A Mighty Fort

The second longest wall in the world stretched to the horizon, the impregnable citadel that fell just once in history, a sanctuary that is home to the wild— Kumbhalgarh is more than the fort. It is a story in stone.

- Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy

Even in India—the land of legends, it is difficult to find another fort as legendary as Kumbhalgarh. Built by Mewar ruler Maharana Kumbha, it is the birthplace of Maharana Pratap, which boasts the longest fort wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. The mighty fort of Kumbhalgarh is one of the six hill forts of Rajasthan to be recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2013. Straddling a 1,100m high spur of the Aravalis between the Rajput kingdoms of hilly Mewar and arid Marwar, it is the loftiest and second largest fort in Rajasthan—and a wildlife sanctuary as well! We flew into Udaipur and set off on our three-hour drive to the western range of the Aravalis.

After a brief highway stop at Iswal for methi pakoda, kadhifafda and chai, our driver Narendra regaled us with anecdotes and local lores. This nook of jagged hills had doubled up as Afghanistan for some scenes in the movie Khuda Gawah. More recently, Bollywood films like Dhamaal and Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo had been filmed here. As we crossed the scenic Banas river, Narendra narrated its mythical origin. The two rivers Banas and Sukri originate at Veron ka Math (a corruption of Veeron ka Math), the spot where Mahabharat warrior Karna supposedly learnt weaponry from Lord Parasurama. While the Banas flows through Mewar, Sukri courses through Marwar. The fable revolves around a saas-bahu episode, where the mother-in-law hailed from Marwar and the daughter-in-law from Mewar. Since their husbands were away, the two women fought bitterly. Once after a spat, they set off to their maternal homes and the route they took eventually became the course of the rivers. While the quarrelsome Sukri would dry up in summer, Banas would flow all year round. And hence, the local expression ‘saas Sukri, bahu Banas.’