From rot to revival

There are different ways to describe bad luck and irony. Bad luck would be a historic monument falling prey to an invading force that would leave it in shambles,as a mark of their conquest or victory.

From falling fort ramparts to Cannabis plant cultivation,the fort of Tikona is still a long way away from celebrating its glorious historical past

There are different ways to describe bad luck and irony. Bad luck would be a historic monument falling prey to an invading force that would leave it in shambles,as a mark of their conquest or victory. Irony would be the government turning a blind eye to the plight of the monument. It would also be two tourists falling off the fort for want of better safety facilities. But probably what rings the death knell for the fort would be the fact that an old hermit,who has comfortably made the natural caves his home,grows cannabis unchecked and unhindered. All this and more is the story of the unfortunate fort that goes by the name of Tikona.

The fort,which is more of a watch tower that was built to patrol the area near Lonavala,is a sad reminder of how government apathy coupled with public indifference can cause rot to enter and eat into our own glorious past. We could choose to either complain to the government or do something about it on our own, says Sujit Mohol,the current caretaker of the fort. He has been the caretaker for the last two years and no one from the government has visited or inquired about the conditions on the top of the fort during this period. Today,however,Tikona is slowly being repaired by two groups,namely the Shivdurga Samvardhan and the Shivaji Trail.

Tikona,also known as Vitandgad,is a triangular fort and dates back to the time of the Satvahanas. Needless to say,some of the features that dominate the fort include steep vertically inclined steps,and narrow ridges that offer no support from the almost vertical cliffs. The fort interestingly is manned only by Sujit,another helper boy Satish and an old hermit who goes by the name of Sadhu Pandubaba. By the temple located below the main bastion,the hermit has a small cannabis plantation. Mohol informs that it is only late evenings that he comes out to smoke joints and very rarely interacts with anyone.

Trekkers mostly come in on the weekend, says Satish who helps out with with odd jobs on the fort. On the weekends,we usually sell food at the fort top for trekkers, he adds. Currently undergoing repair work,the members of the two NGOs aim to install a 70-ft wire rope complete with railing on both sides,for the steps on the final route to the top,and a 25-ft flag pole. In addition they also plan to repair the broken bastion on top by setting a wire railing across it and also the steps on the top which are located at a vertical incline.

Pointing to the broken ramparts of the fort,Mohol says,Two trekkers had fallen off this side last year. One of them passed away and the other was severely injured. As I said,we could either choose to blame the government for not doing anything or actually work towards doing something. We chose the latter.

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