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The Fort of Mukundgarh – Jhunjhunu

Oct 1

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The fort of Mukundgarh - Jhunjhunu

The fort of Mukundgarh - Jhunjhunu

About Mukundgarh

Mukandgarh is a city and a municipality in Jhunjhunu district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is part of Shekhawati region. It lies a few km from Nawalgarh.

Mukundgarh Fort
Mukungarh has a 300-year-old magnificent fort, which is now converted into a resort hotel, with all modern amenities.

There are havelis of Kanoria, Ganeriwal and Saraf, which are a fine example of fresco paintings.

Mukundgarh Fort is a heritage property, a grand construction and has amazing detailing of the famous Shekhawati frescoes on the walls. The hotel offers beautifully furnished rooms with a view of the fort’s courtyard or the green vegetation beyond.

The Ganeriwal Haveli Mukundgarh In Rajasthan India is stunning right from the intricately carved façade to courtyard walls; visitors will notice vibrant frescos and murals. Narrative murals depicting scenes from local legends, the life of Lord Krishna, etc. are to be frequently seen at the Ganeriwal Haveli Mukundgarh.

It has a few mosque and many temples. The iron scissors, textiles and brassware made here are of extremely good quality. Also worth a visit are Shiv Temple, Gopinath temple and Venugopal temple.

Chhatris at Mukundgarh, Jhunjhunu

Chhatris at Mukundgarh, Jhunjhunu

About Jhunjhunu

Jhunjhunu is very rich in presenting the glorious ancient monument as the Temples, Mosques, Forts, Palaces and Tombs.

Wells, Stepwells, Cenotaphs and Havelies of excellent fresco-paintings which speak with full throated ease about the glorious past of Jhunjhunu.

They are the master pieces of art and architecture, Shekhawati region offers many resorts of beauty to the tourist.

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The Fort of Hanumangarh – Bhatner Fort

Sep 30

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The fort of bhatner is situated at a distance of 144 miles in north- east of Bikaner on the northern extremity of Rajasthan. Traditions ascribe the laying of foundation of this fort by Changej Khan, but it is probable that Sardar Jajaluddin have built this fort. The area surrounding the fort which now forms an integral part of the Ganganagar District was an independent colony under the name of Bhattinagar.

This fort was regarded as one of the most important strongholds of the country. The fort had attained great historical celebrity from its position, being in the route of invasion from the central Asia to India. During the medieval time this great fort provided surest means of defense and proved as a strong bulwark against enemy attack.

Geography of Hanumangarh Fort

The massive and solid ramparts of the fort encloses an area of 52 bighs of land having gorgeous bastions at intervals.  Standing on moderate elevation the fort has rounded bastions in the embattled rampart walls and many imposing gates. The fort had ample storage of water collected in the 52 kunds within its four walls. This supply of rainy water lasted for complete one year for a large garrison.

Attractions and Monuments of Hanumangarh Fort

On gate of the fort belongs to the early period and looks very old. The other lofty gate was erected by Rao Manohar Kachhawa under orders of the Mughal ruler. The elegantly designed minarets of old times was replaced during renovation. The Jain ‘pasara’ is a building of old time in the fort. Three statues standing inside the fort also lay claim to antiquity each bearing an inscription.

The fort was famous in whole of country on account of its invincibility.  Varios clans such as Bhatti, Sohias, Chayab, Rathore possession over this fort which was regarded as the key to the desert land lying south of it, and the whole of northen Rajasthan. The heap of two great columns built of backed mud together with the life size statues are still visible in the fort. The mosque of Sherkhan, the Governer of the fort and nephew of Balvan also forms a part of numerous old structure in the fort.

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The Fort of Fatehpur

Sep 29

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The fort of Fatehpur was a great stronghold of the Kayam Khanis who were originally the Chohans of Dadrewa. The fort was founded by Fatan Khan in 1451 A.D.

Geography of Fatehpur Fort

The site of the fort is surrounded by thick growth of trees. High sand dunes enveloped this place from all sides leaving no spacious passage through them. Thus protected by forest and sand dunes the fort was regarded as one of the most defensible fort of the desert area. The fort encloses a space of nearly 7000 feet in length and half of it in breadth.

