaces where the ruler could lock himself and his faithful in. Such fortress palaces extended many kilometres in diameter and encompassed within its walls the entire wherewithal to sustain life for months and even years. 

Koraigarh Fort complex was possibly built where function takes priority over form.  Just a tiny redoubt to protect a village or an outpost to collect taxes, such tiny functional forts dot the Indian landscape, looking out over the countryside.

Citadel of Tikone. The attacker could not reach citadel of a complex fort easily, he got to the very top of the fort,  if he did at all, after hard fought battles over a series of tactically placed obstacles.  He generally saw the citadel after crossing the Darwaza (door or gate ) of the fort, by this time he was quite spent in men and material.
 

Clouds come over the Sahyadris. Except for naval forts guarding harbours and river mouths, forts were almost always sited on a height so that they could imperiously survey the area around.  Clouds obscured vision, so a defender had to compromise between line of sight and altitude. 

Orchha Palace fort, reminiscent of glorious days gone by.  Forts were designed essentially for two purposes, the first being to dominate and defend territory or access to harbours. They also projected the might of a ruler, as the more ornate fort palace complex the mightier  the line of rulers. 

The grandeur of Gwalior Fort and Palace at sunrise. The second reason for making or extending forts and palaces were at times of famine when the ruler needed to disburse to the population the grain collected as taxes. Probably the original concept of giving food for doing work. These two reasons often overlapped so that battles across the country with accompanying famine gave us many forts.

The Bastion of the fort at Jhansi.  Being essentially defensive, forts were designed so that minimum soldiers could dominate far more vast armies or populations. These locations also served as sally ports for enhanced troops that the emperor may send to attack an invader. All features of a bastion were then oriented to these purposes. The steps, crenellations, embrasures, served to concentrate defending troops at points of decision.  Walls were so made that defenders could concentrate on sides where the attacker was maximum, effecting economy of defensive forces.

The steep approach Visapur Fort.  To space out an attacker, most approaches were narrow, up steep hills, the steps or path allowing for at most one or two men at a time. This forced piecemeal deployment of the attacker also enabled a defender to stop far greater numbers with the relatively few men available to him. 

The path up to the citadel of Tikone Fort.  By now the attacker would have been decimated by the outer walls and the layers of obstacles in his path.  The narrow and steep approach also meant that the attacker would have to use his hands for climbing and not for weapons. The degree of difficulty was increased by making the approach slippery with water and having high walls on either side manned by the defender.

A lone Monkey now sits sentinel on the mighty and extensive walls of Kumbhalgarh Fort.  The main gate of a fort was often at right angles to the path up, this was by devious design. Elephants or other gate-breaking devices could not charge the gate, having to turn at right angles meant slowing down and  reducing or negating the momentum of a charge.

The attacker of Tikone has the Bhuyari Darwaza to contend with.  The approach had rapid changes in light and dark for the attacker, this prevented his eyes from adjusting and disorientated him. Allowing the defenders on shelves in the dark to decapitate the attacker without being seen. 

Turret and walls of Jhansi Fort. The walls of a fort had crenellations, slits and turrets (bulges) to enable a fewer defenders to face a larger number of attackers. The slits were so designed that the defender would have a large field of fire (bow and arrow; later musket) while exposing himself the least.

A large weapon emplacement at Visapur. These weapon positions were funnel shaped, being wider towards the defender inside with a narrower slit visible to the attacker from the outside. The turrets allowed the defender to see the base of the fort walls on either side so that an enemy could not hide there. 

Water Cistern at Tikone.  In the days before gunpowder, it was nearly impossible to capture a fort by force of arms alone.  It was generally captured only by guile or treason, or by the attacker laying a siege, sometimes for years. To withstand a siege, the defender had to have adequate stocks of food and ammunition.

Reflection in a water cistern at Rajmachi.  The most important supply was water, as most forts were on hilltops, naturally occurring water was inadequate or non-existent. So almost without exception the defender made huge underground cisterns where rainwater was collected in the monsoon and stored for use in the dry months.

A large water storage facility at Tikone.  Water was (and is) needed for drinking, cooking and washing, sometimes for years. Besides the soldiers, often the local inhabitants of the area would withdraw into the walls to gain protection, so there was a very large need of water.  To cater to this copious need, huge water tanks were made above and below ground.  

Tuljadevi Mandir at Tikone.  Religion was (and is) very important to a soldier, after all he was being asked to lay down his life and there is no greater sacrifice.  Every fort has a temple which is dedicated to a ruling deity and many have more than one. In fact many forts are named after a deity. 

Another symbol of victory.  Battle was mystical and religious and most modern armies too have some form of worship to weapons and Gods of war. Shastr pooja (religious ceremonies pertaining to weapons) is an integral part of military life even today.   All parties to a conflict feel that God is on their side and the righteous will win, this belief has held true through the ages.

Weapons positions at Visapur.  Stones were precision cut, in most cases being held together by gravity or lime. Weapons slits were always tactically cut, never to accommodate a particular size of stone.   Depending on how long a fort had been in use and the time available, such places were austere or engraved and adorned. 

Stones in the wall of  Shreevardhan.  The line of the cut was so precise, that it each stone rests perfectly on the other. One wonders at the time taken to cut so finely such heavy stone blocks at  height with very restricted access. Most forts were made from stone quarried from where the fort stood.  These stones have withstood the centuries and structures made from them are still standing in places.

