The astonishment of why some places lies abandoned,and in ruins does not get more perplexing than this. Off the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, lies the impregnable, unassailable and unconquered fort of Janjira. A fascinating history that begins with a pirate keep from which the Ethiopians carved out a stone fortress. It has held back mighty warriors like Shivaji the great Maratha champion. It lends a distinctive colour to the eclectic social fabric of the region.
Mumbai...The city of dreams or we call it as Mayanagari....The place where we all attach our dreams and aspirations....About 160 kms away...In the midst of its magnificient sea lies a fort, carved out of a stone, which still speaks of its glory. 60 Kms away from Alibaug close to Konkan Coast lies the small village of Murud. Murud is the gateway to the wonders of Murud Janjira, which is lying abandoned in the silence of the sea.
Rajapuri, another small village associated to Murud is another significant gateway to this fort, because the families residing here had connection with this fort at one point of time. Even though there are hundreds of forts lying in the midst of the sea, but Murud Janjira is the only fort which lay undefeated for almost 400 years.
The fort of Janjira on its own is an intresting puzzle associated with a variety of folklores and heart touching tales.
This fort was built in 16th century with an overall area of 22 acres. Janjira is just 1.5 kms away from the sea coast. Its quite astonishing that this fort is still existing even after 500 years.
Its history dates back to 1490 AD. The place where Murund Janjira stands had basically a huge stone initially. The Koli tribes needed a safe shelter to protect themselves from pirates. Later on, Rama Patil, the chief of the tribe, made a wooden framework and named it Mhedekhot, which actually marked the beginning of Janjira.
After gaining permission from the Sultan of the Ahmadnagar, Rama Patil built the island but later refused to obey the orders of the Sultan. So the Sultan sent his admiral Piram Khan to capture the janjira.
The Sultan knew very well that this area is favourable from his administrative point of view and equally served the military purpose as well. So, he sent Piram Khan along with three ships to win over the fort. But due to the castle's fortifications, Piram Khan was unable to attack the island conventionally, so he disguised himself as a merchant and requested to stay a night at janjira and the permission was granted. Piram Khan hosted a party under the guise of thanking the patil. When the Patil and Kolis were intoxicated, Piram Khan attacked them with his men who had been hidden in barrels and captured the island.
After the fall of Mhedekhot, the Siddis captured it and named it Jazeera, meaning island. Later on this word became Janjira, and it is still prevelant today. But the question arises, that who were the Siddis, and what important role did they play in the fate of Murud Janjira?
The Siddis were basically slaves from Abyssinia and Somalia and were sold to Indian rulers. They were very loyal and possessed great leadership qualities, which is the reason why they were appointed to higher ranks, and later on served as independent powers. After Piram Khan, Siddi king Burhan Khan started his own kingdom. He later on named the fort as Morod Jazira, which later on became 'Janjira'.
The Siddis had a strong naval force and had a full monopoly over sea trade activities. It is believed that Janjira was basically a huge mountain and the Siddis carved a stone fortress out of this, destroying its initial wooden framework.
Compared to those times, their engineering techniques were quite unique and updated. The mixture they used to keep the stones joined together, had a sufficient amount of melted graphite, which is one of the prime reasons for the walls of the fort being so strong that nobody could take over it.
The fort has 26 rounded bastions, still intact. There are many cannons of native and European make rusting on the bastions. Now in ruins, the fort in its heyday was a full-fledged living fort with all the necessary facilities, e.g., palaces, quarters for officers, mosque, two small 60-foot-deep (18 m) natural fresh water lakes etc.
A special attraction of this fort are 3 gigantic cannons named Kalalbangdi, Chavri and Landa Kasam. The Chavri was also known as the clever fox of Janjira, because it was quite unpredictable that from where this cannon would fire. These cannons were said to be feared for their shooting range. Another gate to the west is sea-facing, called 'Darya Darwaza'.
Visitors can gain access to the Janjira fort from Rajapuri, a small village on the coast. After a short ride in a small boat, one can enter the fort through the main entrance. The fort is oval shaped instead of the usual oblong or square shape. The fort wall is about 40 feet high and has 19 rounded porches or arches, some of which still have cannons mounted on them. Inside the fort walls are the ruins of a mosque, a palace and bath with water channeled from streams, evidence that royal ladies occupied the quarters. A deep well, still functional, provides fresh water despite the fort being surrounded by salt water.
There is a secret tunnel that directly lead to Rajapuri village which was almost 60 ft deep. Even Shivaji could not capture Janjira, after his 13 failed attempts. His son Sambhaji even attempted to tunnel his way into the fort but was unsuccessful in all his attempts.He built another sea fort in 1676, known as Padmadurg or Kasa fort, to challenge Janjira, which is located facing its north east direction.
A popular folktale is prevalent that Burhan Khan consulted an astrologer named Ganesh Devagnya, and the fort was constructed at a very auspicious timing, which is one of the prime reasons of this fort being ajinkya (unconquered).
Janjira remained unconquered until it became part of Indian territory after independence from the British in 1947. The Nawab rule came to an end and the local residents left this fort in search of proper settlement and employment. By 6th May 1948, Janjira became a part of Indian Union and the Siddi rule came to an end. The Archeological Survey Of India declared Murud Janjira a heritage monument in 1975.
Murud Janjira...an unconquered pearl in the midst of the huge sea...still speaks of its glory. Even though this fort was ajinkya, but could not remain undefeated through the test of time. The fort still takes pride of its presence and its undefiable glory and its history. Its Unheard Secret lies in its silence, which only time would justify it.
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Good read! Unheard Secrets is really living up to it's name!!
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