Forts - 2

The Ahhichatragarh Fort

The Thar Desert of Rajasthan is a veritable treasure house. Even the towns in Rajasthan are fascinating and full of mystique. Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Chittorgarh, and the Shekhawati regions – all of them abound with stories of valour and gallantry. 135 kms from Jodhpur lies Nagaur, on the Jodhpur – Bikaner highway. Nagaur is one of Rajasthan’s oldest towns. It is famous for the Ahhichatragarh fort, which is in the center of the town, and dominates it. The battlements of this fort can be seen from all over the town. The rest of the town has grown around the fort. This fort dates back to the 4 CE. The Nagavanshis built this fort and that is why it is called the Fort of the Hooded Cobra. They used mud to build the fort, but later between 1119 and 1121 CE, Mohammad Bahlim, the Governor of the Ghaznivites, re-built the fort on the same site, using stone. Subsequently, between 1121 and 1752, the Chauhans, Chalukyas, Prithviraj Chauhan, Mohammad Ghazni, Mohammad Ghori, Iltumish, Sher Shah Suri and finally the Mughals, added or re-did or re-decorated parts of the fort according to their taste, and the building style of the times. Each ruler left his indelible imprint in stone. The fort passed back and forth between the Rathores of Jodhpur and the Mughals. Initially, Ahhichatragarh was of strategic importance since it fell on the trunk route from the Sindh and Multan regions to the Gangetic plain and Gujarat. It used to be a military stronghold. The fort has its share of stories – stories of glory and stories of despair. The fort is being re-opened in order to regenerate economy, no doubt, but also to make the people who live in Nagaur aware of their heritage. Today the Nagaur cattle fair is as important as the Pushkar cattle fair. The Nagaur cattle fair is held every year in January and February.

Ahhichatragarh fort is built on an area of 36.54 acres. It has massive walls, and 3 main gates. The imposing doors are reinforced as a protection against elephants. The doors are so strong that they can even deflect canon shots. The parapets on top of the gates are notched so that archers can lie concealed here and rain arrows on the enemy. The gates are massive, but very impressive. The first one is the Sireh Pol. This gate has wooden doors and since it is the outermost gate, it has iron spikes fitted into the gate as a safeguard. The second gate is the Beech ka Pol, and the innermost gate leading to the palace complex is the Kacheri Pol. This gate was so named because during the ancient times, the judiciary was housed here.

There are 4 palaces in the complex and 43 large and small buildings including mosques and temples, which were used by the inhabitants when they lived here. These buildings are all placed towards the centre, and are about 6 m higher than the surrounding area. The battlements, therefore, are far away and do not impose on the palace buildings. Thus, the palace buildings have open spaces all around them. Though this fort is at the border of the Thar desert, their love of water made the royal architect and landscape designer design and create an amazing and singularly distinctive water system. All available water was recycled using pipes, fountains, waterfalls, and Persian wheels. Whether they were aqueducts, or wells or kunds (tanks), they were aesthetically made, and blended into the gardens and grounds. The water channel ran along the top of the wall, and as it ran down the pipe, the pressure of downward flowing water was used to push water up to the upper floors. Water could then be stored and used when needed. There was an elaborate underground storage system as well for water. Even the Hamams (Turkish Baths) were designed to blend with the environment.

Ahhichatragrh fort reflected the Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture. It is the combination of Rajput and Mughal architecture that makes this fort so enchanting. Both styles have two very important features – gardens with water bodies and spatial organization of their buildings. While the Rajputs used plastered stone, the Mughals chose stone – either the hard deep-red sandstone or yellow sandstone found in the area. White marble was also used by them. The traditional plaster was known as kody or shell plaster. This was a kind of lustrous material. Mortar used to be mixed with gur (jaggery or molasses), guggal (gum), and methi (fenugreek). This made the mortar waterproof. The fact that these walls are still standing is mute testimony to the architects as well as to the material they used.

Both styles used the trabeate form of stone construction i.e., they used horizontal beams of stone. There were intricately carved designs on their columns as well as shallow arches made of corbels which were very ornamental. Corbels are basically pieces of stone that jut out of the wall and act as a support. Common also to both styles were the jharokhas, chhatris and chhajas. A jharokha is distinguished by small casements set in a curved structure with a balcony that projects outwards, and has a decorative arch or set of arches. The chhatri is an umbrella-shaped structure, again, highly decorative. The Rajputs used the chhatris as cenotaphs, while the Mughals used chhatris to decorate their palaces and mosques. Sometimes they used decorative chhatris above their tombs as well. Chhajas are eaves. The Mughals used a lot of tile work as decorative material. Both the Rajputs and the Mughals created beautiful compositions in paint on the walls. Their use of colour gave them a rare beauty and the colours were all made of either vegetable colours or from the powder of precious and semi-precious stones. Mirror work was another passion with both people. A distinctive feature of Mughal architecture was the use of extremely intricate and exquisitely worked pierced screens or jaalis. The designs would often be elaborate and complex. The Mughals were passionately fond of gardens and their palaces and homes would have symmetrically laid gardens in four parts. These were known as charbaghs. The Rajputs too laid exquisite gardens in their estates. Thus, the gardens and the water system, linked all the buildings which in themselves were beautifully designed. While some of these buildings were enclosed, many of them were open or semi-open. Some buildings were shaped like baradaris which were actually large halls with 12 elegantly carved pillars supporting delicate arches. These open and semi-open buildings were created to counter the hot sun in the summer. Oriented towards the north-west and the south-east, they caught the cool summer breeze as well as the warm winter sun. Beautifully laid gardens on terraced land completed the picture of serenity and exquisite beauty. The largest garden is to the east of the main palace. It is made up of rectangular beds, and an aqueduct runs all around it.

