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"Where are you these days?" asked my cousin, calling me all the way from London. "I am now in Bangalore!" was my reply, "and as much as I'd love to sit and talk with you, I'm late for my bus leaving the city" I ended the conversation cutting her short. I had a long drive ahead, so I got my belongings together and boarded the early morning bus heading north.
Previous blog- Hogenakkal falls and Yercaud trip
VANI VILAS SAGARA DAM (Mari Kanive)
Is an 18th century engineering marvel dam on the river Vedavathi located approx 3 hrs/ 180 km from Bangalore and 4.30hrs/ 220km from Mysore. The same road goes further up north to Chitradurga, making for a great combo trip.
Travel tips-
This is a road trip along a major highway NH 48 from Bangalore that passes through Tumkur until Chitradurga. So keeping in mind the hectic Bangalore traffic conditions, be prudent and start the day early.
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| A panoramic view of Vani Vilas Sagara or Mari Kanive dam, Karnataka |
Getting to Mari Kanive dam
If you don't have your own vehicle, hire an auto from Hiriyur and be prepared for a long rough ride through kutcha (mud) roads of rural Karnataka. I also found out; my inability to communicate in Kannada was a great inconvenience. There are also less frequent state run buses from Hiriyur in case you don't mind waiting.
The surrounding area from Hiriyur until the dam is less inhabited, which is a good thing since heavy monsoons can cause the water level to rise. Close to the dam is a temple and a sparsely populated village. Dam timing is 8.30 am till evening.
Vani Vilas sagara dam water level warning, Aug 22
The dam's capacity is up to 130 feet. As on Aug 22, due to heavy monsoons there is news that the water level flowing from Vedavathi river into the dam has crossed 126 feet after 65 long years. Most likely villagers would be given evacuation alerts, so kindly review the latest situation before going.
CHITRADURGA fort and the legend of Madakari Nayaka
41 km/ 1 hour ahead of Hiriyur is Chitradurga, a fort with many historical legends mentioned in Kannada literature, but sadly of little significance in mainstream history. And that is why I strongly recommend visiting this amazing well-preserved fort.
Here is a pictorial representation of the fort's story and interesting legends.
Tip- Hiring a guide is a must as very little is mentioned in our history books. Guides are mostly kannada-speaking but manage some Hindi and English. They do not charge much and make the exploration worthwhile.
Since I was an 'alone lady' the ticket counter authorities initially refused to let me in stating it was for my own safety, and also that of 'the complete dept'.. but anyway that passed after I hired a guide who although spoke only kannada was a good decision.
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| Chitradurga fort - beautiful carved etching of God's and Goddesses right on the entrance wall near the ticket counter |
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| Chitradurga fort - beautiful carved etching of God's and Goddesses |
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| Chitradurga fort map plan shown as winding snake |
The snake engraving shown above is carved at the entrance wall of the fort. This winding snake carving is actually the Fort layout. It is quite clear that it's a zig-zag route, so as to reduce the speed of the enemy line
The fort was built in stages between the 17th and 18th centuries by the dynastic rulers of the region~ the Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, the Nayakas of Chitradurga and feudal lords of the Vijayanagar Empire. The Nayaks of Chitradurga or Palegar Nayakas, were mostly responsible for the expansion of the fort by 1800.
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| 1st doorway (entrance) of Chitradurga fort, Karnataka |
Material used for building the fort~ locally available granite stones. These were so strong that gunpowder was used to blast these rocks for building purposes.
The granite flooring has been set by the Archaeological dept. The fort originally had just plain, natural mud ground so elephants and horses could also move easily.
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| granite stone walls and flooring of Chitradurga fort, Karnataka |
The slots at the top (see below image)- are from where soldiers could fire at the enemy line.
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| Slots above the walls used for firing at enemy lines, Chitradurga fort Karnataka |
Madakari Nayaka (1758–1779) was a brave soldier and a shrewd administrator as well (also called Madakari Nayaka V). He allied himself with Haider Ali of the Mysore Kingdom at times and at other times with the Marathas.