A massive and gorgeous rampart wall with battlements encircles the fort having huge bastions at each corner. The thickness of the rampart wall is from 15 to 25 feet and the height nearly 20 to 50 feet. A solid deep ditch protected the fort from four sides leaving a gap of 20 feet between itself and rampart wall.

Attractions and Monuments in Fatehpur Fort

The first gate facing the south is of moderate size built in the usual way. Rampart wall spreads from this gate on two sides in a semi – circle. The other gate more massive and bigger facing the east.Through this gate the spacious enclosure of the palaces are erected. Towering over the rampart wall stands the famous palace of Telin. This palace is a beautiful piece of fusion of indo- Muslim art.

The Telin’s palace with its elagently carved projected balconies and short columns stands a monument to the earthy passion which devour the high and the low alike. At some distance from palace, the inner apartment for ladies are erected.

These structures are marked for their simplicity of design and exquisiteness of exudation. Projected  balconies in the side wall of palaces are still intact below which on the supporting stones floral designs are carved. The palaces are seemingly built of Khatu’s yellow stone that was regarded ideal for carving.

Some buildings lay buried in a half ruined condition. A modern looking small palace which stands in lose vicinity to the palaces was erected by the Rajpoots when they took possession of the fort.

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The Fort Of Achalgarh – Tourist Attractions Near Mount Abu, Rajasthan

Sep 26

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The Fort of Achalgarh - Mount Abu Excursions

The Fort of Achalgarh - Mount Abu Excursions

Mount Abu is a ramification of the great Arawali hills which intersect Rajasthan from end to end, forming a line running north-east and south west.

Perched on the chaotic masses of rocks stands Achalgarh, an ancient fort of Rajasthan.  Achalgarh in Hindi literally means an immovable fort.

Rana Kumbha of Mewar built this majestic fort in the 14th century. The fort is situated nearly six miles from Abu surrounded by lofty peaks of the Aravalis. It provides a fine view of Guru Shikhar, the highest peak of the Aravalis in Rajasthan.

Major Attractions and Monuments of Achalgarh

The chief attraction of the fort is a Jain temple of Shanti Nath built in 1513 A.D which is ascribed to Kumarpal Solanki, the ruler of Gujrat. The last remains of this ruler were cremated in front of the  Achaleshwari temple. The Chamunda temple, Bhartari Gupha, Revati Kund, Gomati Kund, Bhrigu Ashram and the temple of Kumbheswari, are places of historical and architectural importance.

It also houses another amazing temple of Achaleshwar Mahadev built in 1412 A.D. The Shanti Nath Jain Temple is having a gold plated image. These two Jain temples stand in ancient Jain style of architecture.

The statues of Rana Kumbha and his son Uda, and Sawan Bhadawa are also very interesting. Adinath temple has 14 images of miniature size made of ‘Panch Dhatu’. The temple is a double storeyed one. The Donjon of Achalgarh which with the interior works of the most remote antiquity. There are a ruins of a granary, the Bhandar of Kumbha Rana, coated within with a very strong cement plaster. On the most elevated knoll to the east are the remains of an alarm tower which still bears Kumbha’s name.

The Hanumanpole and the Champapol are two gateways of the fort.

Near the fort a little below there is situated remarkable temple of Achaleshwar, built in 813 A.D. Numerous ancedotes are in vague about the power of this divinity, which is God Shiva. A big tank 900 X 240 feet known as Mandakini Kund has many fables at its credit. There is an inscription of Phalgun 1266 A.D. The statue is of white marble. 5 feet in height and with the exception of the sculptured figure on the column of Badob, is the finest piece of sculpture.

We would be writing about the pride of Rajasthan tommorrow. Wish to know what it is ? Sorry, We wont tell you. You need to come back again and check out tommorrow about the very finer details of the kinds, types and colors.. shhhhh!!

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The Fort of Ajmer – Taragarh Fort

Sep 25

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The Fort of Ajmer - Taragarh Fort

The Fort of Ajmer - Taragarh Fort

The massive Taragarh Fort of Ajmer, one of the oldest forts of Rajasthan, was constructed by Raja Ajaipal Chauhan.

