Mehrangarh Fort

I could hear the clatter of hoof beats on flagged pathways leading up to the fort gates. Cries in ancient Rajasthani, Sanskrit(?), Urdu all mingled together and shouting. Steel on steel clashing. Smoke from the cannons. Bodies dripping sweat in the 40 degree blaze of the afternoon sun. Two men, their names lost in the mists of memory, fighting their way through a teeming throng of Rajput warriors. Faces set, with grim determination, the shadow of victory teasing the ghost of a smile on their lips as they decimate their enemies. A tale of honor, valor and retribution.

Turning from the plaque at the steeply inclined turn off to the main gate I looked up to the towering ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort. 500 years of history crashing down on me in incoherent waves of images.

I’ve always held a dim view of feudalistic societies. Ready to condemn any greatness they may have achieved due to the pathetic conditions that their lowest citizens lived in. The first thing that hit me that day, standing in the sweltering heat, reading the plaque about these two men – the king of the period had honored their fight by building a gate in their memory – even though they died in the attempt, was that the social structure was immaterial in the context of this fight! It was about honor, about valor – in short about personal values. The feudal pecking order was just a crucible for these hearts to strive. Reminded me of Paulo Coelho’s pilgrimage:

“Who was in the right or who knew the truth does not matter; what’s important is knowing that both sides were fighting the good fight.

“The good fight is the one we fight because our heart asks it of us…”

“The good fight is the one that’s fought in the name of our dreams…”

With such an introduction the fort transformed itself. The dry guidebook couldn’t do it justice.

To the credit of the fort’s curators they have tried to preserve much of the ancient charm. Musicians greet you as you walk in through the gates. You stand there astounded touching the at least 500 kilo gates – 500 years ago, no machines, no Primavera, no project management gurus. In the recesses of your mind a reverence kicks in…

A self-guided tour can walk you through the entire fort while you listen to pre recorded (English or Hindi) lectures on its history at designated spots. We didn’t take that. Preferring to imbibe first hand the intricate stone and marble sculptures, the dazzling range of weaponry and other accoutrements of the age we ambled along blissfully uneducated about the who-did-what-when-how-why. Mehragarh spoke volumes beyond the ken of drab history.

The tour ends in the museum shop, which on the one hand can be looked at as a sleazy sales gimmick but on the other you cannot but appreciate the Rajasthani sales pitch. What Neil Rackham gleaned from years of empirical research comes but au naturel to our Rajputanas! The entire tour primes you with an itchy wallet to possess some of that history. But as Pirsig points out: it’s impossible to capture experience within static frames of reference. At best I guess you can take away some coffee table conversation or party curios.

The highlight though was ‘The Old Man and the Flute’. After climbing three stories of winding stairs and descending back down, we emerged into a cool spacious courtyard just before the lead off to the museum shop. One of the museum (fort) employees, a man wizened with the years of desert sand and sun, was playing the flute. It was like cool water on a hot day. I wanted to sit there and listen to him for a long time. Sadly, he was going off duty and I didn’t even get his name. I did manage to talk to him though and effuse over his playing. Basics: He’s been playing for 25 odd years or more he didn’t seem to really know. Initially learnt under a guru for 8-9 months that may as well have been 8 to 9 years for all the precision he spoke of with about the past.

I guess this was one day when the connectedness of it all filled me up. I could feel … something wordless … And Mehragarh has become a memory tag for two things: The good fight and flute playing.