Jodhpur Dairies| Mehrangarh Fort-Gates | Part 3

Mehrangarh Fort :

We had just finished exploring Sardar Market and Toorji ka Jalra ( Click here if you want to read the earlier post) , we  were so excited discussing the architectural marvel of  Toorji ka Jalra and as how animals and human roam commonly at Sardar Market. 

Toorji Ka Jalra -The stepwells

We were now gearing up to go to our next destination, which was Mehrangarh Fort. We again turned to the locals for guidance and were happy to know that Mehrangarh fort is not too far from Toorji ka Jalra so we again started walking through the narrow alleys of Jodhpur

Narrow alleys of Jodhpur

However we soon realised though Mehrangarh fort is near but the climb was very steep. As we are trekker so for us it was not much of a task. The climb from the town to the top took us around 15-20 minutes, but the steepness of the climb and the satiating heat ensured that we gulped down at least one litre water. 
Uff Rajasthan ki Garmi !!!

The steep climb to the Fort

The route we took to reach Mehrangarh is basically a pedestrian route, actually there is another route on which the vehicles ply.This we realised when we reached the entrance of the Mehrangad fort where  there was a huge parking lot with tourist buses and taxis. Standing here one realise how huge the fort is.

The tall standing Fort

Mehrangad ....Naam hi kafi Hai

And why do I say this,well as soon as you get down from the train at Jodhpur Station,one thing that you cannot miss is this gigantic fort lording over the Jodhpur city. Perched on a Rocky Hill of more than 400 feet it sits like a crown. I'm told it's one of the largest fort of Rajasthan, it contains some of the finest palaces and its museum contains many priceless relics of golden times of Kings and queens.

Mehrangarh Fort

Well, back to our story, we sat for few minutes at the parking to catch our breath and gulped some more water. Now an important thing to note here is that the security guys don't allow any kind of eatables in your bags hence we had to deposit all of chips and other snacks at the counter. Dil ke armaan aanso me beh Gaye.... Kya Kya Socha Tha, Fort ki top per Jodhpur the blue city ko dekte hue we will munch this snacks...shh flop show ,but never mind chote chote shahero me aasi choti choti baate ho jati Hai. So obediently we deposited everything with the security guy and moved towards the ticket counter.

Security check just before the entrance

But before entering the first gate one cannot help noticing a beautiful chatri  of Thakur Chauhan Shyam Singh. Cradled at the base of the fort it offers beautiful sight and also give you the idea of the amazing sights to follow.This is actually a memorial for a brave soldier Thakur Chauhan Shyam Singh who fought brilliantly but lost his life defending the Mehrangad fort from Jaipur army.

Beautiful Chatri

Entry to the fort is gained though a series of seven gates.
The most famous of the gates are:

Jai Pol ("Gate of Victory"): 

Jai Pol

This gate was built by Maharaja Man Singh in 1806 to celebrate his victory in a war with Jaipur and Bikaner. As you enter through this gate you would be taken in by the exquisite painting adorning the flanks of the gate.

Exquisite painting on walls
next to the entrance door

After entering this entrance gate just on the left side is the Ticket counter, from where we bought the tickets and also paid for the guide, Ab yeh alag baat hai ki guide se jyada Google ne enlighten kiya tha. One can also get Audio Guide with Headphones from this ticket counter

Moving towards the next gate with
Palkikhana on right side.

Moving little ahead of the ticket counter we came across a small area know as Palkikhana, well this Palkikhana dates to late 19thcentury and it once housed  the luxurious Palanquins alias Palki that carried the Maharajas in Grand ceremonial processions and of course the beautiful royal ladies when they ventured out of their zenana Khana.

Palkikhana ( Now its a Food shop)

Dedh Kambra Gate:

Moving ahead of this we see another gate known as Dedh Kambra Gate. The significant thing about this gate is the bastion wall which has this holes or dent marks.

Which according to our guide was due to heavy shelling of cannon balls done by the then Jaipur army. However ever after all this the wall stood strong and the fort couldn't be won.

Cannon balls dent 

Story on the Wall

We walked through this gate only to come out in a section which had a canon on our right and the next gate on our left 

Cannon next to the gate 

and the gigantic fort looking upon us like some huge giant and we come across the next gate. Gate Fateh Pol.

Gigantic fort above us

Fateh Pol :  This gate was built to celebrate a victory over the Mughals in 1707.

View from Fateh Pol

Another noteworthy thing next to this gate was a small memorial. Our guide informed us that there is a tragic tale behind this.

 Raja Ram Meghwa memorial stone

 The legend goes that when Maharaja Rao Jodha encroached on the ashram of Cheeranathji, who got enraged and cursed that the kingdom will suffer the wrath of droughts. Though the Maharaja tried to pacify the hermit , but the damage was done and the curse couldn't be revoked, it's here that a local by the name Raja Ram Meghwal offered himself as human sacrifice to change the course of the curse then there was another local tale that the Raja Ram Meghwal was interred alive in the foundation of the fort....Uff kitna tension Tha...I felt sad but then these things happens to poor people.

Notice on the right Raja Ram Meghwal memorial and the changing colours of the fort stones

Our guide informed us that actually the original fort started from the point where we are standing, one can see the change in the stone colour white stone and then red stone. The subsequent kings made the new additions to the fort hence the different styling in the fort construction.

Different strokes of colour as we climb from here to next gate

Walking on a little steep climb further we come across another prominent gate but just before this gate you see local musicians playing different musical instruments giving the whole ambiance of Rajasthani touch. 

