The Nagaur Fort is spread over a huge area and is almost a city within a city.
I drove through the old Nagaur city areas before entering the fort and passed through various gates. Nahar Gate facing in the direction of Nahar which is a nearby suburban area.
This is the Tripolia Gate that is the entrance to the largest market place in Nagaur
Ajmeri Gate facing in the direction of Ajmer.
The Dilli Gate facing in the direction of Delhi.
Thus gates are named after the city that they facing in the direction. For instance, there is an Ajmeri Gate in Delhi as well.
There is ample parking just outside the main entrance of the fort in one corner of a square called the Gandhi Chowk that that hosts a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. I noticed an unusually large number of cobblers seated around the pedestal as seen in the photo below.
Also, I saw people walking around in traditional Rajasthani attire of which the colorful turban is the main attraction.
This is the grand entrance gate of the Nagaur Fort called the Kacheri Pol.
Next appears the Sire Gate pronounced as Sea-Ray Gate.
This leads to open space inside the fort that hosts a ticket counter and subsequently the Beech Ka Pol or the middle gate shown in the first photo of this article, that leads to the fort premises.
Inside the fort are spacious halls, palaces, residential complexes, temples, and mosques, and also a heritage hotel, most of which are in ruins including the royal fountains that have largely dried up.
The most prominent parts of the Nagaur fort are its ramparts and bastions and to view these I drove around the fort from the outside on the streets. Here is the bastion from the north side.
This is the rampart wall from the east.
And another wall and bastion from the south side.
Here’s a statue of one of the rulers of Nagaur Ajeet Singh on the west side of the fort but outside the walls.
But it was interesting to know from the guide that most local people are not interested in visiting or praising the fort because the Mughals, most notably Akbar the Great and later his son Shahjahan after capturing the fort renovated it heavily without paying a Dinar to the labors. Hence the Fort became famous as built by the ‘Beggar Pratha’ a phrase used to demean the Emporer who didn’t pay wages to the laborers. Shahjahan went on to build the famous Taj Mahal at the end of which he cut off the hands of the labor so that they do no build another Taj.
A typical conflict between a young Rajput prince with his father king in Nagaur was over making an alliance with the Mughals or staying independent and keeping pride above earthly pleasures. Comparatively Mughal kings spent their time persuading their spoilt prince to give up on the sport of peeling human skin for the sake of entertainment. Such was the huge difference in the culture of the Mughals who were foreigners from Central Asia and Indian rulers.
After 2 hours I came out of the fort after hearing such interesting stories and soaking in the rich heritage of Rajasthan.
Accessibility Features
Besides accessible parking and the main entrance, all accessibility features are available along with ramps and wheelchairs to facilitate the movement of the differently-abled all the way up to the top.
Here’s a snapshot:
Ramp Access.
A wheelchair-accessible Entrance.
A wheelchair-accessible Parking.
A wheelchair-accessible Restroom/Toilet.
I do not disrespect anyone but I feel those were the days they exercise their level of IQ even more than today’s generation, Yet again your post proves it one more time. Really admire their hardwork & great ideas which they could do so much before AI generation like today. I really love the way they name the gate which mentioned according to the directions. It sounds simple yet genius.
angladesh!