A tower at Gwalior Palace/Fort.  If the fort was meant to project power or had a palace within, embellishments were added to the more ornate carving in stone. Craftsmen would decorate the edifice with local or imported skills and materials.  In some places semi-precious stones or fine inlay work is evident where these have withstood the ravages of time and invaders through the centuries.

Tung Fort as seen from Tikone.  Communication means at that time were line of sight, smoke or reflections by day and fire by night. This was why many forts were within sight of each other, in many places one can see two or three other forts from one.

Langurs Frolic where soldiers once stood.  Fort walls are now decrepit, repaired in places and falling apart in others.  The fearsome crenellations of yore are now sadly overgrown with vegetation. Gunpowder and the industrial age gradually rendered fixed defences untenable, with these went forts. For a while some forts were re-purposed, as prisons, outposts or granaries, but now even these uses are no longer required.

Once proud walls look out over the country side.  Forts were once glorious but with time they have become irrelevant and mostly allowed to go to seed. In some places desultory repairs have been effected, but mostly these proud monuments to our military past are falling apart.  Tourists gawk, picnic and tragically litter what remains of this ancient military heritage. The tales of valour , heroism, treachery and daily life these stones  would tell if only they could talk.

Rambling in the Mountains

This image of sunrise over Trishul affected me very deeply, so much so that I did a sketch from the picture that inspired it. However, no sketch or  photograph does justice to the scene which is immensely awe-inspiring and majestic.  I completely agree with John Muir when he said "I'd rather be in the mountains thinking of God; than in church thinking about the mountains".

...and this is the picture that inspired the sketch.
Though people often conquer mountains, I feel it is simply a privilege to be there, it is the closest to God that I can be. I  slow down completely and amble along, nothing is time-bound.

Rambling around and through mountains, I feel very close to myself, gradually leaving problems and urgent thoughts behind. I go without an itinerary, no plans, no hard stops, no reservations and very few electronic connections.  I find this liberating, very liberating from the shackles of electronic life, so for many days no buzzing or jangling.  The absolute peace is very calming.

I taste the place, soak it in, feel it, absorb it; not simply pass through.  I find the local ambience very different if I do not have a mission to climb or do such and such. I meet people, get friendly, eat what they eat, and be privileged to enter their lives.

Food for the soul is when I see sights when others are asleep or partying, here is Trishul at late sunset, a very different sight. It is a delight to see mountains by bright moonlight, see them before the sun rises, at dawn, during the day, at any time.  Generally the clouds descend in the afternoon and by evening the peaks are shrouded in white. 

  

This wooden peg  at a water driven grinding mill holds the door shut from wind and animals.  In the past houses did not need locks as no one stole, on my way down from a hill walk in Chitkul I came across this latch, designed to close but not lock. 

Sun dappled hillsides greet me as I get higher in Chitkul, up a small mountain behind the village to see the sunrise.  I started by the light of a head torch in total darkness, on the first day I took the wrong trail and climbed higher than I intended to. As Barry Finlay said "Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing." On the second day I got the right track, and got to the top in time to see the sun peek from behind another mountain.  I am realistic in what I can and cannot achieve, so I climb what I can and admire from afar what I cannot.

Feel the texture of life at a slow pace, perhaps we have forgotten this ambling pace?  Walk amongst the houses, see old construction, the time when the wind was blocked with stones, real seasoned wood was used for beams and there was time to fit it all together precisely.  Time was dictated by the seasons and not the clock, and all work had to be completed before it got too cold. 

Natures light show is more spectacular than anything we can invent. The sun rising from a side, illuminates the mountainsides gradually, from tiny orange tips, then side-lighted mountains to the cold blue of the day. Kasauni enables a panorama of a beautiful slice of the Himalayas, here each day is different and the ever-changing scene is a joy to behold.   These peaks are above 7000m and for my aching bones, best admired from a distance.

The early sun is shrouded  partly in natural and partly in man-made mist and haze, here it peeps out from behind the trees.  The leaves of the tree are dew laden, possibly frost formed at night and now melted. The sun lights a new day with new hopes and plans, each day different from the previous. 

  

Dew drops on a tomato... it is cold at night and early mornings are usually wet.  On an early morning walk I came across this dew laden tomato in a field. Normally I am out walking an hour before sunrise to about mid-morning, then I get back to my stay and sit out on a veranda and read.  I am out again early in the afternoon till an hour after sunset. Carry spare socks as nothing will prevent them from getting wet.

  

Higher I go, the more stark is the landscape, till I reach a high altitude desert which has only very sparse vegetation in summer. Local human and animal life adapt to the altitude and the bitter winter cold, houses are made to insulate, fodder is gathered before the first snowfall, and the locals are prepared. It is us, the passersby, that cannot adapt to these  conditions and insist on the comforts that we are used to.

  

A Himachali Couple prepares for winter as there is not a moment to spare.  The cattle and other animals come down from the higher ranges as it gets colder and they eat the crop if it is not harvested. Every bit of the harvest is used, the grain and the stalks as fodder. Every aspect of life here is governed by the seasons and the weather.

  

The sky is deep blue as there is little pollution at this height, the clouds are cotton puffs against the inky blue.  The pollution is creeping up with rapid construction and expansion of road networks, now there is dust at many places. Almost all landslides that I have seen here and elsewhere, start at the cutting for a road in the mountains. I think if you leave nature alone it will look after itself.

  

...the shades of blue are infinite, the ranges are serene, vegetation on the lower slopes, stark and bare a little higher up and perpetually snow clad peaks in the distance.
To quote the evergreen John Muir:
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”