22 June 2007

MURUD BEACH III- CORRECTUM

And for all proud Portuguese, the Portuguese castle in the front of Janjira beach. Was a pitty I could not enter, the sea was too rough I was told.

I made a big mistake , this castle was never a Portuguese castle. I apologize for that

See the history:
Murud is famous for the fort of Janjira. The fort is build in the sea 2 Kms. inside of Murud. This is one of the vital sea-forts in Maharashtra. The fort is old one but still very strong. Though, today it is not in a proper condition, one can still imagine its hugeness and toughness. Some monuments inside and the walls of the fort are destroyed after so many years now. But the toughness of the fort can be still felt. There are in all 19 Buruj in the fort. Every buruj has huge guns on it especially 3 big guns 'Kalal Bangadi' , 'Chavari' and 'Landa Kasam' are very famous. There are 2 water tanks inside the fort and some tombs as well. The fort was built by Burhankhan - a minister of Nizmashah. Many times , Marathas tried to capture the fort, even Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji and Peshwas tried - but all those attempts failed. So this is one of the rare forts in Maharashtra which was not managed by Marathas .Padmadurg - a fort built by Shivaji Maharaj is to north -west of Janjira. Though not as big as Janjira, still Padmadurga is also a sea fort that can be visited and enjoyed. Truly, Murud Janjira and Padmadurg are the places to visit and enjoy the weekends or holidays.

Formerly the capital town of the Siddis of Janjira, Murud is today popular for its alluring beach, whispering casurina, coconut and betel palms and an ancient fort. On a hillock to the north is the shrine of Lord Dattatreya, the three heads representing Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.
Battered on all four sides by sea waves, its strong walls yet standing intact and 40 feet high even at full tide is the majestic island fortress of the Siddis -- Murud-Janjira. Never conquered by an enemy for over 350 years since its construction by the Ahmednagar rulers under the supervision of their regent Malik Ambar in the 15th century, Murud-Janjira is probably the only impregnable fort on the 720 km Maharashtra coastline.
Neither the Portuguese nor the British could subjugate the fort. And the Marathas, despite their repeated attempts failed to subjugate the Siddi power.








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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Pitty i know little about the details of portuguese presence in India. But i guess here and there they had to build castles in island as a way to keep the arabs away. Could you find some fuirther details on that castle? Whats its name?

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