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Rocky route to the past
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Revisit history at Gingee
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"KAALAYLA SAAPIDALAYA SAAR?" My sprightly 55-year old guide looks at me with a mixture of concern and amusement as I heave myself laboriously up to the main fort. The top of the fort seems as if it is miles away but I grit my teeth and haul myself over the steps, a total of 1120 to be precise, that seem to get steeper as it nears the top.
Don't trust an archaeology official if he tells you the summit can be reached in half an hour's time. Don't go up without a decent pair of walking shoes. And don't make the journey up without water.
During those moments when you are not panting (or cursing yourself for having accepted this travel assignment instead of one that merely involves taking lazy boat rides), the journey up can be fascinating. With every step, the view of the plains becomes wider — an expanse of fields and rocky outcrops. Mandapams adorn the pathway, where palanquin bearers once waited in batches, to relieve their counterparts and take up the task of ferrying royalty to the citadel. Thanking my luck for not being born a palanquin bearer, I arrive exhausted but happy atop Rajagiri, the biggest of the three forts in Gingee (pronounced Senjee). The reward for making it to the top? The romantic ruins of a treasury, an audience hall, a mandapam and a disused temple. The historian Robert Orme wrote that the highest reaches of Gingee seemed so unassailable that it could be held by 10 men against 10,000. However, these forts, which form a triangle on three Charnockite hills, Rajagiri, Krishnagiri and Chandragiri, fell to a succession of rulers. Over the centuries, these stark and rugged fortifications have come under the sway of various powers, feudatories of the Mughals, the French and the British. Popular ballads exist of a young ruler Raja Desingh who died on its slopes when battling the armies of Arcot.
Those less energetic (or plain lazy) will be pleased to know that there is plenty to be seen also in the inner fort area, which lies at the foot of Rajagiri. The Kalyana Mahal, a recreation area for the queens, is unarguably the most arresting structure, its tall tower overlooking a square court that is surrounded by 'apartments' for the women. A mosque, gymnasium, granary, elephant baths, stables and a prisoner's well (which is really a circular brick wall) are some of the other structures in this area.
Gingee town, a non-descript ten-hectare township with 30,000 people, lies nearby. There's not much to speak of by way of accommodation. But if you are planning to stay overnight, the town can be used as a base to visit one or two other places nearby.
Where to stay: Hotel A.N.A and Hotel Sivasand are within a radius of 2 kms of the fort, rates Rs 50 to 500 per day.
Places you can visit: Singavaram, known for its Ranganatha rock cut temple (5 kms) and Panamalai famous for Pallava paintings (18kms).
Pic & text: SANGEETH KURIAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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