JOIN USSkandagiri hills, also called Kalavara Durga, is the lesser known cousin of Nandi Hills. Yet it is quite popular among trekkers and history buffs. Atop the hills, are the ruins of a fort which dates back to the 18th century. The fort is in a dilapidated condition. One of the ancient and oldest mutts of Karnataka, Papagni Mutt, is located on the foothills of Skandagiri Hills. It is quite a tough journey to the top, but nothing deters a hardy trekker.
Thrill of trekking
Mountaineer Rohit Kumar expresses the wondrous feeling one gets while climbing the Skandagiri Hill, “Climbing right up the hill, which stands as high as the Nandi Hills, we can find several broken stone walls of the old forts on the way. While some of the remnants of these walls still stand strong, some others seem to be on the brink of a collapse. These broken walls are now covered in weeds and shrubbery.”
He adds, “there are also a couple of stone entrances of the forts welcoming visitors. The Hill has two historic temples and a Nandi statue right at the top. Looking at all such relics makes one feel fascinated at what must have been a great time for architecture and sad at what remains today.”
“The Museum of the Archaeological Survey of India has taken under its purview many of the historical remnants in the lower levels of the Skandagiri Hill. But it has not shown much concern about the historic relics at the top of the Hills. We can still find writings from the ancient times on the walls. There are also statues of the gods that the rulers installed at Skandagiri,” says Srinivas Rao, a resident of Chikkaballapur.
There are several guesses on what happened in reality to the historic architectural works of the Palegars on top of the Hill. The fort might have been destroyed in a war atop the Skandagiri Hill. Or it might have been wrecked by malefactors long after the end of Palegar rule. The Nandi idol, for instance, should have typically been placed inside the temple, but is outside, at a small distance from the temple. The present condition of the remnants makes it hard for a visitor to imagine that there was once a huge fort standing strong.
Cry for attention
What makes the remnants here so unique? Constructing a sturdy fort or a beautiful temple at the foot of a hill is a common thing. But at Skandagiri, the work is found on top of the hill also. Centuries ago, people took risks and built the fort at the top of the Hill. This would definitely have been a difficult job considering the times they were living in and is therefore worth appreciating.
Historians and archaeologists should pay a bit more attention to such relics and remnants of history. Neglecting such a architecturally-rich place, saying it is just a natural Hill, would only deprive us of an interesting study of the works of our own people.
(Translated by Chitra Phalguni)