Glimpses of Raigad fort

 Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Raigad Fort, formerly known as Rairi, was built by Chandraraoji More, the King of Jawali. It was then seized by Shivaji Maharaj who made it his capital in 1674 when he was crowned the King of the Maratha Kingdom which later developed into the Maratha Empire, eventually covering much of western and central India.

In 1765, the fort of Raigad along with Malwan in present Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra, was the target of an armed expedition by the British East India Company.

In 1818, the fort was bombarded and destroyed by cannons from the hill of Kalkai. And on 9 May 1818, as per the treaty, it was handed over to the British East India Company.

The fort rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above the sea level and is located in the Sahyadri mountain range. There are approximately 1737 steps leading to the fort. The Raigad Ropeway, an aerial tramway exists and takes only 4 minutes to reach the top.

The Raigad Fort was built by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharashtra and the chief architect/engineer was Hiroji Indulkar. The main palace was constructed using wood, of which only the base pillars remain. The main fort ruins consist of the queen's quarters, six chambers, with each chamber having its own private restroom. In addition, ruins of three watch towers can be seen directly in front of the palace grounds out of which only two remain as the third one was destroyed during a bombardment. The Raigad Fort also has ruins of a market which was accessible to horseback riders. The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as the Ganga Sagar Lake.

Info sourced from Wikipedia.

Click on the link below for a short video of photographs I had taken during my visit a decade back.

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A tale of 2 Dargahs

The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara, in present-day Uzbekistan, Bukhari travelled around the world in the early to mid 15th century. He travelled to India with his brother and finally reached Mumbai – near Worli. He then decided to reside there permanently for the spread of Islam.

Until his death he kept spreading knowledge about Islam and his devotees would regularly visit him. Before his death he advised his followers that they should not bury him in a graveyard but should drop his shroud ('kafan') in the ocean and should be buried by the people where it is found.

His wish was obeyed by his followers. That is why the Dargah Sharief is built at the very site where his shroud came to rest in the middle of the sea where it perched on a small mound of rocks rising above the sea.

There is another mausoleum built across the bay. It is believed to be the tomb of Ma Hajiani, the sister of Haji Ali. This mausoleum was built in 1908 in honour of Ma Hajiani, a saint believed to be the sister of Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.

According to legend, they died at sea and their bodies were washed ashore, a few metres from each other. They were then buried at the respective spots they were found. Subsequently, two tombs were built — Haji Ali for the brother and Ma Hajiani for the sister. At the Ma Hajiani Dargah, women frequent in large numbers, making offerings of red or green glass bangles, red indicating one’s wish for marriage, and green for offspring.

Above info sourced from Wikipedia and an article in The Hindu.

What we did in Lucknow

Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh is a wonderful city that will delight the historian, the architect, the foodie and the culture aficionado.

As part of the roadtrip arranged by ScoutMyTrip and OYOrooms we spent a couple of amazing days in Lucknow. I have encapsulated the highlights of what we did while in Lucknow, in a short video clip that you can see below. Do spare the two minutes of your time for a virtual visit to Lucknow and leave your comments, good or bad.

Magical Orchha!

Drove into Orchha in the afternoon from Jhansi.

Orchha was founded in the 15th century AD by the Bundela chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha.

History confronts you at every step from the minute you enter Orchha. Stay anywhere and you are bound to sight some palace or the other either from you room or from the roof top.

The first palace that we visited was the Raja Mahal. This palace was built by Rudra Pratap Singh.

It has beautiful paintings on the ceiling and murals on the walls. Fortunately these paintings can still be seen in

its original colours!

Then we visited the Jahangir Mahal. The Jahangir Mahal was constructed after Vir Singh Deo of Bundela Rajputs revolted against the Mughal Emperor Akbar. 

It was completed in 1598 by the victorious Mughal Prince Salem (later known as the Mughal Emperor 

Jahangir) after defeating Vir Singh Deo of Bundela, a sworn enemy of the Mughals.

By the time we were through visiting these palaces it was evening and we were advised by our guide to go 

over the bridge over river Betwa to view a fabulous sunset against the Chhatris or Memorials built to honour 

the rulers of Orchha.

Next morning it was time to visit the Chhaturbhuj temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was built in 875, 

during the reign of imperial Gurjara Pratihara dynasty.

Adjacent to that is the Ram Raja temple. Both, the Chaturbhuj temple and the RamRaja temple have a fascinating myth. The King of Orchha, King Madhukar Shah Ju Dev was a devotee of Lord Krishna while his wife Kamla Devi, was a devotee of Lord Ram. One day both of them went to Lord Krishna’s temple but the temple had closed by that time.  They decided to join a group of devotees who were singing and dancing in the praise of lord Krishna outside the temple. Lord Krishna and Radha were so pleased that they too danced with them. After that incident, the King asked the Queen to accompany him to Mathura, the land of lord Krishna, but the Queen wanted to go Ayodhya , the land of Lord Rama.

The queen left the palace and started the long journey to Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace) on foot to bring Lord Ram with her to Orchha. She didn’t tell the King before leaving but she ordered her servants to start building a temple (Chaturbhuj Temple) for Lord Rama.

