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One legacy of India’s
rich and varied history is the numerous forts and palaces that dot the
country’s landscape. Bindu Manchanda
looks at them in detail in Forts
and Palaces of India: Sentinels of History
IN popular imagination, forts and palaces are redolent of mystique, romance, pleasure and intrigue; but above all—melding beauty and grace with strength and substance — these proud sentinels are living reminders of India’s breathtakingly rich civilisation and culture. The earliest reference to forts and palaces in India can be found in the Vedas. Vedic hymns mention pur several times, which could refer to a rampart or a fort or a stronghold. The Vedic deity Indra is specially referred to as Purandara or ‘destroyer of forts’; Historians aver that the pur that the Vedas refer to were in fact the defensive structures built by the inhabitants of the Harappa or the Indus Valley Civilisation, and Indra’s ‘rending forts as age consumes a garment’ is a reference to the invading Aryan hordes who, in all likelihood, overran the remnants of the Harappan civilisation. Other notable references to forts in ancient texts include those in the Arthashastra, the 4th-century classic on statecraft attributed to Kautilya; the Vastushastra, the ancient manuals on town planning and architecture; and in the Mayamata, the South Indian treatise on architecture written sometime between the 9th and the 12th century. The earliest surviving forts in India date back to the 8th century AD. A notable example is the fort at Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, which was built in AD 728. Most of India’s surviving forts, however, were built from the 12th century onwards, like the Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan and the Golconda Fort near Hyderabad. While hardly any forts and palaces built before the 12th century remain standing there is ample evidence that they existed from accounts left by travellers archaeological finds, ancient cave paintings, as well as mention in ancient texts and treatises on architecture and statecraft. Archaeological evidence that a fairly sophisticated civilisation flourished at the time is available in the form of remains of pottery and artefacts in sites throughout this region. Megasthanes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya in the 4th century BC described the king’s palace at Pataliputra as set amidst gardens, with a series of open halls supported by wooden columns decorated in gold and silver. The Palace, according to him, surpassed the grandeur of the Achaemenid palaces of Sousa and Ecbatana in Persia. The veracity of Megasthanes’s account has been bolstered by recent excavations that have revealed some remains of the Mauryan Palace in Patna, the present day city at the site of Pataliputra. The cave temples of western Deccan, excavated and sculpted between 100 BC and 170 AD; the frescoes of Ajanta, the description of Emperor Harshavardhan’s Raj Bhavan or royal palace in the 7th century by Banbhatta in Kadambri and Harshacharita — all bear testimony to the fact that ancient India had many palaces and forts that were the envy of foreign travellers. But why have none of them survived? Are the ravages of time the only explanation? The reason could also lie in the Hindu belief that temples as the abode of gods, were sacrosanct and had to be preserved at all costs, while palaces and homes, however beautiful, had a temporal and utilitarian role, and were therefore expendable. Another reason that there are no remains of palaces and forts from the ancient times could be the predominant use of wood as the basic material of construction, which made them susceptible to decay and destruction. Moreover very often, rulers felt the need to build their own palaces, their own forts and even their own new capital, rather than maintain and restore those of their predecessors. Indian rulers, whether
Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, closely followed the rules and conventions
laid out in their respective texts, both religious and secular, in all
aspects of their life . There has always existed in India a strong
link between cosmology, astrology and architecture. Therefore places
of worship, forts, palaces and even entire cities were planned, built
and developed based on certain rules and principles.
According to Vastushastra, the royal city should be planned according to mandalas — sacred diagrams, which represent the cosmos in a miniature form. According to Tillotson, possibly the single most important element introduced into late-Hindu secular architecture by the Indo-Islamic architectural tradition is the appearance of the true arch. It is only after the Muslim conquests that the traditional Hindu trabeate system, which consisted of horizontal beams or lintels, was slowly replaced by the true arch. The cusped arch however was used in Hindu architecture and appears in ancient temples such as the 8th century temple of Martand near Anantnag and the 10th century temple of Pandrethan, both in Kashmir. It is also found in the temple architecture in Khajuraho. However, it began to be used extensively only from the 18th century onwards, after its use was perfected by the Mughals, especially during the reign of Shah Jahan (r.1627-58). The medieval palaces were usually fortified, contained, protected and heavily secured, probably due to the relentless strife and invasions from the early-12th century onwards. It is only much later, in the 19th century, after signing of peace treaties between the native states of India and the British, that another distinct palace architectural style, popularly known as the Indo-Saracenic style, emerged. The Indo-Saracenic style represents a fusion of Indo-Islamic and European architectural ideas. The treaties signed with the British ensured peace and left the Indian maharajas with caches of money that had earlier been spent on maintaining huge armies and waging wars. New palaces, modelled on the European style, started replacing the older ones and reflected the newly acquired tastes of the maharajas. The durbar halls were replaced by magnificent hallrooms, mural paintings were discarded for glittering chandeliers and heavily embroidered fabrics on low-style seating was replaced by French furniture. The British architect Samuel Swinton Jacob is credited with this revival. Palaces designed by him make abundant use of traditional features such as jalis (ornamented pierced stone-screen), jharokas (decorative projecting balcony), chattris (roof-top pavilion with dome or vault; funerary monument), cusped arches and bangle roofs. This ‘neo-Rajput’ style took a firm hold on the Indian maharaja’s imagination and nearly all palaces built in this period were executed in this style. The result, despite being slightly idiosyncratic, was not without charm. The happy intermingling of western style arcades and towers with jharokas and jalis resulted in some impressive palaces, like the Baroda Palace, which was designed by Charles Mant. In the 20th century came a new sensibility, the thoroughly modern art-deco style that can be seen in the palaces at Indore, and at Morvi in Gujarat that was designed by Eckart Muthesius. Independence brought with it an end to palace building but not without a final triumph. Work on the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur built on the design by Lanchester and Lodge of London, started in 1929 and the palace was ready only by 1944, equalling if not exceeding in magnificence the Viceroy’s palace in New Delhi. After the merger of the princely states with the Union of India in 1947 and with the abolition of the privy purses — annual remittances guaranteed by law, by the government of India to the princes whose states were absorbed into the Indian Union—in 1970, the upkeep of the palaces became prohibitively expensive and suffered as a result. In the ensuing period many were abandoned or taken over by the government, while some continued to remain in private hands and serve as private residences of the erstwhile royals. A lot of them have been converted into heritage hotels (with some sections being used as private residences). One of the best examples of a royal residence cum luxury hotel is the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. A large part of the Jai Niwas in Gwalior continues to be occupied by the royal family of Scindias, while the Gaekwads retain Lakshmi Vilas in Baroda and the Wodeyars of Mysore still own a large section of the Mysore city palace. Many palaces have been converted into museums under private or government management. Old palaces are also being used as administrative offices in many cities and towns. In the 19th century, many forts had ugly barracks erected within their compounds by the British to house soldiers and many of them are still occupied by the Indian army. The Red Fort in Delhi and the Kangla Fort in Assam have only recently been freed of the army’s presence and are now being restored. The future of Indian forts and palaces seems to be brighter than what it was ten years ago. Both the government and the private owners are keenly aware of the need to maintain these priceless legacies from India’s past, and also all their potential as revenue-generating properties. Organisations like INTACH (The Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage), the A.S.I. (Archaeological Survey of India) and other heritage societies, private trusts and individuals are actively involved in conservation efforts. The forts and palaces of
India are timeless and it is incumbent upon the present generation to
preserve them for posterity. |
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