Location and Geography

The fort is situated on the crest of a hill 2855 feet above the sea level and 1300 feet from the plain.  It is also known as the Garh Beetali and spread over 32 hectares with about 32 tanks.

The curtain wall encloses avast space. The embattled parapet built of huge stone blocks is 20 feet thick at the base.  Round towers are built at every declivity in the hill sides. Its principal strength lies in ruggedness and acclivity of the hill upon which it is situated. Passing through a rugged land full of hills of small eminence, a narrow tress over both sides of the narrow rocky ascent present a lovely sight.

Attractions and Monuments of Taragarh Fort

The massive fort surrounded by a thick stone wall has six gates with the main gate named ‘Laxmi gate’ surmounted with exquisitely carved stone elephant. The second gate known as ‘Phuta Darwaja’ is as strong and solid as main gate. The second line of defense starts with the embattled parapet on both sides of this gate. Other gates named ‘Bhawani Pol’, ‘Hathi Pol’, ‘Arkat ka Darwaja’ are thrown across the ascent.

Many bastions have been raised in the crenelated rampart wall called Ghenga Darwaja, Gugandi, Nakarchi ka burj, Bandra Burj, Imali ka burj and Fateh Burj etc. Here is situated the holy Dargah of a great martyr and saint Hazrat Meeran Sahib Khing Sawar. The magnificent fort is known for its water harvesting system with several massive stone reservoirs that were used for water storage.

The Taragarh fort has a special place in the history of Ajmer as it was an important military hub during the Mughal reign in the region. This grand fort served as a sanatorium during the British domination in this region.

The fort was the key to Rajputana and for this very reason was attacked many a times. From Roshan Ali, Sahabuddin Gauri to Bahadur Shah and Sher Shah, several armies invaded the fort. The fort was convereted to sanitorium for European troops during the British Raj.

We complete our post on Taragarh fort here and promise to come back as usual !!

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The Fort of Alwar – Bala Quila

Sep 24

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The Fort of Alwar - Bala Quila

The Fort of Alwar - Bala Quila

Bala Quilia or Alwar fort stands atop hill which is situated in enchanting atmosphere of the Arawalis.

Location and Architecture

The adjoining areas are full of dense forest growth and provides a great view of the city from its watch towers. This fort is said to have been constructed by Hasan Khan Mewati in 1492 A.D after passing several hands.

The fort extends 5 km from north to south and 1.6 km from east to west. It is 595 mtrs above see level and 304 mtrs above the city.  The circumference of the fort spreads in 7 miles.

It has 15 large and 51 small towers with 446 loopholes for musketry.  Stupendous towers have been raised at various points in the rampart. The Kabul burj is really imposing the Nogaja and the Hawa Bangla burj also attract attention.  The fort can be entered from six gates namely Jai Pol, Laxman Pol, Chand Pol, kishan Pol, Andheri Pol, Suralj Pol.

Attractions of Bala Quila

There are many things of interest in the fort, the Nikumbh palaces being the fine specimens of the Hindu architecture. These old palaces are simple, unadorned and stupendous. Salim Sagar built by Chandakaji is one of the attractions, another one is Surajmahal whose bowshaped roofs and elegant balconies represents the amalgamation of Indo-Muslim art.

The Sitaram Temple built in 1932 is a fine structure. The middle portions of Cenotaph in the fort is constructed with white marble interspersed with black marble pieces. The base and small corner built in red stone gives a magnificent look. There is a lot of history, attacks and rulers involved with Bala Quila and the details would require volumes of text books.

I would end my post about this fort here and would come back tomorrow with another of the gigantic walls. So just keep coming in here to know more and more about our state Rajasthan.

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The Fort of Bikaner – Junagarh Fort

Sep 23

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The Fort Of Bikaner - Junagarh Fort

The Fort Of Bikaner - Junagarh Fort

Raja Rai Singh (1571-1611), one of Akbar’s most outstanding generals, built the impregnable unconquered Fort of Bikaner or more famously known as Junagarh Fort. Bikaner city was founded by Rao Bika, the son of Rao Jodha of Jodhpur, a prince of Rathore clan.

