Forts – The Inspiration in Stones

Fort on top of the hill. Image Source: Belongs to the respective owner.

Forts are military architecture of strategic importance. There are three major types of forts viz. Hilltop forts,Land forts and Sea forts. Maharashtra is famously known as the land of Hillforts. Maharashtra is unique state where different types of forts are yfound which are not commonly found in other parts of India. There is no written data which can say the exact number of forts built in Maharashtra. The forts built by Satavahan, Rashtrakuta, Kadamba and Yadava dynasty are considered as earliest built forts.. Out of these are the Kandhar fort, Daulatabad fort, Panhala fort and few more which belong to the earliest forms; and many of them predate to ancient history of Maharashtra.

Fort of Jinji, Tamil Nadu PC: Ritam — http://www.ritam-art.com

Forts have inspired us since their existence. They have shaped the lives of many people living in the vicinity of forts. It was the forts which proved to be one of the significant asset for Shivaji to establish the Hindavi Swaraj. Later in Maratha Confederacy, the forts were the backbone of Marathas which protected them from the invasion of Aurangzeb. The best example of this is the Siege of Jinji which is in Tamil Nadu, where Aurangzeb deputed Ghazi-ud-din Firoze Jung against the Marathas in the Deccan, and specially sent Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung to capture the Jinji Fort, the hideout of Rajaram. He laid siege to it in September, 1690. After three failed attempts, it was finally captured after seven years on 8 January 1698.

Each fort has a story to tell. The stories of valor, sacrifice, courage and heroism. Every child remembers the story of Hirkani. The story of love for her child and courage she displayes to get back to her son at the time when the doors of Raigarh are closed in the evening portray motherhood. Hirkani Buruj was built as a tribute to this great mother by Shivaji Maharaj. This incident tells tale of determination and devotion, the story of love and caring, the story of how, with faith and confidence, even ordinary person like us can become a hero!

Bastions of Raigad Fort PC: Adventure 365.in

The Roman architect, Vitruvius in his work ‘Ten Books on Architecture’, written approximately around 20-30 BC laid out three principles of good architecture. The first principle, Firmatis (durability), means that the structure should stand up strongly. The second, Utilitas (utility), means that the architecture should be useful. The last, Venustas (beauty), means that architecture should make people happy when they look at it. So when one studies the architecture of the forts, one truly can reflect on the principles mentioned above. Thus inspiring architects to build a good design.

Forts are a great source of history. They are non-literary source. In order to rewrite history a lot of historians study forts. They are the proofs of the incidences which have taken place. Researching them helps in building history in authentic manner.

People on trek to Harihar Fort, Nasik PC: Punjab Kesari

Besides history and architecture forts inspire us to live our life and face the challenges with strong heart and determination. They tells us to be sensitive to each and everyone around us and add beauty to life of all. Forts tell us not only to be rooted to our mother earth but also to held our heads high and be in a spiritual conversation with the life.

These great teachers need to be conserved, preserved and restored, who are the treasure of knowledge. We have a lot to learn from them and they will keep on inspiring many more generations to come!

Written by - Ishwari Khandelwal, Research Assistant at studio adda