Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Forts & Palaces
A typical South Indian fort is situated on a hill or rocky outcrop, ringed by moated battle-
ments. It usually has a town nestled at its base, which would have developed after the forti-
fications were built. Gingee (Senji) in Tamil Nadu is a particularly good example. Vellore
Fort, also in Tamil Nadu, is one of India's best-known moated forts, while Bidar and Bi-
japur in Karnataka are home to great metropolitan forts.
Daulatabad in Maharashtra is another magnificent structure, with 5km of walls surround-
ing a hilltop fortress. The fortress is reached by passageways filled with ingenious de-
fences, including spike-studded doors and false tunnels, which in times of war led either to
a pit of boiling oil or to a crocodile-filled moat!
Few old palaces remain in South India, as conquerors often targeted these for destruc-
tion. The remains of the royal complex at Vijayanagar, near Hampi, indicate that local en-
gineers weren't averse to using the sound structural techniques and fashions (such as domes
and arches) of their Muslim adversaries, the Bahmanis. Travancore's palace of the mahara-
jas at Padmanabhapuram, which dates from the 16th century, has private apartments for the
king, a zenana (women's quarters), rooms dedicated to public audiences, an armoury, a
dance hall and temples. Meanwhile, the Indo-Saracenic Maharaja's Palace in Mysore is the
best known and most opulent in the south, its interior a kaleidoscope of stained glass, mir-
rors and mosaic floors.
Architecture and Art of Southern India , by George Michell, provides details on the Vijayanagar empire and its suc-
cessors, encompassing a period of some 400 years.
 
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