Unsung Glory of Raisen Fort

The Saga

Raisen Fort is around 40Kms away from Bhopal on Bhopal-Vidisha  NH146. The origin of this fort dates back to 1200AD. It has very grand and glorious history under the regimes of various rulers extending  from Rajputs to Moghuls and then Nawabs of Bhopal.
Pramar Raja Rai Singh established the fort and constructed many palaces, pools and temples in the fort. It is said that this grand Fort was assaulted 14 times by various rulers but it’s glory could not be harmed. Delhi Sultan captured this fort from Parmara in 1234 and later it became part of  Sagar province. In the 15^thCentury this fort was ruled by the Sultans of Mandu, from whom it passed to the Rajputs and finally in 1760 the third Nawab of Bhopal Faiz Mohammad Khan occupied it and it remained part of the Princely state of Bhopal up to 1947. After independence Princely state of Bhopal merged in to the new Bhopal state of India, which later became part of Madhya Pradesh state.

The Route

The Drive

It was a bright but lazy Sunday of January and we two families decided to visit Raisen Fort on a day excursion. We planned to leave early from home to visit Kankali Mata Mandir which is onthe way near Bilkhiriya and then spend full day at fort. We could start from home at 11:00AM and drove directly to Kankali Mandir near Bilkhiriya which is around 16Kms from Bhopal. After Darshan of Kankali Mata we started for Raisen fort taking NH146 from Bilkhiriya at 11:55AM. First half of the road from Bhopal to Bilkhiriya was good but later half was really horrible due to various diversions for ongoing road constructions. Even the main old road was heavily broken, pebbly and rough and it took almost 1 hour 10 minutes to finish this 24Kms long herky-jerky ride. Construction of new road is very slow due to very uneven terrain but it seems that after opening of this new road it shall be a pleasure to drive on this scenic route. I wish that this slow moving construction gets some more pace.

The Harbor

We reached fort at 1:05PM which is on a steep hill adjacent to the main road. We drove on the concrete approach road which ends at a parking area at the foothill. 

Parking at the foothill

Fortified Grandeur

Once upon a time...

The Hike

From the parking area we had to take rough steps which are believed to be more than 800 years old. The ascent to the hill is a herculean task and is not for elders or persons having knee problems. 

   

Path to the Citadel

Trekking through the history

Fortified by strong walls all around, this fort has three entry gates namely Chopda Gate, Gadi Gate and Delhi Gate. We started our trekking from Chopda Gate side. 
It was a sunny winter day and walking through the ruins of this old, grand, historical yet less-talked about fort was a great experience. The spectacular view all around the hill was really
a feast for the eyes.

“The best view comes after the hardest climb.”

A view from top after the uphill struggle

The Palaces and The Ponds

Though this fort is being managed by ASI, there are not proper markings or sign boards for directions on the way until you reach the main palace compound where proper guide maps are displayed. After more than one kilometre tiresome climb, we reached the gate of palace area guarded by one Kos Minar. As the name suggests these Kos Minars were made by Mughal Emperors as milestones to mark the distance in Kos(कोस).

Kos Minar

Watch Tower

This area houses many ponds, palaces and other buildings scattered from Eastern end to Western end of the fort. At eastern side, Pameya Mandir, Motiya Talab, Madagan Talab, Badal Mahal, Rani Mahal, Jhinjhari Mahal, Baradari, Itrdan, Dargah of Peer Salahuddin, Topkhana, Dhobi Mahal and some other buildings are situated. On western side of fort, you can see Gadi Darwaja, Dola Doli Talab, Bala Qila, Sagar Talab and other buildings.

Map of Raisen Fort (Source:ASI)

We started from Pemiya Temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Normally doors of the temple remain closed except the Maha Shivratri festival when doors are opened for Darshan by Shiv Bhaktas.

Pameya Temple

  

Badal Mahal facing the Pameya Temple

In front of Pameya Temple, Badal Mahal is sprawled housing a big area having ruins of old palace. By seeing newly built structures, one can imagine the hard work put by ASI in restoration of this fort.

Badal Mahal

Renovation work by ASI

One can find beautiful decorated Jharokhas on palaces similar to those of famous Rajasthani architecture. These might have been used by women to see happenings outside the palace.  

   

Ateet ke Jharokhe

Rani Mahal is situated adjacent to the Badal Mahal with a big pond in the middle of palace compound. This terraced pond looks like Bawadis with proper stair caes at the corners.

This fort has excellent water management and conservation system with the large water reservoir that has around 40 wells. These ponds and wells indicate great understanding of water harvesting in that time also and amazingly these are still functioning. It is believed that various underground passages carry the rain water to the reservoir though it is hard to locate these water passages

Queenly Glory of Rani Mahal

Rani Mahal

Bawadi in Rani Mahal

From the Rani Mahal we moved towards the Motiya Talab which is one of the big ponds situated in the fort. 

Motiya Talab

From Motiya Talab we reached Baradari complex which accommodates Itardan, Dargah, Mosque and some Canons made of cast iron.

Baradari

The Itradan or Atardan Ka Mahal was used as a dressing room in which many niches were made for keeping bottles of scent. This room is an example of use of acoustic phenomenon in architecture due to which sound propagates from one niche to another in such a way that a person near a niche can listen even a faint whisper from another niche.

Itradan

It is mentioned in Tarikh-e-Shershahi that ruler of Delhi, Sher Shah Suri could not conquer this fort even after four months siege. Desperately he made cannons by melting copper coins and other metallic articles and conqured the fort. In Baradari complex various muzzle loading canons made of cast iron are displayed which are said to be manufactured during Nawab  Faiz Bahadur Khan of Bhopal.

Muzzle loading Canons

In Baradari itself one can visit Dargah of Peerjada Shekh Salahuddin. Raja Silhadi  of Raisen accepted Islam to avoid confrontation with Moghul invader and became Salahuddin in 1532AD. It is said that his wife Rani Durgawati performed Jauhar with 700 other ladies in this fort.

Purani Kachahari

Adjacent to Baradari, one can see ruins of Purani Kachahari and Jhinjhari Mahal which could not lure us to spend some time there.

From Baradari, we decided to return to our car parking area on the foothill skipping some more sights on western side of the fort. Our descent to the parking at the foothill was rather easy and it took only 20 minutes to reach there. 

Grazing on the ruins

Heading downhill...

The Backtrack

After the 2 hours 30 minutes long tiresome expedition we left Raisen at 3:30PM and drove directly towards Bhopal. We could not get any decent eatery in Raisen so we decided to have our meal at Jay Kay Resort which is around 10 kms from Bhopal on Raisen road. After a tiresome trekking and bumpy driving it was great to have cosy dining in the lush green lawns of Jay Kay Resort relishing the tasty food. We returned home before 6:00PM with memories of the unsung grandeur of Raisen Fort.

The Tips

It is said that best season for visiting this fort is winter but in my opinion Monsoon time must be amazing as the otherwise dry surrounding of the fort would turn into a green colored picturesque landscape. Since the climb is very tiresome, a good pair of sports shoes and some water bottles are must for this trip. You may carry some edibles with you to munch on during the climb. You can buy some snacks and beverages from a small outlet near Badal Mahal which has limited but enough options for refreshment. At least 4 hours are required for comprehensive sight-seeing and enjoying the beauty of the fort sprawled on this hill. This is highly recommended for those wanderers who love to explore historical but less talked about spots.  

------------o------------

Pics by: Soumil Patel & Nilesh Patel