Location and Architecture of Junagarh Fort

The fort forms a quadrangle with the perimeter of 986 m. A thirty feet deep moat surrounds the outer part with the embattaled walls, hanging over it.  There are two entrances, facing east is the main entrance known as ‘Karan Pol’. Next to it, is the sun gate or ‘Suraj Pol’. The gate is built in the usual style, two great semi-circled towers joined by a portal under which a gate is opened.

Black stone slabs in the walls here eulogize Raisingh’s deeds of valour and gives a chronological record of the clan of the Rathors. Two life size statues of elephants flank the facade of the entrance.

Attractions and Monuments

The fort contains many palaces, pavilion and temples made of red sandstone and marble with kiosks and balconies. Inside the fort there are attractive palace section with beautiful paintings and carvings in courtyards, towers, balconies and windows. There is also a Rajput weapon collection, an important part of the museum located in the fort.

The palace of Raja Raisingh is the oldest building in the fort together with the Suraj Pol, the Karkhana Kallan, the Har Mandir, the Choubara, Hazari Darwaja and Rani Niwas. Most of them are built in yellow sand stones. Anoop Mahal, Rang Mahal, Anand Vijay Mahal with thin columns, arches and screens are noteworthy elegant monuments.

A board court decorated by exquisite panels intervenes between Anoop Mahal and Rai Niwas. This hall which served as Diwan-e-Khas has vermilion and gold gesso decoration, glass mosaics, lace-like mirror and stucco work. Phool Mahal is also nicely decorated with glass work.

Gang Niwas is a spacious durbar hall with a carved wood ceiling. The interior of this hall is decorated with richly carved red sand stone.

The fort journey has been really breath taking, though everything good comes to an end. Dont worry, we are not ending our forts series here, we have some unknown forts in Rajasthan which are equally important from Rajputana history. In the coming days, we will present some forts from Rajasthan which might  not have been accounted in the books of history but have always stood between the Rajasthan Dynasty Kings and their Enemies protecting the rulers from the outsiders.

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The Fort of Chomuhagarh, Rajasthan

Sep 22

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The Fort of Chomuhagarh - Solid Gates

The Fort of Chomuhagarh - Solid Gates

Location and Geography

The fort of Chomuhagarh is situated 21 miles from Jaipur in the north west and perhaps stands next only to Bharatpur fort on account of abnormal depth and breadth of the ditches which surround it from four sides. The fort also known by the name of Dharadhargarh holds unique position in Rajasthan among the ground forts. All precautions had been taken by the builder in erecting this fort at Chomu.

The present site of the fort was selected by Baba Venidas, a brahmin in the service of the father of Karan Singh, the Rao of Chomu. Accordingly in 1595 A.D., Rao Karan Singh of Nathawat clan who ruled over Hadota started the building of the fort, which took two years to complete.

Architecture and Attractions of Chomuhagarh

Rao Karan Singh had only built female apartment protected by the rampart wall between two corner bastions of the fort side. The bunch of the trees still survives growing over the rampart walls and revives the memory of the builder of the fort. The trees of Kair and Kheri covered it from the view and due to its erection at a strategically important site, cannon balls passed over the fort without harming the structure.

The rampart walls of the fort are very massive with slight forward projection at the top having bastions at each end. A vast solid ditch surrounds the rampart wall, the width of which being 80 feet. In olden times the ditch remained full of water. In the northern side of the spacious enclosure stands a temple erected by the Kamadars of Nathavatas in 1756 A.D.

The construction of the rampart wall at the top resembles the leaf of the lotus having embrasures and holes in it. Every leaf has such five loopholes through which discharge of bullets and arrows landed on the onrushing armies.

The entire town is situated bounded by the circumvallation which closely resembles the rampart wall, which has a slight curvature at every gate providing safeguard for the gate and concealing it from the fort. The entire wall stands intact pierced by four huge gates, Baori, Pijala, Holi and Rawan.

