Holding fort at Nagaur
Shona Adhikari

THE drive to Nagaur from Jodhpur is smooth. It takes about three hours from Jodhpur, to reach Ahhichatragarh (or the ‘Fort of the Hooded Cobra’), the 12th century fort at Nagaur. A longish stint after independence, found it being altered rather unimaginatively, when it became the base of a BSF battalion. This was when arches of a pavilion were filled in to create barracks and frescoes covered with lime-wash. USA’s Ghetty Foundation made Ahhichatragarh the recipient of their first financial grant for a project in India.

Nagaur, 135 km northeast of Jodhpur, is known as the venue of one of India’s largest cattle fairs, held around the January every year. Originally a mud fortification, built in the 4th century by the Nagvanshi Dynasty, to whom it owes its name, is located in the heart of the city of Nagaur. It stretches across 36.54 acres and within its massive walls and seven gates, it encloses four palaces and 60 buildings small and large, gardens, tanks, pavilions — built in the best traditions of Rajput and Mughal architecture.

Managed by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, the restoration work on Ahhichatragarh, became possible thanks to a generous grant from the Ghetty Foundation of USA. What has been achieved so far is partial conservation in which major buildings have been repaired and made safe for visitors. Frescoes in the palaces, repair of jharokas, stone filigree, lintels and arches have all been restored over the last three years.

Ahhichatragarh was chosen for an award from a total of 46 entries from fifteen countries within the Asia and the Pacific region. The selection panel included seven international conservation experts, whose reasons for choosing the Nagaur Fort, were spelt out by the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, Richard Engelhard when he said, "Ahhichattragarh fulfils in every possible way the criterion set out by UNESCO. The rigorous conservation process used in this project combines the application of modern scientific techniques with the revival of traditional crafts and materials — making it an ideal venue for festivals, religious events and other community activities and thus allowing for the continuity for the Fort’s rich history".

An amazing engineering feat is the fort’s unique water system that is yet to be addressed in totality. Being located at the very border of the Thar Desert, available water had to be recycled with the help of pipes, cascades, fountains and Persian wheels to all the palaces and the innumerable fountains inside the fort. Particularly interesting is the concept of running a water channel along the top of a wall and taking advantage of water pressure as it runs down pipes to push the flow up to the upper floor, by the sheer force of the water.

The water system, including the many fountains, have remained neglected for a great many years. While the project has managed to ascertain the locations of pipes and fountains, the water system needs to be taken up as a whole new project. In the process, there will be much to learn about techniques used in days of yore. Involved as we all are these days with environmental concerns, for modern water conservationists there are likely to be many lessons worth learning here at Ahhichatragarh, on the recycling of water.

Meenakshi Jain, who is spearheading the restoration work, feels that despite the neglect and vandalism, these buildings are still standing after centuries — pointing to the excellence of building methods. Artisans and craftsmen had to be specially trained for the project. They had to learn the delicate art of removing later constructed portions, without disturbing the earlier and then looking for clues under the debris, for the foundations of old buildings. They learnt to recreate earlier designs of stone carvings, to match adjacent surfaces and to make various traditional plasters such as the lustrous shell plaster known as ‘kody’. Also used were mortar mixes with ingredients such as gur (jaggery), guggal (gum) and methi (fenugreek), to create a mortar mix that is completely waterproof.

The success of Ahhichatragarh, offers hope for the vast number of ancient monuments that we see crumbling around us, all over the country.

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