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| Another doorway to the Chitradurga fort |
It was during his time that Haider Ali attacked the Chitradurga Fort. It is said that having been betrayed by the Marathas and some local officers, Madakari Nayaka was defeated by Hyder Ali, taken prisoner and killed. The Chitradurga Nayakas form an integral part of Kannada folklore.
The door to this gate had bells which rang when opened, thus signalling soldiers to open fire at the enemy, from openings on the opposite wall.
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| A doorway of Chitradurga fort Karnataka |
The Hidimba legend of Chitradurga fort Karnataka
My guide mentioned how the Hidimba legend is associated with this fort. In the Mahabharata, a Rakshasa named Hidimba and his sister Hidimbi lived in the hills of Chitradurga...
but as he was explaining, I strayed...into the beautiful landscape and how well the fort merged into it, like a work of art..
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| The beautiful natural surroundings of Chitradurga fort Karnataka |
The Nayaks did not belong to any royal lineage, but were actually local chiefs (Dandanayakas) under the Hoysala empire in what is present-day Karnataka.
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| A ritualistic stone at Chitradurga fort Karnataka |
Their Chief was Madakari Nayak and Chitradurga Fort was their stronghold.
The Nayaks were truly indigenous rulers and had their palaces ordinary looking and built of mud. This was a means of protection, both from outside envy-greed as well as the summer heat.
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| This mud wall is actually the palace wall of the Nayaka rulers, story of Chitradurga fort |
Have a look at this unassuming temple shrine~ who would have thought that it's actually a Treasury! Only the ruler and confidant knew about it. The guy who built it was apparently neutralized.
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| The Treasury room of Chitradurga fort Karnataka |
An Idol was kept on the top of this opening where ordinary people could worship.
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| A gap in the Temple camouflaged Treasury room. An idol on top concealed the gap. There is a deep cavity underneath to store wealth |
I asked my guide what happened to all the wealth; and he said "Hyder Ali sab kuch leke chala gaya (carried it all away)". "Now, what a shame!" I thought to myself. Almost all Muslim invaders and rulers in the Indian subcontinent thrived on the plunder of Hindu temples and enforcing Islam on the ordinary citizens.
Onake Obawwe Kindi the legend of Chitradurga fort
The fort of Chitradurga had 25 secret entrances
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A secret entrance of Chitradurga fort. There are 25 secret entrances to this fort
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Onake Obavva Kindi this one is a secret entrance named so, after the brave lady who was left alone to protect this entrance, while her husband who was in-charge was away at the time.
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| Onake Obavva kindi~ ie. A secret entrance of Chitradurga fort, named after the brave lady who protected the fort |
What an inspiring story! Unexpectedly at the time she was guarding this secret entrance on behalf of her husband, the fort was attacked.
So using a strong 'onake' (wooden rod for pounding paddy) she attacked the enemy soldiers from behind this gap, killing almost 10 of them and thus saving the fort that day.
Other interesting features of the fort are the temples and Gali Mantapa or royal recreational enclave.
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| The pillar of a temple within the fort |
The sad story of the king's 2 wives
The lakes of Chitradurga also have a story to tell...
The king has 2 beautiful wives. During an enemy invasion- when especially the invaders were muslims and according to their brutal custom, they made sex slaves out of women captives. Hindu queens who knew this preferred to die than become captives. The queens thus jumped into the lake killing themselves when the fort fell into enemy hands.
There are 2000 watchtowers that guard this fort. My guide Narayana asked me if I would like to climb uphill to this one.. "but at your own risk," he said.
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| An intimidating steep climb uphill with no railings will lead one to a watchtower guarding the fort of Chitradurga, Karnataka |
One look at the intimidating steep hill with no railings for support made me realise this ain't for the faint-hearted, so I decided give it a pass!
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| batty trees around Chitradurga fort |
What a sight! batty trees around Chitradurga fort.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Your comments will be appreciated. Bye for now.
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