The fort has two moderately built gates, the first Dhruvapol, facing the west was erected by Krishna singh. The other gate through which the inner portion is reached, is known by Ganeshpol, and was erected by Rao Raghunath Singh. Krishna Niwas, Ratan Niwas, are prominent among a cluster of places which all represent Indo-Muslim style of architecture.

Some walls have been dug in the moat and water is drawn up by an indigenous system. From this portion the water is again lifted up by a huge rope working on a pulley. The wells being in the bed of the ditch receive ample supply through parcolation, even in the dry weather.

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The Fort of Kota

Sep 20

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Kota Fort, Rajasthan

Kota Fort, Rajasthan

About Kota City

Kota, situated on the eastern bank of the Chambal at a distance of 120 miles from Ajmer stands enclosed by a massive wall on the southern extremity of which the fort lies on a moderate eminence. The city of Kota is surrounded by huge rampart wall of unusual height, sixty to seventy feet on three sides. Chambal, the boon of Rajasthan which flows western side forms a natural unsurpassable moat to the fort as well as to the city.

Geography and Architecture of Kota Fort

The fort is situated on the southern extremity of the rampart walls on the land of moderate eminence, was built by Madhosingh in 1631 A.D. These massive and vast embattled wall of Kota Fort stands pierced with six gates among which Surajpol , Kishorpur, Palanpol, Kaithunipol are very imposing.

The main gate in the castle is built in the usual style and flanked by projecting balconies. The bastions to the southern side are massive, huge and vast while those erected to the north are marked by their rather slender form and upward height. These were erected in this particular way to afford special protection againest the enemy attack .

A circle of these bastions is formed here and it gives this portion the shape of a fort within fort.The space between the series of towers stands duly protected by the embattled wall crowning the palaces. Some towers connected with the ramparts are also thrown along the way of the fort.

Attractions of Kota Fort

The Kota Fort is known for its Durbar Hall which has beautiful paintings and mirror work and has doors of ebony and ivory. There are exquisite miniature paintings housed within the Durbar Hall. The Maharajas of Kota later abandoned the fort and build various palaces.

The palaces of kota situated within the four walls of the Castle stands as an admirable mixture of Indo-Muslim style of architecture. The small turrents, cupolas and minarets, slightly projecting eaves, balconies, canopy like roofs of the palaces, all put together present a charming picture over looking the purple water of the fast flowing turbulent Chambal below.

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The Fort of Jhalawar- Gagron Fort

Sep 19

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The Fort of Jhalawar - Gagron Fort

The Fort of Jhalawar - Gagron Fort

The Gagron fort stands majestically on the crest of a hill at the confluence of the Kalisind and the Ahurivers. The former surrounding it from three sides provides an unsurpassable barrier.

Location and Architecture

The valley near Gagron is full three miles wide, the soil fertile and the scenery highly picturesque. The forest of each side echoed with screams of the peacocks, the calls of partridge, and the note of jungle cock who was crowing his motives as the sun gladdened hi retreat.

The fort of Gagron situated among such natural environs is regarded as one of the most important forts of Rajasthan. The fort was constructed by the Dod Rajputs in whose possession it remained up to the 12th century, A.D. The fort is also called Dodgarh after its founder.

The pecularity of the fort is its natural defence consisting of mountainous ranges covered with forests through which gushes out the on-rushing water of the rivers. It present a bold and striking object.

The parrots of Gagron are famous allover Rajasthan. The Mosque of Mithashah built in hindu style of architecture contains an inscription in persian. The inscription pertains to the Rao of Bikaner who was the Mughal Governor of the fort. Another inscription denotes the construction of a cenotaph by Main Ishan.

The icons of Durga, Ganesha and Shiva are erected in a temple built in the ancient style. This fort has been a central place place of activity and it’s solidity of natural defenses baffled the Zeal of the invader.

According to Tod, a traveler, “Independent of ancient association, there is a wild grandeur about Gagron, which makes it well worthy of visit and the views from the north side must be still finer than from ather point.” The turbulent kalisind forces its passage from the rocky mountains and dains forest to the valley of great depth below and presents a very beautiful sight.

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