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Kittur Rani Chennamma memorial

Once while passing through Bailhongal, Mahadevappa Gajarappa of Hangaraki showed us Kittur Chennamma's tomb. I'm not sure if this is the brave queen's tomb or a memorial.

Even 180 years after her death, it is still not clear if she died as a prisoner in 1829 or she was let off and died at an old age.

To see paintings of the brave warrior queen visit this post- Rani Chennamma.

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Detail: Kittur Rani Chennamma memorial

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Halae Somapur fort ruins

While scanning the hills around Tallur a fort was discovered, it was equidistant from Tallur and Somapur. Also, I had read about a megalithic tomb in the vicinity of Tallur. I had seen Tallur during my visit to Subapur fort.

October 20, 2012

Malatesh and I set off in search of a slab with prehistoric drawings near Navil Theerth dam, Saundatti. The slab was discovered by a well known archaeologist during excavations at the dam site. We searched few probable locations with help from folks living in a village nearby. Sadly the search efforts went in vain but we visited Ramlingeshwar Gudi and explored Navil Theerth gorge. Then we decided to head towards Tallur with a hope of finding the megalithic tomb and Somapur fort.

At Tallur, we stopped near Tallur Desai's fort. We inquired with village folks if they were aware of a megalithic tomb in or around Tallur. No, there's no such thing here :-( When we checked about the fort, they confirmed its existence. It's called as Halae Somapur fort. We wsked if there's anyone who take us there. One of the men asked an old man if he could show us the fort. Yes, and our guide Fakirappa was ready to leave.

The path starts near Tallur Desai's vaadae, in fact exactly behind it. On the village outskirts are two ancient wells.

Close to the second well is an ancient Muslim tomb. That's Fakirappajja.

The path was a through a wide valley, slightly uphill, very rough because it was littered with stones. Running here is not an easy task. A streambed crisscrossed our path. Also at places there were large beds of rocks with pebbles embedded in them (see inset above).

After a 20 minute walk, ruins of the fort came into view. Fakirappajja was a silent type, spoke only when spoken to. He moved at a constant pace, in fact we were struggling to keep up with him.

Another 10 minutes walk we were at the base of the rocky hillock. The walls were not really high, we felt the fort's construction was abandoned in early stages.

Going up the hill we saw few interesting rock types. Going by the look they seem to be igneous rocks. Pebbles trapped in solidified lava.

The fort wall's height varied from 2' to 8' and width varied between 4' to 6'. Dressed stones are used but the construction seems primitive.

This is the western corner of the fort.

The fort is built on a corner of this hill and from here we can see a T-shaped gorge about 40' deep. On the slope of the neighboring hill is a small temple where rituals are performed on special days.

Perhaps this gap in the wall was a planned doorway.

We walk along the fort perimeter, this is the Southern part.

Part of the wall seems to have collapsed here.

The eastern walls are higher and in slightly advance stage of construction.

This is the inner side of the eastern wall.

Inside the fort are ruins of six or seven small houses.

Nothing much to see here. Malatesh and I felt construction was abandoned because the rulers felt this location was not really strategic. We decided to inspect the temple. We climbed down the same way we climbed up and then took a sharp turn to the left and walked along the base of the hill. To our right is a stream bed. If rains were good this place would be alive with gurgling streams and clear water ponds. Yet, we found a trickle of a stream flowing silently.

From this angle with the Shikhara hidden the structure can be mistaken for a mosque. Fakirappajja goes in and pays respect to the deity and settles down on for a short rest.

A small collection of ancient sculptures belonging to this temple. The fort is on the hill opposite.

We sit here for a while, it was quite warm because of lack of air movement. The place is silent except for birds and a cries of village boys herding cattle on these hills.

Here's a short video of the fort and hills-

Walk back to Tallur was slightly easy because we were going downhill. At the village we refill our water bottles at Fakirappajja's home, thank him and say bye.

This is how the villages and forts are spread out. The area between Tallur and Somapur is hilly.

We were hungry and we drove back towards Saundatti looking for a good spot to have lunch.

Halae Somapur fort coordinates: 15°53'45"N 75°0'41"E
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Detail: Halae Somapur fort ruins

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Ramdurg Fort

Though Torgal-Ramdurg is a short drive, we were feeling the midday heat. We could see the fort walls as we approached Ramdurg. Once inside the busy town, the fort vanished from our sight. Ramdurg town has grown out of the fort and spilling on the sides. The fort is swamped by houses with narrow streets between them.

A - Fort gateway
B - Palace
C - Malaprabha river

Chetan wanted to have something cold, he got a 2l Sprite bottle. It did help beat the heat at that moment. We got directions and went up a short uphill road leading into the fort. That's the only gateway.

Plenty of new constructions. If a mason falls short of few stones, just pick some from the fort walls here ...it could be happening.

