King of the Forts – Raigad Forts

Since it was a long weekend 22 – 24^th April 2001 we friends as usual planned for the trip to Dapoli which is near ratnagiri district, 4 -5 hours drive from my place, since it was a long weekend everybody from Mumbai wanted to venture out traveling with their family and friends. I didn’t imagine that I will see so many cars flocking on the road, creating heavy traffic and congestion. We started our journey from my place at 8am hoping that we will reach dapoli by 12 – 1PM, but all thanks to heavy traffic and 2 break downs, one was car at Pen and the other was a truck break down at Nagothale where we got stuck in traffic for nearly an hour, but I guess we njoyed traffic time cos we discussed all sort of topics killing one hour of traffic time. After clearing all those traffic congestion we took a halt for lunch at 2PM at Hotel Neelkamal near Raigad, though it was scorching heat but the place was so picturesque with the beautiful lake that we didn’t feel the heat, though the food was not that appealing to eat so we somehow manage to fill our tummy.  Since we were too late now to reach Dapoli and we were on the one day trip it was useless to go to Dapoli, so we dropped Dapoli trip and planned to go to Raigad Fort.

I was of the opinion that this will be another one of the customary forts which I have visited earlier, but my opinion was altered as soon as we reached Raigad fort. This Fort Raigad was the capital of the most illustrious Maratha sovereign, nurtured by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is a monument of his prophetic vision of Hindavi Swarajya. Built over 350 years ago, this main entrance to the Fort stands majestically. The Raigad Fort is perched in the widely spread Sahyadri Ranges at an altitude of 2,700ft above the sea level. A steep climb of nearly 1450 steps and three and a half hours of extreme demands on your physical stamina, leaves you too exhausted. The magic mantra - Raigad Ropeway - has opened a new chapter of sightseeing - the Fort Raigad. It whisks you to the top, through the clouds and whistling winds, in just 4 minutes. Now you have all the energy and time to enjoy the sightseeing! Well-trained and courteous guides are at hand to give you a conducted tour of the Fort. You will find structures galore on the fort worth seeing. The main among them include Queen’s Quarters, Watch Towers, Gateways, market place and the Public Durbar.

There are six spacious chambers in all in the Queen’s Quarters. This structure was specially built for the queen and her attendants. The construction of the main palace was a wooden work. Most of the parts of this construction are now in ruins. Only the bases of pillars can be seen now. You cannot imagine how strong these forts have been made in those days. Right in front of the palace ground, you find three watch towers. These are strategically constructed in such a way that the enemies trying to invade the fort could be seen and the attack could be stemmed. The beautiful Ganga Sagar Lake next to the main fort offers a soothing relief to your eyes. The ruins of the market on the fort take you back to the good olden days. You start imagining the lifestyle of the people living in those days here on the fort.

A replica of the original royal throne has been kept in the public Durbar of the king. The main doorway of the palace is known as Nagarkhana Darwaaza. This place amazes the people due to its perfect acoustic design. Whatever one says at the doorway can be heard at the throne. Apart from that Maha Darwaaza and Palkhi Darwaaza are solid constructions and evergreen attractions on the fort.

A big statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in front of the market area here is yet another attraction. You do bow down before this great king; it doesn’t matter you know the biography or otherwise. Slightly ahead of it is the Jagdishwar Temple. The cenotaph of King Shivaji and that of his loved dog Waghya are the places of immense historic importance.

As we were coming out from the Cenotaph of King shivaji we saw Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (Born July 29, 1922) popularly known as Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare is a historian, writer and theatre personality from Maharashtra. His works are mostly based on the events related to the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He is mostly known for his popular play on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Jaanta Raja was a hit not only in Maharashtra but also in Andra Pradesh. Babasaheb Purandare has also very closely studied history of Peshwa's of Pune. He was been taken in Palki at the Cenotaph with almost 50 people accompanying him including the Police staff and journalist.

My visit to raigad was truly one of the kind I experienced during my recent travel.