Lost in the sands of time-1: The Agra Fort

This is the first part of a series of places that are worth visiting but they actually never strike our mind. In the holiday period we often find ourselves looking for places to go and end up visiting same monotonous places. I hope this series will give you a reason to do something new and visit a new type of place and along with that learn something about India’s grand history. The first place I write about is the Agra Fort. Whenever we think of Agra the only thing that comes in many minds is the Taj Mahal, however there is more to this city that Mughals gave so much importance to once.

History:

The Agra Fort is largely perceived to constructed by the Mughuls; however this is a common misconception. It is not known for sure when it was constructed or who constructed it. Hindu Rajputs are the first known inhabitants of this fort and at the time it was just a brick fort. The first Sultan of Delhi Sikandar Lodi shifted to Agra and lived in the fort till his death in 1517. His successor Ibrahim Lodi held for nine years until he was defeated by the young Mughuls king Babur at the first battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur (a direct descendant of Genghis Khan and also Timur through his mother and father respectively) was a king from central Asia who wanted to form an empire in ‘Hindustan’.  Babur seized a large booty from the fort and even the famous diamond the Koh-i-noor and held the fort till his death. Babur’s son and the Second Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530, however Humayun was defeated by his lifelong nemesis  Sher Shah Suri in 1540 who held the fort till 1555. In 1555 Humayun won back the fort, however for a very short period as almost immediately Hemu defeated him and won Agra. The Mughal army under Humayun’s  son and the third emperor of the dynasty, Akbar defeated Hemu at the second battle of Panipat. At this time Akbar was aged just 13.

Mughal architecture began influencing the fort only after this. Akbar made Agra his capital in 1558. He then ordered the fort be restored from its damaged condition and be expanded and strengthened further. Akbar wanted his people to see the sheer beauty of the Mughals and not perceive them as just some other raiders to loot booty from India. For this he emphasized on his buildings being grand and beautiful no matter how much effort and money it cost the empire. He ordered red sandstone from Rajasthan to build the fort and bricks were on the interior of the sandstone to provide stability. 4,350 workers worked on it daily for eight years completing it in 1573.

After Akbar his son Jahangir became emperor and he too expanded the fort, like his father he also had a liking for red sandstone and used it to a large extent.  Jahangir’s third son was the fourth Mughal emperor (breaking the tradition of the eldest son being chosen emperor) and is better known as Shah Jahan (his birth name chosen by his grandfather Akbar was Khurram) did major work on the fort.  As is evident from his construction of the Taj  Mahal  he unlike his ancestors had a liking for white marble rather than red sandstone and expanded the fort further using white marble. Infact he even destroyed some of the previous buildings in the fort and made them again using white marble.

Apart from the Mughal period this fort was the site of the Mutiny or the First War of Independence in 1857.

Reasons to visit:

Mughal Architecture is the finest the world has ever seen. You will surely be amazed at how the structures were constructed with such grandeur and precision in that day and age. For instance the Diwan-i-Am (Lok sabha) has 48 pillars in the hall, yet wherever you stand no matter at what angle or distance you will always have a clear sighting of the raj gaddi (The place where the emperor used to sit) and to make sure his voice reached the general public who used to stand outside the Diwan-i-Am the hall was designed in such a way that even the slightest sound would travel, so much so that you can even hear the click of a finger inside the hall from the outside (try it when you visit). Apart from the architecture you can sense the sheer grandness of the Mughal way of life. The walls were gold plated, and some walls still have precious gems inlaid in them.  You can see many optical illusions inside the fort like windows which appear closed from the outside yet are open from the inside, these were for privacy for the royal women, yet they could watch the proceedings of the court. You can also see the site where Shah Jahan was held by his son and the fifth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.  Even this prison inside the fort was made with such grandness that you would think it’s a royal room and you can also catch a nice view of the Taj  Mahal beside the Yamuna from here. The fort is 2.3sq km in area, however you can visit only 1/4^th of the area as most of it is under military occupation and some parts are too damaged to be open. The Agra Fort is a UNESCO world heritage site.

How to get there:    

Agra is easily accessible by air, rail and road. If you are going from Delhi I’d suggest you drive down, through newly constructed Yamuna expressway you can reach within 2 hours and trust me if you decide to incorporate the Fort also with your obvious visit to the Taj Mahal it will be well worth it. It can easily be done as the fort is only 2km from the the Taj. Also I would suggest you take a guided tour of the fort as he will enhance the experience even more. The guide rates are negotiable and on an average he will take 150-200 rs.

I hope you do visit this wonderful facet of Indian History and I guarantee that if you do visit it will be an experience you will remember for a long long time.