JOIN USI stood at a humble railway station while my eyes detailed every corner to assure me that I was still in this century. “The town looks ancient,” I said to myself, walking out of the station.
I was at Nagaur, in the arid northwest of India’s largest state, Rajasthan. Bordering the Thar desert, most of the cityscape is painted royal yellow, with a magnificent fort standing in the middle. The city walls echo the tales from time immemorial and the fort speaks of tales of glory.
Nagaur grew from a strategic trade point to the centre of Rajputana power in its heyday. Nagaur lived under the influence of conquerors from vastly different cultures. Over time, it gained a distinct Rajput-Mughal architectural design as gardens, temples and fountains were included. Passing through the town was like passing through an age frozen in time.
Of times gone by
The city seemed unmoved by changing times as the 4th-century Ahhichatragarh Fort or Nagaur Fort — which was originally built by the Nagavanshi clan (hence the name ‘Fort of the Hooded Cobra’) but rebuilt in the 12th century by the Ghaznis to include palaces and mosques — epitomises the city more than anything else. It’s built in the middle of a flatland, commanding no sweeping views of the countryside. There’s a not-so-deep moat and no high walls, and hence this fort may not fit into the Indian definition of forts. Quite a maverick architecture, indeed.
Nagaur was Rajput ruler Amar Singh’s fiefdom. Disinherited by his father Gaj Singh and sent on exile, he later joined hands with the Mughals.
Over time, the fort moved from the Rathores to the Mughals, to the British, and then back to the Rathores, and then to the government to house sundry offices. It even served as a base for the Border Security Force! In 2002, it won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation tag and came under the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, run by the Rathore royals, who helped with its restoration.
A walk through the alleys of the fort revealed that it was meant more for pleasure than planning warfare. The Sheesh Mahal, the Akbari Mahal with the Zenani Deori (or women’s apartments) and the Hawa Mahal are known for structural beauty. Their mutilated condition does not hide that the fact that their murals are reminders of good craftsmanship, imagination and composition.
It is easy to guess the inclination of their artists — the paintings of court and hunting scenes on some walls are an oddity, but the constant themes are of dance, folk tales and fairies. The ceiling of the Falgun Mahal, constructed of long sleepers of red sandstone, is then covered with plaster of chunam and sand, and then with a second coating of lime and marble dust. Over this surface, the figures are painted in the buon fresco style, known there as the ‘Jaipur process’.
The Deepak Mahal with its Persian-style floral designs and several niches in the inner walls to hold lamps; the Abha Mahal with its eloquently designed water features in the form of channels, fountains and hamams; and the Akbari Mahal, built to commemorate the recapture of Nagaur by the Mughals in the mid-16th century — all speak of the Rajput-Mughal style of architecture.
I went to the top floor to get a bird’s-eye view of the complex. The numerous pools to keep the fort cool in dry summers, the temples in the corners, a mosque built by Shah Jahan with its blue-tiled mosaic work took me back to the Rajputana era. I believed then that there’s much history to remember and protect!
Worthy visits in Nagaur
Kaanch ka Mandir
One of the labyrinthine lanes from Gandhi Chowk leads to the Jain Kaanch ka Mandir. It houses large-eyed marble Tirthankaras, their images multiplied a thousand times in the bits of coloured glass covering the walls, pillars and ceilings. The sight is even more remarkable in the evening by lamplight.
Nagaur Cattle Fair
Every year in the first week of February, this town hosts India’s second-largest cattle fair. With lavishly decorated cattle, music performances, crazy races, handicraft shops, puppetry shows, jugglery acts, piles of spicy red chillies in ‘mirchi’ bazaars, the spirit of festivity soars.
Amar Singh’s Cenotaph
A handsome yellow sandstone cenotaph honours Amar Singh, the Rajput folk hero, with his footsteps inscribed in the centre, next to which incense sticks are lit.
There is a little floral carving on the pillars and ceiling, and surrounding it are cenotaphs in pink sandstone that honour his chief wife who died before he did, and three other ‘ranis’ who committed ‘sati’ on his funeral pyre, as well as later members of his clan. All are well preserved.