Chatrapathi Shivaji Museum in Aurangabad City

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

If you want to know Chatrapathi Shivaji inside out then this is the place to see. This museum is located in Aurangabad City.

The museum has an entry fee of Rs. 5 and no photography is allowed.

The museum features Guns, Swords and Daggers used by either Shivaji or his men in that era.

It also features the coins in use in the era of Shivaji, Portuguese, Tipu Sultan, Bahamani Kings, Nizamshah and Adilshah.

Cannon are placed all over the museum, I like the two black cannon placed back to back which also had cannon balls placed next to them.

Armour used then by the soldiers is also on display. But there is no mention as to who wore it.

Museum also features the household articles used then. The articles were beautifully made of various metals and beautifully carved too. The hukah is what caught my eye, it was beautifully made and carved.

There is a photo collection of the forts of Shivaji all over the place.

Paithani Sarees worn by the women then is also up for display.

There is a beautiful painting of the Coronation of Shivaji Maharaj amongst the audience.

The seal used by Shivaji in his regime is also up for display.

The museum though not complete but it still features things in use in the era of Shivaji Maharaj. A must for a hardcore fan of Shivaji.

Vijaydurg

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Finally at 11 am we reached Devgad ST bus stand. The bus to Vijaydurg was at 1130 am. So we decided to refresh ourselves with some sugarcane juice at the sugarcane juice centre located at the entrance of the bus depot. 

Vijaydurg Fort from VIjaydurg Village

We then headed to the bus, only to find that the bus that had dropped us here from Kunkeshwar was going to take us to Vijaydurg.

Got ourselves a ticket at Rs. 58 for the 1 ½ hour journey only to be dropped off at the entrance of the fort. 

We were told by the bus conductor that the last bus is at 1630 hours to Devgad ST bus stand. 

Temple in fort premises

History states that this fort was constructed by Raja Bhoj of Shilahar Dynasty between 1193 AD to 1205 AD. Its original name was Gheria Fort. It was situated near village Girye.

Shivaji Maharaj won this fort from Adilshah of Bijapur in 1653 and renamed it Vijaydurg.

The massive walls of the fort were impressive. This 17 acre fort is 2/3 in the water and 1/3 on land access via land and has 17 bastions on it. Each of the bastions named after a particular person or God I guess. 

Cannons placed at the entrance of the fort

At the entrance of the fort is a house and a temple, the temple is painted orange in color. A few cannons were located there; they were mounted on the mud bricks.

At the main entrance of the fort are placed cannon balls on either side of the passage. There are many houses in its premises, though most of them are unoccupied but they are in good condition.

We decided to survey the entire fort by walking on the walls of the fort.  The walls give an amazing view of the sea and the village based near the fort.  It also offers a view of the fortification, similar to the one I saw in Lohgad. located near Visapur and Bhaje Caves.  

Fortification reminded me of Lohgad Fort

The walls were so broad that they could accommodate house like structures, a few of them have shapes in them like doors and windows and a few have tiled roofs. There are many with broken roofs too which have fallen within the structures.

Couldn’t stop myself from taking at photo at this place. Photo courtesy Hithakshi. 

That's Me

This fort had two walls for protection, one on the outside and the other on the inside, the outer one being small in height compared to the one inside.

Some parts of the fort are being redone, a big thanks to the guys who are trying to conserve our history.

We saw that one of the bastions was broken down; I guess this was done when a cannon ball was fired onto it from a sea vessel. I could see the damage it created. The impact bought down the entire bastion. 

View from the Fort Walls

I noticed that there are small openings in the wall for guns to shoot at the sea vessel, but what caught my eye is this mother opening that housed six small openings. I have been too many forts but something like this I noticed for the first time.

There were rooms for ammunition on the fort as well.

There are many huge structures placed all over the fort, they have windows in them but no roofs. No wonder what these were used for?

How I wish I had a time machine that could transport me in time.

One of the many structures built on the Fort

There are guides here who give information on the fort, but each guide interprets the fort differently. There is no uniformity in the information provided.

It takes around 4 hours to view the fort in entirety.

Again there were many idiots here who have ruined the walls by writing their names all over it.