Inside the fort, we parked in the shade cast by an ancient building. A modern building stood opposite, a board identified it as some college. The ancient building also had a black & white board proclaiming it some college. I assumed the building to be of British era. A man was sitting on a platform was watching us, he seemed to be a guard. We rested for a while looking around, thinking whom to inquire about the fort. On a hunch I asked the guard and learnt that this building is a palace. Wow!

The guard slowly opened up. This is Ghotge Palace, present owner lives in Poona and visits occasionally. I ask if I can peep inside from the opn door. He actually invites to step in but requests us not to shoot. We agree, take off our footwear and step into the palace. Our guide, cannot remember his name, told us that furniture and household things are moved to a different place.

This is the approximate layout of the ground floor. The first floor had gallery right above the conference hall and probably bedrooms. The conference hall had couple of heavy wooden tables and chairs, we did see a book which looked at least 80 years old. the guard with us all the while. We saw few pictures; one of the Maharaja and his son's picture was also seen. The present owner is the Maharaja's granddaughter. The safe room had strong vertical bars like a prison cell. Dining hall floor dirt floor smeared with a layer of cow-dung (this is common in rural homes). Once a year feast is served after pooja. The dining hall could seat 50 to 60 people. The kitchen had a huge water tank of it's own and had a door to the back yard. We could see the pooja room also, I did namaskara to idols inside. A poojari performs pooja everyday. The stairway leading to the first floor would be locked, I did not bother to ask our guard. I was glad to see this much. We thanked our friend and left.

This building houses the Municipal Offices, also belongs to the Maharaja.

We expected to see some cannons and stuff like that but :( We drove out the fort and went around Ramdurg hill with a hope of getting few decent shots of the fort.

This is all I could manage.

Shrikanth stopped on and off trying to get a good view and I would keep shooting without stepping out of the cab.

Done with Ramdurag, we drove across river Malaprabha towards Sureban. Few kilometers from Ramdurg, driving through ghat section, we stopped to admire Kolchi Weir.

Our next destination- Nargund.

Ramdurg Coordinates: 15°56'49"N 75°17'31"E

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Detail: Ramdurg Fort

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Torgal Fort

March 6, 2011. Third fort of the day.

Munvalli-Torgal road runs parallel to Malaprabha river. With no major towns the region is typically rural. As we approached Torgal Fort, the terrain got hilly and traffic increased, mostly tractors and trucks moving to & fro sugar mill which is right next to the fort. There it is.

We got off at the fort entrance. That's one of the two gateways. This one faces West while the other North-East. I guess the North-East gate is the main entrance.

Google Map screen-shot

A - Gateway through outer fort wall
B - Gateway through inner fort wall
C - ruins of stone shelter
D - Core, these walls & bastions are taller than the outer fort wall
E - Bhutnath Temple Complex
F - Malaprabha river
G - Mosque
H - North-East gateway

Wonder who these characters are.

The construction is functional not much importance given to aesthetics.

Neel and Chetan check out the structure. We shared our observations, analyze and discuss how and why. This is the gateway through the inner fort wall.

A big fat fish.

Another fish and two creatures, body looks like swan but head look like snake's. Chetan and I discussed but could not decide what it was. I think he mentioned a tortoise.

We climbed a wall to get a good view. That's the core fort. Probably this is the oldest construction. The outer walls where built around for better security.

Just below where we stood was this pair of parallel structures. My guess was it could be shelter for soldiers or visitors. We went exploring looking for a way to climb down and get a better look.

To Chetan this looked like a market place. This could be a army stable too. The structure was supported by stones and looked pretty scary ...what if it collapses.

We wanted to check out the other row but jaali-gida blocked our path. We could find a way though the maze but we would nasty scratches and pick up dirt and soon get itchy in this hot weather. Let's get out.

Looks like a mosque.

We reached the core. Actually this is a Vaade, landlord's residence. We passed by the owners' bungalow, gate was locked and they were out of town. No chance of seeing what's inside the core. People refereed to the owner as 'Maharaj'.

We peeped through a gap in one of the massive doors. Looks like ruins of a palace.

Within the fort is Toragal village. While we amaze at the ancient structures, for them it's just another piece of construction. One of the locals suggested is to check out Bhutnath Temple. We had to pass by a cluster of houses and these kids ambushed us asking to take pictures... photo thegiree. We asked if they'll show us the temple.

This bunch of kids lead us to Bhutnath temple. As you see it's being cared for, work is under progress.

It's a group of 5 or 6 Kadamba style temples, similar to temples of Banavasi and Tambdi Surla, Goa.

Feels good to see well preserved monuments. The kids kept asking to take pictures, they would rush to the direction I pointed my camera. The kids showed us Malaprabha river ...just a stone's throw from the complex. Check out the only video I shot at Torgal Fort.