All about Bhongir Fort, Hyderabad, AP

Forts made of rock never crumble away. Bhongir is a small rock fort perched on a massive dome of granite in A.P.State, India. 

In medieval times a strategically located fort could easily dominate the surrounding countryside. Firearms and cannon were still in the future, sometime in the 10th century, when a huge dome of massive granite rock with sheer sides was made into a fortress. The rock of Bhongir juts out of the landscape some 50 km from Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state in India.

Way back in the 10th century the area was well forested on all sides. The ancient Buddhist trade route across the peninsula passed by Bhongir rock. 

A king named Tribhuvana Chalukya built the fort of Bhuvana giri (Bhuvana's hill ) on the rock in the 11th century a.d. This became Bhongir. He built a stone wall which is still standing, and laid steps through heavy archways and gates right to the top. A deep gash in the rock was dammed up at several places, thus creating a series of reservoirs collecting rain water. Lotuses still grow in the pools today.

Crumbling stucco ruins of a later age still stand, while old Kannada and Telugu inscriptions vividly bring to light the daily life of the people of long ago. (Mostly bureaucratic stuff, extremely familiar to Indians today too).

The Chalukya style of sculpture is distinctive, and was further refined by their successors, the Kakatiyas. At Bhongir they have left some stray relief sculptures and inscriptions. 

By the 15th century, cannons reduced the strategic importance of massive rock forts like Bhongir. It was ceded to the Bahmani sultans. Gradually it became the seat of a local governor, then a prison for pretenders to the Qutb Shahi sultan's throne. By the 18th century it was merely an interesting curiosity-- the British did not pay much attention to it. After a brief interlude of a bitter communist rebellion in the late 1940's, which destroyed the nizam's archaic state, Bhongir went back to sleep.

Now only a couple of microwave dishes adorn the top, next to a ruined mansion. The massive stairways of stone are still standing, as are the well made walls, bastions and turrets. The earlier turrets are designed for spears and arrows and the later ones for muzzle loading guns. Students climb all the way up here to study because the breeze is very refreshing. But from the flat plain, the rock of Bhongir stands grey, menacing and silent, looming over the line of trains and traffic snaking past, 300 feet below.

From the city of Hyderabad to Bhongir the soil and surroundings seem similar, but after Bhongir towards Warangal there is a slight change in the vegetation and soil. The area around Bhongir is rich in historical sights and interesting spots but is almost unknown. 

(Written by V Rama Chandra Rao)

---

Found another post on the fort:

“Sometimes, there are places that are relative unknowns that are just as awesome and breathtaking as those that get plastered all over the news and tourist sites. That is why when someone goes on a vacation to some foreign place, an itinerary set by a travel agency or tourist company isn’t always the best choice. There is still much to be said about discovering less well-known attractions in out-of-the-way places; it harkens back to the time when there was magic in discovering something that is relatively low profiled. Case in point: Bhongir Fort in the municipality of Bhongir, in Hyderabad.

The fort is built upon a single rocky hill in Bhongir, a town in Andhra Pradesh, located in the Nalgonda district of the state. It is located some 48 kilometers away from Hyderabad. The Western Chalukya ruler, Tri-bhuvana-malla Vikram-aditya VI, built the fort from one single monolithic rock in the 12th century; as a result, the fort was originally named Tribhuvanagiri, after him. Gradually, across the centuries, the name metamorphosed into Bhuvanagiri (or Bhuvana’s Hill), and eventually, into Bhongir, its present name. The hill upon which the fort itself is built is about 500 feet high, and spread to about 40 acres of land.

Considered practically impregnable by invading armies then, the fort has a unique egg-shaped construction with two entry points that are protected by huge rocks. A moat encircles the fort and the place itself has a huge underground chamber, an armory, stables, and trap doors, among others. These can still be seen even now, which makes for some fascinating viewing for visitors. The citadel located on the top of the hill gives a wonderful bird’s-eye view of the surrounding area. According to legend, Bhongir Fort once had an underground passage that leads directly to Golconda Fort. This, of course, has never been proven.

Bhongir Fort held it’s own against enemy armies but by the 15th century, with the advent of gunpowder, cannons had reduced its strategic importance. It finally went to the Bahmani Sultans who tried to renovate it, and thus, gave it an Islamic style. It became a seat to the local governor, and a prison for Qutub Shahi throne pretenders. By the 18th century, the fort has fallen into decay, and until recently, it had just remained a silent fortification ruin, covered in its long but mysterious past.”

________________________________________________________________________

Other posts on this fort:

1. http://shonawrites.blogspot.com/2010/05/baap-of-ivs-bhongir-part-2.html
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/hirsuteursus/2195632760/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_view_of_Bhongir_Fort,_AP_W_IMG_3052.jpg
4. http://www.mustseeindia.com/Bhongir
5. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/60805-bhongir-fort-photologue.html
6. http://www.baatasaari.com/english/city-guides/bhongir.aspx
7. http://www.simplytelangana.com/2010/11/13/bhongir-fort/