Rajasthani Music played by local musicians

Crossing over from here we come to the last main entrance known as Loha Pol or Iron Gate

Loha Pol :

This gate is known as Loha Pol or iron gate. There are many interesting things about this gate, the first being that this gate is on a turn which manages to slow down the attacking army, secondly being on the turn the elephants cannot get a start run to ram the doors

 and to further neutarise the attacks there are iron spikes on the doors which could very well injure the forehead of the raging elephants of enemies. How gruesome! But then that's how the wars were fought

Iron spikes on the doors

Loha Pol, in a way is the final gate into the main part of the fort complex. As soon as we enter through it we Immediately see on our left side  some interesting handprints and mind you these are not some vague representation of handprints, I was told these handprints are the final memories of the women who left the fort to be Sati.

Handprints  of the women
who left the fort to be Sati.

While the wall on the right had 5 handprints of the ranis who in 1843 immolated themselves on the funeral pyre of their husband, Maharaja Man Singh.

5 handprints of the Ranis

From here we finally enter the fort,on the left there is a long rampant wall which had cannons mounted on them and on the right side we enter into the world of palaces, palanquins and Houdahs. 

Are you not excited to know about them, well stay tuned for my next blog till then happy reading. Thank You !

Jodhpur Diaries | Toorji Ka Jhalra | Part 2

After finishing the Sardar Market (Click here to read part 1) we came out from the gate opposite to the Nai Sarak gate. Immediately after coming out we inquired from the local shopkeeper as to where is Toorji ka Jhalra,

Back gate of Sardar Market

Luckily for us he knew to the place and directed us.You must be wondering as what is this Toorji ka Jhalra, Well Chalo aaj aap ki class leta hu, Please bore mat hona Stepwells in most part of India are known as bavri or bawdi but here in Jodhpur it's called Jhalra. Toorji ka Jhalra is an ancient stepwell. One can easily reach this place by simply inquiring from the locals.

Narrow streets with Blue houses

 A little walk through the narrow alleys,local blue houses and in hardly 10 mins you are at Toorji ka Jhalra Stepwell. Standing at the road level one cannot gauge as to what is in store for him or her unless one climb few steps and reach the edge of the stepwell. That is the reason I didn't divulge any information to any of my co travelers, I wanted to surprise them. Hence just like a magician who is ready to unveil the secret magical object , I called all of them to the edge and  then called out to open their eyes. I  got the response that I was seeking  from them and yes it was simply   WOW.

I could see the sparkle in their eyes. Who could have thought that such beautiful historical treasures lies in the narrow alleys of this Blue city. 

Wow Moment

Let me inform you Jodhpur is full of such hidden stepwells,some are explored while some lies buried due to neglect. I'm told there are more than 100 such hidden stepwells. According to Rajyavallabh and Prasad Mandan, two traditional books on town planning in Rajasthan, an ideal city should have 40 stepwells. Ab dekhna yeh tha ki Jodhpur me kitni milti hai dekne ko So for a start Toorji ka Jhalra was the first one to be visited by us.

All over India, stepwells are on the verge of extinction, barring a few big ones that have survived  the test of time are being turned into local tourist wonders. Jodhpur, however, has the unique distinction of not only maintaining these structures well, but also using the water for domestic and recreational purposes. In fact, the city’s stepwell system is an example of what can be achieved through people’s participation.

\Why I said people participation, Actually due to neglect these stepwells were buried underneath the heap of debris, waste, mud etc but then the local volunteer through community efforts cleared and cleaned these hidden treasures.

View at the bottom 

Folklore.

While talking to the local guide,he gave me an interesting insight to these stepwells. According to him there is a folklore about Jodhpur having a curse. In the mid 15th century, the king of Mandore , Rao Jodha, was keen on moving his capital to an elevated spot from where he could defend the empire against frequent attacks by enemies. He found Chidia-tunk, a 125m-high rocky hill, ideal for this. However, inorder to build Mehrangarh Fort, he had to  encroach upon the hermitage of Saint Chiriya Nathji, who in anger cursed that the new city would face  constant famines.In response to  the curse the king realised  that they will have to safeguard themselves against this curse, Hence  town planners thought of this water conservation tool of stepwells.

Mehrangad fort is on the hilltop, the walled city of Jodhpur is located at the foot of Chidia-tunk. This made it possible to supply water through a gravity-led system. A vast network of lakes and canals were built in the hills around the city, while wells, stepwells (bawri), step ponds (jhalara) and tanks became a common feature in the plains.

Intricate carvings around Windows

Those maze of steps , the carvings on the stone , for me these stepwells are nothing but architectural delights to be relished.

Fact File of Toorji ka Jhalra

Toorji ka Jhalra was built in the 1740s by Maharaja Abhay Singh's queen consort which was in keeping with the age old tradition of ladies of the royal family building Public water works. The Jhalra was primarily used by women, as fetching and storing water was one of their principal household chores.The Jhalra is embellished with intricate carving of dancing elephants, Medieval Lion and cow shaped water sprouts.

Some more carvings

I think enough of Gyan for today. We were running like mad up and down the stone stairs of this step well enjoying every nook and corner of this well.

Running up and down, exploring every nook and corner

The water below have lots of fishes in it.The depth of the stepwells was nothing less than 200 feets.

Its Show time for the Gang

We took few photos to mark our presence. I had to drag everyone out because our next destination Mehrangad fort was beckoning us.

Our Team