The mighty forts of Rajputana, more than mere edifices of stone, punctuate the undulating landscape of this often-unforgiving land; nestled amidst hills, ravines and the desert, giving form to this historic geography, just as they act as milestones in the eventful history of the proud Rajput clans who built, inhabited and defended them. Kumbhalgarh, immortalized by its wall and the king who commissioned it, embodies this reputation. Perched 1,807 metres on the Aravallis northwest of Udaipur, it stands guard over the erstwhile kingdom of Mewar, the most senior and vaunted amongst the royal Rajput houses. Believed to be the patron of as many as thirty-two hill forts for the defense of the realm, Rana Kumbha (A.D. 1433-1468) defeated the combined forces of the Gujarat and Malwa sultans in A.D. 1440 and kept the latter captive for six months – achievements he commemorated with the exquisite Vijay Stambha at Chittorgarh. In a twist of fortunes, the story also goes that he vanquished an army from Delhi at Jhunjhunu. James Tod adds to this splendour, informing us of Kumbha’s talent as a poet, the king having composed an appendix to the ‘Git Govinda’! These exploits and the memorialized bastions of Kumbhalgarh echo as evocatively as any meandering tale of the nostalgic Charan bards of Rajputana.
KUMBHALGARH FORT, KUMBHALGARH, RAJASTHAN