Raigarh For The Nightbirds
Monday, October 15, 2007 by Abhinav
It was on a whim that I agreed to my first trek.The place was Raigarh, the capital fort of Shivaji’s historic Deccan empire – one of the high forts he built to fend off Mughal invasions. It was here that he was crowned king in 1648 and breathed his last in 1680.
Raigarh is splendor cast in stone – a fascinating, self-sufficient township in its own right. According to Louise Nicholson’s ‘India Companion,’ Raigarh boasts of more than 300 stone structures in royal and public buildings alone. These include amongst others the royal court, a full-fledged marketplace, temples, dungeons, and cells.
Raigarh may appear deceptively stark and spartan, but that is because it does not reveal all its charms at once – they are scattered all over the pristine hills for you to discover.
We were five friends intent upon having a blast. It was decided, in order to add to the thrill, that we must start our trek in the dead of the night like nocturnal jaybirds.
After a particularly jerky ride on the most tortuous uphill path during which I held the handlebars of the jumbo rickshaw fast for the fear of being thrown out, we reached the foot of the fort, freezing in the cold that even the radiant moonlight could not dispel.
We began climbing the mammoth steps, about a hundred of which would lead us to the ramparts. Each of us had worn 2-3 sweaters and a monkeycap to keep warm in the numbing star-spangled night. We must have looked like apparitions rising up the hills in the intensely quiet summer night.
Trudging the tiring steps, we made time to banter and pull each other’s legs. We pointed out in the clear sky the glimmering constellations we could identify, and had a good laugh at lights twinkling faraway that looked like a still from a game of cricket.
To say that I was relieved when we were done with the uphill climb would be an euphemism. We hooted inside the dark imposing portal and heard our call carry throu
gh the thin country air.
Sitting on the width of the ramparts, we cracked jokes and indulged in nostalgia until the mist rose from the plains and engulfed us. The first to disappear were the cricket lights and the hills, then the bushy path which we had followed to reach the fort, and finally even my companions. The air was so full of stupor that I do not even remember when I fell asleep…
When I woke up, the mist had cleared and the scarlet sun was rising between two verdant hills. The adrenalin rush of the previous night had given way to a pounding headache. I tried to clear my head and stood up, looking forward to a full day of touring the nooks and crannies of the elusive Raigarh…
Raigarh is splendor cast in stone – a fascinating, self-sufficient township in its own right. According to Louise Nicholson’s ‘India Companion,’ Raigarh boasts of more than 300 stone structures in royal and public buildings alone. These include amongst others the royal court, a full-fledged marketplace, temples, dungeons, and cells.
Raigarh may appear deceptively stark and spartan, but that is because it does not reveal all its charms at once – they are scattered all over the pristine hills for you to discover.
We were five friends intent upon having a blast. It was decided, in order to add to the thrill, that we must start our trek in the dead of the night like nocturnal jaybirds.
After a particularly jerky ride on the most tortuous uphill path during which I held the handlebars of the jumbo rickshaw fast for the fear of being thrown out, we reached the foot of the fort, freezing in the cold that even the radiant moonlight could not dispel.
We began climbing the mammoth steps, about a hundred of which would lead us to the ramparts. Each of us had worn 2-3 sweaters and a monkeycap to keep warm in the numbing star-spangled night. We must have looked like apparitions rising up the hills in the intensely quiet summer night.
Trudging the tiring steps, we made time to banter and pull each other’s legs. We pointed out in the clear sky the glimmering constellations we could identify, and had a good laugh at lights twinkling faraway that looked like a still from a game of cricket.
To say that I was relieved when we were done with the uphill climb would be an euphemism. We hooted inside the dark imposing portal and heard our call carry throu
gh the thin country air.Sitting on the width of the ramparts, we cracked jokes and indulged in nostalgia until the mist rose from the plains and engulfed us. The first to disappear were the cricket lights and the hills, then the bushy path which we had followed to reach the fort, and finally even my companions. The air was so full of stupor that I do not even remember when I fell asleep…
When I woke up, the mist had cleared and the scarlet sun was rising between two verdant hills. The adrenalin rush of the previous night had given way to a pounding headache. I tried to clear my head and stood up, looking forward to a full day of touring the nooks and crannies of the elusive Raigarh…
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