After reaching Ayodhya the Queen started praying to Lord Ram close to Laxman Fort near Sarayu river.. The queen fasted and prayed for about a month but Lord Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair the queen decided to jump in the Sarayu river. Just then something magical happened, Lord Ram appeared in child form in Queen’s lap.

The queen was ecstatic and began to cry. Lord Ram told the queen that he was happy with her prayers and she could ask for a boon, at which the queen asked Ram to come with her in child form to Orchha. Ram agreed to go but he put forth three conditions: 1) I will travel only in Pukh Nakshatra, when Pukh Nakshatra will end I will stop and resume only when Pukh Nakshtra sets in again. In this manner I will travel from Ayodhya to Orchha on foot along with a group of sages. 2) Once I reach Orchha, I will be the King of Orchha and not your husband. 3) Since child form of Ram would travel in Queen’s lap, the first place where you seat me will be my final place of stay and will be famous by the name of Ramraj".

The Queen agreed and started her journey to Orchha with baby Ram in her lap. Since the queen traveled only in Pukh Nakshtra it took them 8 months and 27 days to reach Orchha from Ayodhya on foot (between 1574 to 1575). King Madhukar Shah meanwhile had a dream where Lord Krishna scolded him on discriminating between Lord Ram and himselfand reminded the King that Lord Ram and he are one and the same, there is no difference. The King was very apologetic when he woke up and found out that the queen was returning from Ayodhya. The King went to receive the queen with horses, elephants, servants, food, etc. and apologized to the queen. The queen did not accept king’s apology and refused the comforts offered to her by the King. The Queen claimed that she now possessed everything one could ever ask for (Lord Ram in child form).

On returning to Orchha the queen went back to her palace with baby Ram and retired in her room for the night thinking she would take Lord Ram to the Chaturbhuj temple the next day. But according to Lord Ram’s conditions he took the first place where he was seated hence Lord Ram transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queens palace itself. To this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the Queen’s palace and not in the Chaturbhuj Temple which is right next to the palace.

Orchha is geared to cater to all tastes. It has a wide range of restaurants listed in Lonely Planet and these restaurants display that fact.

How to reach:

By Rail: Jhansi railway station, 16 km away from Orchha, is the nearest railway station. Jhansi is situated on the major rail route and there are regular train services to the major cities in India.

By Air: Gwalior is the nearest airport to Orchha (116 km) and is well connected to all major Indian cities.

By Road: Many private and Government Transport bus services are available to reach Orchha from Jhansi (16 km). Orchha is well connected by buses with Bhopal, Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho and Gwalior.

Mandu- Steeped in history!

Our next stop was Mandu, a distance of around 70kms from Maheshwar.

Mandu or Mandavgad is an ancient city in ruins in western Madhya Pradesh. This fortress town which is around 100 km from Indore is celebrated for its fine architecture.

It was an important military outpost and its military past can be gauged by the length of its wall, which is nearly 37 km with 12 gateways.

Apparently, Mandu was a fortified city even in 6th century BC but gained prominence in 10th and 11th century under the Parmars who called it Mandavgarh. It has had a long history under various Rajputs, Mughal rulers and the Marathas but once the capital of Malwa was shifted back to Dhar by the Marathas under Maharaja Pawar, the slide in Mandu's fortunes that had begun with the absconding of Baz Bahadur, plummetted.

There is plenty to see in this wonderful city. Some of the must see monuments are

The Jahaz Mahal or Ship Palace which is situated between two artificial lakes. This two storied architectural marvel is so named as it appears as a ship floating in water. Built by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din-Khilji, it served as a harem for the sultan.

Hindola Mahal or Swing palace is so named due to its sloping side walls. The Hindola Mahal might have been constructed during the reign of Hushang Shah about 1425

Hoshang Shah's Tomb - India's first marble structure, it is one of the most refined examples of Afghan architecture. Its unique features include the beautifully proportioned dome, intricate marble lattice work and porticoed courts and towers. It served as a template for the construction of Taj Mahal in Agra.

Jami Masjid - Inspired by the great mosque of Damascus, this beautiful structure is striking in both its simplicity and architectural style with its large courtyards and grand entrances.

A reservoir constructed by Baz Bahadur for the purpose of supplying water to Rani Roopmati's Pavilion.

Roopmati's Pavilion - A large sandstone structure originally built as an army observation post it is known today as Roopmati's Pavilion. Rani Roopmati - the love interest of Baaz Bahadur lived here and is said to have gazed at the Baz Bahadur's Palace - situated below and also at Narmada river, flowing through the Nimar plains far below, a river which the queen revered.

Baz Bahadur's Palace - Built by Baz Bahadur, this 16th-century structure is famous for its large courtyards

encompassed by large halls and high terraces. It is situated below Roopmati's Pavilion and can be seen from the pavilion.

Getting there:

By air - Indore Ahilyabai Holker Airport is the nearest airport to Mandu. Mandu is about 100 km from the airport.

By rail - Nearest railhead is Ratlam railway station, which is about 125 km away from Mandu. This station is well connected to the rest of the major cities in India and is an important junction in the western railways.

By bus - Regular deluxe and semi deluxe buses are available from Indore (100 km), Bhopal (278 km), Ratlam (125 km) and Ujjain.