As the summer had come to an end and Monsoon had just
arrived at the Heart of India, we set out for another trip. This time the place
was Narsinghgarh Fort - 85 km from our city Bhopal.
We set-out at 9am on a Sunday morning
on to NH12 towards Narsinghgarh. We had to wait for a couple of times on the
way due to the drizzling monsoon rains. At about 11.30 we were able to reach
our destination.
Just as we crossed the town, we got the first view
of the Fort.
The fort is located atop a snake-like
hill and the approach to the Fort by vehicles is through its tail.
We had to apply great effort to take
our bikes upwards the hill to the Fort. And once we reached there, we just stopped
and took a deep breath………..Yes, finally, we’ve reached our destination!!
As we reached the top, we saw a peacock resting on the ramparts of the
fort, calm, composed and peacefully welcoming the monsoon.
According to Wikipedia, the Fort is nearly 300 years old and is a great example
of Rajput, Mughal and Malwa architecture. It was built by Rawat Paras Ram ji, a
Parmar king in 1681. He built a temple of his deity Bhagwan Shri Narsingh and
named the fort after him. He also built a tank Paras Ram Sagar which still
bears the name of the founder. The rulers of Narsinghgarh believe themselves to
be direct descendents of legendary Kings Vikramaditya and Bhoja. This Fort is
the most majestic among the forts of Parmar Kings and is the third largest fort
of Madhya Pradesh after Gwalior and Mandu. This fort remained in hands of the same
dynasty before being merged into union of India in 1948.
We
were welcomed by
a Gateway adorned with beautiful carvings all over its surface. This Gateway
used to be the main door to enter the Fort. Peeping through the doorway, the
palace was now visible.
A large open courtyard welcomed us. And at the head of the corridor was
an imposing building, probably the King’s palace. Since there was no ASI Board,
so unfortunately, I cannot give the name and details of whatsoever about it.
However, I would try to give you a photo tour of the Fort, so you can
understand it better by yourself.
Seeing this building, one can’t stop but imagine how
beautiful and majestic would it be, when the Parmara kingdom was at its peak of
glory.
The King’s palace is a beautiful four-storey
building having very impressive carvings over it. The designs carved over the
walls can be still seen today.
Unfortunately, the condition of this palace is
pitiful. Look at this portico with the carvings…… it is practically covered
with lichen!
A series of doors through the King’s palace
leads to an open courtyard with 2 storey building surrounding it from all four
sides.
We reached the upper storey by following a
narrow staircase that ended up in a gallery; old, ignored but still in very
good condition.
From the gallery was also a view of another palace
complex, much grand than the other buildings, but that too in dilapidated
condition.....
One could see the renovation done to this palace.
As we walked through the entire complex, the
silence was so audible, that our voice echoed through halls, making the
experience an unforgettable one…….!!
Just outside this palace complex was a small temple, probably the oldest and most preserved monument of the whole fort. The holy shrine was empty without any idol, but I guess, this temple was dedicated to Lord Narsingh, after whom the Fort and town was named.
As we moved towards the posterior of fort, we got
this appealing view of the palace.
Within these are the more buildings, few of which survive. They give us a peep into life in this Fort, all
those centuries ago…..…..when people would have looked out of these windows……..
The fort has witnessed so many generations and the strains are apparent.
Most of it stands in ruin but only remnants of it still standing, but still it
made us wonder as how magnificent and alluring it would have be, at the height
of its glory.
It was a pity that throughout our stay here, we couldn’t find any guard or any ASI Board declaring it a protected monument. Most of it lies in
ruins…..nature has taken over it. Completely ignored, soon this fort will
disappear among shrubs and trees.
We would have stood there and watched it for more time, but the time was
rushing by and we to go a long distance back home. We geared our bikes and
moved off making our way in the drizzling monsoon rains through ravishing green
fields along the way.