The infallible sentinels

“I spent my childhood on the fort,” says Suresh Havaldar,whose family have been caretakers of the fort for the last four generations. “We used to stay on houses right here,” he says,pointing to a broken down wall behind the Gagangiri Maharaj temple that is located on the top. The remainders of the walls are now just memories of the grand tryst with the fort’s history that Havaldar and his family share. Having been built during the rule of the Yadavas,the fort had been conquered by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,post 1656,only to be lost to the Mughals in 1666. It was recaptured in 1670 by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and became a part of the Maratha empire.

Mohan Nangre,another localite from Bajarwadi,says,“The solar lamps were put up there so that evening trekkers don’t lose the route back down,even though it is a straight path. Also,the main door has been repaired,as the structure surrounding it had fallen off. The Raireshwar temple on the top of the fort has also been repaired.” Interestingly,Havaldar and a few of his associates have made it a point to come up to the temple every year and celebrate the festival of Navratri,along with people from the nearby villages,for the entire period of nine days. “It is a grand affair with entire villages assembling on top of the fort,with even plays being performed. It is necessary to educate people about the history of the fort and to help preserve it.”

Havaldar,a retired mill worker who has been in Mumbai now for the last 27 years,says that the fort has a rustic charm that few can understand. “My family sleeps on the soil that surrounds the fort,” he says with a flourish,before adding,“As a child I used to climb up and down around seven to eight times a day,and yet never get tired.” The normal route taken by trekkers now takes over an hour to climb. “Circumstances forced us to leave the fields in the care of other family members while I shifted to Mumbai. But when I come back to the fort once every fortnight,memories of a happy childhood return,” he says with a smile.