Conservation plan for Kalinjar Fort, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Forts constitute some of the most ancient historical structures apart from places of worship. The forts of India have stood witness to significant political events of the country. Forts are hundred and thousand year’s old structures which tell the history and stories of their pride and strength, built for protection, power and settlement. We can learn a lot about the architecture and culture from the forts and teach them to the future generation. Understanding the significance of the forts leads us to some unique construction techniques, cultural activities, planning strategies, etc. Etymologically, Kalinjar is a combination of the Sanskrit words “Kaal”, meaning time, and “jar”, meaning destruction, translating to destroyer of time. The Kalinjar Fort, situated in the village of Tarahati in the Bundelkhand region, is a monument of great historical significance. This fort perched on an isolated flat-topped hill of the Vindhya Range. Combining the features of a Giri durga (Hill fort) and a Vana durga (Jungle Fort), the fort of Kalinjar is a formidable defensive structure. The Kalinjar fort have several monuments inside the fortress which belongs to different time periods i.e Chandela, Mughal and Bundela which makes the fort more significant and we can see the influence of the earlier dynasty in the structures that belongs from the later period. The fort is under the protection of ASI and is taken care by the Government, but many of the structures inside the fort are neglected and needs to be conserved to stop further damage to the structures. The fort also has many petroglyphs, inscriptions which helps in tracing the history of the place, these petroglyphs and inscription also need preservation.