Ahhichatragarh fort also had individual havelis or apartments for each queen. The zenana played an important role. This is borne out by Hadi Rani’s palace which occupies a central place, and was three-tiered as opposed to the other buildings, some of which were two-tiered. Maharani Hadi Rani was the wife of Maharana Jai Singh and mother of the Crown Prince Amar Singh. It was with the clever and courageous Maharana Jai Singh that Aurangazeb could finally come to an agreement, thus leaving Mewar in peace, and himself moving towards the South. This is the most beautifully decorated palace of all. The designs on the walls and ceilings are all beautifully dainty and splendid. There are murals of Maharani Hadi Rani and her retinue. The frescoed work on one of the ceilings is absolutely fabulous. Deepak Mahal, has lovely floral motifs from wall to wall creating a kind of fantasy garden within a building. The Bhakt Singh Palace hides a rather fearful story. Bhakt Singh and Abhay Singh were two brothers. Abhay Singh was heir apparent to the Jodhpur throne. The Mughals persuaded him to murder his father so that he could rule Jodhpur. Unwilling to commit this heinous deed, Abhay Singh asked his brother Bhakt Singh to kill the father, in return promising him Nagaur. Bhakt Singh blindly obeyed his brother, and thus became one of the rulers of Nagaur. He built himself a wonderful palace within Ahhichatragarh. The Amar Singh Mahal whispers the story of Crown Prince Amar Singh. The Crown Prince was an irrepressible person who through his foolish behaviour had to forfeit the throne. Worse, he was exiled. He joined the Mughal court. A fearless and courageous man, he shone on the battlefield and Emperor Shah Jehan in acknowledgement of his daring, made him a noble in his court, and bestowed Nagaur on him, giving him the title of Rao. Sometime after his elevation in the Mughal court, he absented himself from the Emperor’s court for a long time. When summoned to the court, he was insulted by the Emperor. Knowing that Salabat Khan, the Paymaster General was behind this, he murdered Salabat Khan in full view of the court thus defending his pride and integrity. Of course he was overpowered and killed, but even today, Amar Singh’s praises are sung by the local people. His was the story of which legends are made, and which survive through the ages. He was cremated on the banks of the Yamuna River, but as soon as they got the news, his wives committed sati in Nagaur. As custom demanded, the imprints of their palms were made on the palace walls. These are still visible. The Amar Singh Mahal in the fort is fabulously decorated from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. The Akbari Mahal which is a perfect conjunction of the Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture was built when Nagaur fell to the Mughals in 1556. The Rani Mahal and the Zenana Deori was where the women lived, wives of the rulers of Nagaur. In these buildings again, the ceilings are gorgeously painted. The magnificent baradari for the women had a small swimming pool. The hamam for the ladies was very ornate as well.

Most buildings were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries. This was the period when there was maximum interaction between the Rajputs and the Mughals. The brave Rajputs held on to their territories and sovereignty with as much passion as the Mughals, who wanted to overthrow them and establish Mughal rule. Thus we see in Ahhichatragarh, the effects of the two mighty forces. Though of distinctive architecture, the buildings, made by the Rathores (Rajputs) and the Mughals, blend with each other harmoniously, thus creating a composite whole. Ahhichatragarh encloses 2 temples and a mosque. The Fort Temples are the Krishna Mandir dedicated to Lord Krishna and the Ganesh Mandir dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The Krishna Mandir is decorated with superb paintings from sketches to murals depicting the god as a cowherd, playing the flute, and with the gopis (milkmaids). The Ganesh Mandir is made of red brick and a beautifully executed marble statue of the elephant god can be seen in the inner sanctum of the temple. The Shah Jahani Masjid was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan. Historically it is an interesting fact that from 1556 when the fort was in Akbar’s hands till it passed into the hands of his grandson Shah Jahan, Ahhichatragrah was under uninterrupted Mughal rule. It was Shah Jahan who, in 1638, gave the fort to Amar Singh (the exiled Crown Prince). The façade of the mosque might be in disrepair today, but as all buildings constructed during Shah Jahan’s time, this too is an exquisite structure. The interior bears out this fact. It is lined with blue tiles, with ayats or sayings from the Quran beautifully inscribed on the walls. The Masjid also served as a madrasa or school for the local children.

Ahhichatragarh was in the hands of the Rathores of Jodhpur from late 18th century onwards till India’s independence. In 1949 the State of Jodhpur merged with the Indian Union. The Covenant was signed by the then Maharajah Hanwant Singh. When the Maharajah died in 1952, Ahhichatragrh passed into the hands of his son who was then only 4 years old – the present Maharajah Gaj Singh. In 1972, when the young Maharajah came of age, he transferred Ahhichatragarh to the H.H.Hanwant singhji Charitable Trust. Today, the fort is managed by the Meherangarh Museum Trust on behalf of the H.H. Hanwant Singhji Charitable Trust.