Few visitors, maybe it was afternoon so it didn’t attract many. But to see this fort it takes around four hours so you will be baked in the sun. 

I located many of these unique slots on the fort walls, Maybe they were used to shot at the enemy outside the fort

This journey of ours through this magnificent fort was truly amazing. But we had to leave at our bus was at 1630 hours and to top it, it was the last bus for the day.

This fort surely ranks in the class of Murud Janjira. A beautiful fort.

A must on your trip to Devgad. 

Ganpatipule Roadtrip (Jaigad and Ratnadurg Fort trek)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Maharashtra is home to a number of beautiful places. One such place is Ganpatipule, located in Ratnagiri district.

My family reached Ganpatipule at 4 in the evening. We had snacks at MTDC Resorts - Narang Hotel and then decided to hit the beach. One good thing about MTDC Resorts is that all the cottages give you a great view of the sea. That evening we spent the day at the beach. 

That night We enjoyed dinner at Abhishek Resort at Bhandarpule which is an upcoming place. The authorities are constructing a highway around here which will connect Ganpatipule to Ratnagiri city and save both time and gas.

The ambience at Abhishek Resort was quite nice but since it was far away from the main city of Ganpatipule, there was no one there to have dinner except for the people staying in the resort. We had dinner and headed back to our resort.

Beach at Ganpatipule 

DAY 2: We decided to go and see Jaigad Fort. The fort was around 40 km from the MTDC Resort. It took us two hours to reach it. Although the entire fort is in ruins, the walls of the fort still stand strong. This 17th century fort, perched on a cliff overlooking the confluence of the Sangameshwar River and the Arabian Sea, offers spectacular views of the village and the sea.

There is a moat which surrounds the fort from the land entrance. Inside the fort there is a temple, a few ruins of houses and a resting place for the soldiers. There were two square shaped wells, around five storeys deep, inside the fort. They had some water in them. I shudder to think of the fate of anyone who would happen to fall into the wells. It would not be easy to get out and help would be miles away.

Darwaja to Jaigad Fort

I was hungry again so we decided to head back to Ganpatipule. We had lunch at Krishnali Resort at Bhandarpule. This place was deserted as it is far from the city. Once again we ate alone.

Krishnali Resort serves the most wonderful fish thalis. The fish slices in my thali were gigantic. It was also served solkadi after lunch. After a heavy meal, We decided to head back to our resort where we rested for some time and then enjoyed the evening at the beach.

DAY 3: Ratnagiri city is around 45 km from Ganpatipule. Here we saw Ratnadurg fort which is around 10 km from the main city. This fort was built by the Bahamani rulers way back in 1350 AD. In 1670 Shivaji conquered the fort from Adilshah, the ruler of Bijapur. The fort traded hands a couple of times and at last landed in the hands of the British.

The fort is 1300 metres long and 100 metres wide. It has steep cliffs on all sides. The fort is rather well maintained. It consists of a temple, a few houses and away in a distance, there is a lighthouse.

Ratnadurg Fort

Another attraction there is the Thebaw Palace which was built in 1910-11. The King and Queen of Burma stayed there during their exile. The British let King Thebow build the palace the way he wanted. The palace looked like an Old Portuguese bungalow. The King and the Queen spent a major part of their lives there. A part of the palace has been converted into a museum and old stone sculptures dating back to the 10th century have been kept. It also has the throne of the King and the Queen. The place also includes the tombs of the royal couple. 

Thebaw Palace

All that exploration makes a man hungry. I took leave of the palace and went off in search of some place where I could eat. We had lunch at Hotel Vivek. Everything about this place was good. The ambience was soothing and the food was delicious. The place was crowded and there were still more people waiting outside for their turn. After a heavy meal consisting of fish and chicken, We decided to check out the local bazaar at Ratnagiri.

With any luck, I’d be able to lay my hands on the famous Alphonso mangoes, known locally as Hapus mangoes. But it seemed that lots of hard cash, not luck, was what was needed. The prices were exorbitant. We came away without buying any.

On the last day of our trip, I decided to try some of the water sports that the resort had on its own premises. I had great fun in the speed boat and on the motor scooter.

DAY 4: We left early on Sunday morning to come home. It had indeed been a most exciting and refreshing holiday