ruins of forts, beneath their decaying exteriors, are wizened storytellers… at peace with the encroaching shrubbery, defecating humans and tenant bats, as their stories retire into the annals of history, they subtly assume role of observers in stasis… between warrior kings and wasted princes, the sombre chambers let go of the bricks and mortar… the foundations, though, remain…
there are two kinds, the ones deserted, where the roofs fall off, making the walls seem all the more ghostly, eerie echoes emanating from dark, dank corners, studious rodents scurrying about… and the other ones occupied, their façade dilapidated and the occupants even more so, as if the social order has been inverted… what was once the abode of royalty becomes a decaying diatribe of the paupers on rights and inheritances…
yet ruins aren’t all about melancholy, the winds whistle through these jamborees of vegetation and masonry, rustling up the remnants of past glories, and crickets keep up the legacy of court musicians… the visage is craggy, but the soul is intact, the stories are alluring, the tragedies are Shakespearean… more than the ghosts of the past, it’s the mischief makers of the present that lend them notoriety, but the ruins of forts remain nonchalant, for in a game of patience, the inanimate always holds the edge…
from the base of these forts, civilizations continue and habitations flourish… the forts look around and see villages grow into towns, towns into cities and cities into a fresh set of catacombs… they see the skies fall in submission and the earth rise in rebellion… they treat deceit and bravery, expansions and encroachments, with the same amusing smirk…
of course one cannot belittle the edifices still standing, to keep them in an immaculate condition requires painstaking effort and perseverance… through them one gets a more tangible platform to reconstruct history… with ruins though, all is left to the imagination… the feeling of decadence might be the same with all ruins, but the ways civilizations branch out of the rubbles are myriad… in that way, a fort may be akin to a tree, even if uprooted, it gives way to more life…
musings on forts…
Such an Amazing Post on the less known forts of India. Every time we talk about Red Fort and the Chittorgarh Fort and these ones are pretty much neglected. But they too are a part of our heritage equally. Thanks a lot for giving this informative post.
Such good information regarding fort, past a week ago I was there Taragarh fort its such beautiful fort who has settled many memories in himself, the view that is seen from inside the fort is really very beautiful, you must go there once, especially the fort in front, from where the view is very clear.