Written in Stone

Folk legend has it that a giant named Hidimbasura lived on the Chitradurga hills. When the Pandavas came with their mother Kunti during their exile, Bhima had a duel with Hidimba who was slain and peace returned to the area. Located amidst these hills is the Chitradurga fort . Built by the feudal lords of the Vijaynagar empire and later captured by Hyder Ali in 1779, the fort stands as a grand stone edifice encircled by seven circular walls.

It was a November morning and unlike most weekends I had to drag myself out of bed a tad too early. The photography clubs from B1 and B2 were off for a day trip to the Chitradurga fort. After the cursory delay of getting all the half awake photographers together, both the buses left the city and sped off on the Bangalore Pune highway. Save a few stops on the way to catch breakfast , and to pick up a lens from Sid (not to mention the attempt to abduct him) , the journey was uneventful. The more awake B1 folks managed to entertain themselves through the bus journey,while the B2 bus was a sleeping graveyard.

We reached Chitradurga around noon and made our way through the fort. The guide we had (unfortunately) hired turned out to be a dictator of some sorts, insisting on undivided attention leaving us running for cover.The boulder strewn landscape around Chitradurga is embellished with watchtowers, temples,bastions and fortifications all around. No wonder that the fort is also known as “Kallina Kote” or the “Place of stone fort”. There are 28 entrances, a palace, 19 gateways, granaries,50 warehouses and water tanks inside the fort.

An interesting story surrounds a small opening in the rocks in the fort. During the siege of the fort , Hyder Ali came upon a clever plan to send his soldiers through the opening in the rocks. The guard on duty near the hole had gone home for lunch and his wife,Obawa,noticed the soldiers emerging out of the opening. She killed the soldiers one by one with her wooden club (“Onake”). In the ensuing battle , the fort of Chitradurga was lost to Hyder Ali , but the opening in the rocks still remains a witness to the legend of ‘Onake Obawa’.

The temples served up as interesting photo-ops for the photographers. Puja is still conducted at some of these ancient temples. The bored priests break off into a smile as we tried to click them. We also hiked around in groups to the hilltops which provide a stunning view of the surrounding area. By evening , we had finished off our tour and boarded our buses to return to Bangalore. The 15th century fortress lay behind , seeped in stories and legends of it’s own.

Not to miss at the Chitradurga fort:
Watch the ‘monkey man’ Jyothi Raja scale the fort walls with effortless ease. A passionate rock climber, Raja is a regular at the fort precincts and has garnered a huge fan following for his unique rock climbing skills