Tracing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's legacy through majestic forts

With over 300 forts to his name Shivaji Bhosle I popularly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 163080 built forts across the length and breadth of the Maratha kingdom ensuring his empire was under vigilance at all times Dr Sachin Vidyadhar Joshi researcher with the Department of Archaeology Deccan College Pune and a member of the Fort Conservation Committee Maharashtra Government explains ldquoShivaji Maharaj built restored and acquired four types of fortsmdashhill forts sea forts land forts and coastal forts Each of these were strategically planned for their geographical or political significance He wanted to expand the Hindavi Swarajya as far as possible and keeping them protected from attacks was of prime importancerdquo Today these architectural marvels stand tall to tell stories of that golden era On his birth anniversary we look at some of these iconic structuresUmberkhind fortDurgadi fort Kalyan WestSantosh Hasurkar founder of Durgveer an organisation that helps in the conservation of neglected forts says ldquoWersquove all heard of INS Shivaji Durgadi Fort might have had a small role to play in this Chhatrapati Shivaji is often called the Father of the Indian Navy and it was at Durgadi that he set up the dock for Hindavi Swarajyarsquos first Naval Baserdquo This is also where he manufactured ships for his naval operations Today the fort is partially restored and there is an archway and a temple of Goddess Durga that is open to tourists There is also a mosque on the premises built during Aurangzebrsquos reign before it was conquered by the Marathas The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation KDMC is currently working on building a naval museum near the fort that will showcase the naval history from the period of Chhatrapati Shivaji and its progression through various rulersUmberkhind fort KhopoliThe Umberkhind mountain pass on the Sahyadris is known for its trekking path that offers landscape views of the range and waterfalls from River Amba during the monsoon The fort however is most remembered for a guerilla battle that took place in the year 1661 between Kartalab Khan and the Marathas While Khan lost close to 500 men the casualties of the Marathas were less than onetenth of that Hasurkar explains ldquoThe warfare technique was in fact the reason why Shivaji Maharaj chose this fort He knew that the Maratha army would be outnumbered if they fought on flat land Hence the Maratha troops designed the battle within the mountains that ensured that Khanrsquos army was landlocked and had limited space to escape They even used the dense forest in the region to hiderdquo Later during the Vietnam war the Vietnamese army studied this warfare to fight the AmericansRaigad Fort RaigadShivaji Maharaj made this fort his capital because of its massive expanse steep slopes that allowed safety and its location which kept him close to the mainland and sea Vaibhav Purandare author of Shivaji Indiarsquos Great Warrior King says ldquoThink of this as a modernday townshipmdashthere were over 300 houses mansions staff quarters a market area offices and more The fort also had a water reservoir pathways temples and a gardenrdquo Inside the palace each chamber had a private restroom The fort rises 4449 feet above sea level in the Sahyadri mountains and takes four minutes to reach via the ropewayVijaydurg Fort SindhudurgThis sea fort built by Shivaji Maharaj is connected to land by a narrow road and is known to be one of the oldest forts in the district Joshi says ldquoVijaydurg withstood all attacks for 93 years It stands on a hill on the south of the Vaghotana river and is triple fortified making it inaccessible from the seaside It was also well planned for defence and offencemdashthe rival armiesrsquo ships could not enter the shallow creek or spot Maratha naval movementrdquo There are 17 towers on the topmost fortification used to store ammunition the other 10 twostoried towers were used for observation making it virtually unconquerableKhanderi Fort ThalThis sea fort is on Kanhoji Angre island near Thal close to Alibaug ldquoShivaji Maharaj selected this island to keep a check on the British trade route to Mumbai After a lot of resistance from the British Khanderi was finally occupied by the Marathas under the leadership of Mayank Bhandari who was then responsible for fortifying the walls and building the fortrdquo says Hasurkar Unfortunately the fort was ceded to Britain in 1818 They later built a 22ft high lighthouse there which can be seen from 13 km away Today the fort houses a few old metal canons the tomb of a local saint named Daud Pir and a musical stone that emits metallic notes when struck