The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Get a taste of local history on a daytrip

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Thursday, Jun 16, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Get a taste of local history on a daytrip

Special Correspondent

Nijagal fort, near Dobbspet, is a great place for learning and exploration

— PHOTO: K. GOPINATHAN

Lots in store:A 17th Century Wodeyar-style Vaishnavite temple in extreme disrepair at the Nijagal fort, 40 km from Bangalore city.

Bangalore: With a dargah and a small Hindu shrine sitting cheek by jowl inside a cave formed by the overlap of massive rock formations, it is one of the lesser-known places of syncretic worship that the Old Mysore region is famous for. Nijagal, however, is much more than just a pilgrimage spot.

Originally a village near one of the many rocky hillocks that dot the countryside along National Highway 4 to Tumkur, the hill fort of Nijagal, just 40 km from Bangalore city, is a little-known historical site with great tourist potential if developed creatively. It could offer hobbyists — walkers, photographers, local history buffs, even amateur geologists — an interesting half-day of exploration.

Palace on the hill

Even in its present state, Nijagal is a remarkable site. The name appears in five inscriptions: the first dating to the late 13th Century that mentions a “palace on the hill,” and the last, to the early 17th Century that mentions the construction of the fort during the reign of Chikkadevaraya.

Nijagal came under the successive control of several local ruling dynasties, including that of Hyder Ali and the Marathas. Too small to be of great political significance, Nijagal's rocky prominence gave it a strategic positioning and vantage point for the collection of tolls on the trade route. It was possibly this that made it a coveted possession for the small warring dynasties of the region in the 17th Century.

The ascent up the hill starts from a point across the railway track a few kilometres from Dobbspet on the national highway.

The gate to the fort is through a neck-like entrance that suddenly opens up into a picturesque green bowl ringed by intriguing rock formations.

A tank in the centre of the valley foregrounds a dargah, and, at a higher level on the hill, stands the ruins of a once-exquisite 17th Century Vaishnavite temple in the Wodeyar style.

The flat countryside of patchwork brown and green stretches away from the fort walls, while on the other side, the Nijagal hill rises precipitately. At its very summit, amidst the tumble of massive boulders and rocks, is another dargah and a Hindu shrine, both of which attract a brisk stream of visitors.

Garbage is a bother and an eyesore, even in a relatively less frequented spot such as Nijagal, and its monuments are at the mercy of the elements.

History project?

Heritage sites such as this one would perhaps best lend themselves to a private-public collaboration for their upkeep. A nearby school or institution, or a heritage club, could fruitfully collaborate with the district administration in keeping the place clean, putting up signage, and restoring the historical monuments.

Nijagal — and there are many similar sites in the area — could become an ideal project for a history club, where children could be taught to search for inscriptions and study contemporary sources to reconstruct a small but fascinating chapter of local history.

How to get there

Take the National Highway 4 towards Tumkur. Around 2 km from Dobbspet, turn left and drive under the railway bridge after you pass the Kamat restaurant. You'll find yourself at the base of the hill.

Pack caps, good shoes and water. You get great thatte idlis at the Kamat.

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