Inside the 'Living Fort of India'

Manikda has always been in my nerves since my childhood days. When I first saw his film ‘Shonar Kella’ as a child, it straight got into my brain and I always longed for its visit. Those who are not familiar with the story line of the film let me brief it for you. Mukul is a small boy living in Kolkata. He claims that he is a ‘Jatiswar’ and can recall that in his earlier life he used to stay in some forts of Rajasthan and that his family possessed many precious gems and stones in his home. Stricken by this news, some criminals follow him to his ‘Shonar Kella’ in Rajasthan in search of those valued gems and stones. In the meantime, many incidents followed. At the end, hero of the story ‘Feluda’ rescues him from all odds and takes small Mukul back to his home ‘Shonar Kella’ where he truly used to stay in his earlier life.

Satyajit Rays’ ‘Shonar Kella’ or ‘The Golden Fortress’ (the film was released in USA with this name) is better known as Jaisalmer Fort to the world. We were both cold and hungry when we reached our BnB in Jaisalmer Fort at eleven, in one of the freezing nights of January. Our host gave us a nice and warm welcome to his place. Luckily we got a bengali cook there who cooked ‘vat, mugger daal, alu vaja and fulkopir torkari’ (boiled rice, lentils, potato fry and cauliflower curry) for us! What else could we ask for after a tiring bus journey from Bikaner? The aerial view of the fort from the rooftop restaurant of our BnB made all our gloominess fade away. The fort was standing in front and around us with all its majestic and royal beauty. While snapping the fort’s magnificence, our host stated his gratitude towards Ray in making the fortress famous with his film. Upon asking, he gave us the particulars about the fort.

Jaisalmer Fort is one among the two ‘Living’ forts of India, the other being Chittorgarh Fort. A ‘Living’ fort is such a castle where still individuals of present generation live or stay after their ancestors who lived there in the same house or ‘haveli’ since the fort was built. Though most of the houses in the fort required repair and retrofit, yet most part of an individual house has been kept intact as was since their ancestors. Built in 1156 AD by Rawal Jaisal (from whom the place derived its name Jaisalmer), it is the second oldest castle in Rajasthan. The citadel is made of yellow sandstone which imparts a light brown to brownish orange colour in the day and as the sun sets more to west it gives the colour of melting gold as a result of which it derived its name of ‘Golden Fortress’. The whole area of the fort is divided into two segments, the upper segment is meant for the Brahmins and the lower is meant for the Rajputs. Though this fort has been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site, yet this tradition is being followed till date! As we were feeling the cold profoundly, with this much in a row from our host we bade him goodnight. As we retired for sleep, my long waited dream for the fort kept me awake.

Our morning started with ‘luchi-alur dom’ (pancakes and potato curry) and tea. The morning view from our rooftop restaurant was breathtaking. The whole city rested in front of us, the roads, the vehicles, the antique shops, travellers everything. We could see every details of the city. Rooftops of houses, temples, wall tops along their boundaries, every single feature were evident. Far beyond the city, Thar can be seen. The citadel itself was built in such a manner so as to keep an eye on both the capital and the desert so that an alarm can be raised in case of any intrusion. After having some tips and facts from our host we set out for the day. As we drew near the main chowk, hustle-bustle of the city became more distinct and flawless. We found quite a big number of visitors from far and near exploring and gazing at the old sand stone structure. We caught up a guide quickly for our fort expedition. Main entrance of the fort is surrounded by four huge and colossal gates that keep an eye on every trespasser. In earlier days, cannons and large boulders were kept at the top of these gate entrances. These were fired at the enemy as soon as he tried to enter the citadel through these gateways. There are a number of temples inside the fort including seven Jain temples. The art and sculpture in each of these temples have their own panache and exclusivity. The carvings along with their design and style still bears the emblem of a prosperous and wealthy fort of past. Apart from temples, there are some museums and merchant havelis in the fort. We explored Mukul’s house (as detailed in the film) and other spots where the film flashed live in front of us. Every direction of the film got sketched in front of our eyes as we went through the flaps of the qila. The fort has numerous small interconnecting ‘galis’. Along these ‘galis’ one can find shops selling Rajasthani costumes, knick-knacks, sand stone crafts and implements, camel skin shoes, wallets and many other vintage and unique items. Diverse stone carvings other than that of sand stone can also be found in these shops.

Wrapping up most of the fort’s exquisiteness took us three hours. Walking continuously through the up and down roads of the fort wearied our legs. Every nooks and corners of the citadel gleamed brownish of its blush. The flashy and gaudy street shops supplemented vigour to the brown tint of the fort.  As the sun inclined, gathering at the fort augmented. Our tired feet and hungry stomach tempted us for lunch which took us back to our BnB. As we returned, words of both our host and our fort guide were still ringing in our ears, ‘Aapke Satyajit babu ne to humare qile ko famous bana diya!’

A little grain of gold from Golden fortress:

1.       Make sure you watch the film before landing there. Fine points of the film will drag you further towards every doors of the qila.

2.       Make sure you are wearing sneakers or boots. The stones and pavements of citadel will prove hard to your feet.

3.       Do bargain and hire a guide for the fort exploration. Details of fort until and unless explained will not fetch interest to the travellers.

4.       Don’t spoil the construction walls with your love letters, paan-gutkha decorations and other non sense. Be aware of its spotlessness and safeguard the archaeological beauty for your children as well.

5.       Though a bit costly than outskirts, try to take a home inside the fort. One cannot feel the castle by staying outside.