Nahargarh Fort in Rajasthan

The Nahargarh Fort was constructed in the eighteenth century by Jai Singh, the chief architect of the city of Jaipur. By that time, the capital of Jai Singh’s kingdom was in Jaipur, yet Nahargarh Fort lay on a strategically important route to Jaipur. The aim of the fort was to protect the city of Jaipur from possible attack by armies passing through this route.

There is an interesting legend behind the naming of the fort. It is said that the angry spirit of a prince roamed the construction site and disrupted work in ways that only a spirit can. The prince pushed workers off scaffolds, made supplies disappear, and made life impossible for the people employed there. Later, Jai Singh had to personally step in and call in spirit healers.

The prince, summoned by the healers, promised to leave people in peace if they named the fort after him. And the king agreed, thus naming the site Nahargarh, literally, fort of Nahar. Since the fort has been constructed well, and has lasted this long, we can assume that the sprite prince kept his word.

The fort stands tall on the shores of the Lake Mansagar. Though some of the apartments within the fort are well preserved, others have lost their battle with time and erosion. That should not be any reason not to visit Nahargarh though, because many of the complexes are well maintained and even house shops and craft emporiums.

One of the main attractions within the fort is the picnic hut built by Ram Singh II. Well, “hut” is not the right term here, since the Madhvendra Bhawan has dozens of rooms and miles of corridors. The site of the fort is a picnic spot still for families enjoying a trip to the lake and a day spent exploring the fort. There is even a canteen that serves snacks here.

So sunny afternoons at certain parts of the fort ring with squeals of children, the murmur of indulgent parents, and the sounds of picnic baskets being unloaded. The more things change, the more they remain the same.