Chandragiri Fort

 museum, school, archaeological site, fortification, historical building

Chandragiri Fort, Once a capital city of Vijayanagara Empire. It's history for a song, says PRINCE FREDERICK

STEP INTO Chandragiri Fort, which lies about 14 km south of the temple town of Tirupati, and you come face-to-face with history. For a paltry fee! Within its cyclopean walls and corbelled structures, you feel history breathe and push its way steadily into the present.

At the outset, I tried to find out what the museum in Raja Mahal, the main structure at the fort, had to offer. As my eyes glided over the exhibits, I found myself racing back in time, through the centuries, to a summer day in 1000 A.D. when Immadi Narasinga Yadava Raya surveyed the land where the fort stands today. Then I began tracing the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire and, with it, the growing importance of the fort. However, the fort saw its best days only after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the decisive battle of Rakkasa-Tangadi (1565 A.D.) Chandragiri Fort came into its own. For, the victor Venkatapatideva Maharaya of the Aravidu Dynasty chose to rule from Chandragiri and not Hampi. Since then, the fort grew in importance. After a tour that took in bronze gods, cannon balls and swords, I stepped out of Raja Mahal and onto the beautifully laid lawns that led to the other major structure - Rani Mahal (or a princess' living quarters). Reality did not quite match up to the expectation that the title raised. For, I was not entering an aesthetically designed boudoir of a beautiful princess. Though similar in design, Rani Mahal was not as impressive as Raja Mahal. To put it more precisely, it did not resemble a princess' living quarters at all. While the interior resembled a stable, an inscription on the basement informed me that Rani Mahal once served as a commander's quarters.

Chandragiri Fort is not just about the past. A stroll around the place was all that it took to convince me of that. Several improvements have been made to what the ancients left behind. An indication of this is the boating facility at what is called the Collection Tank. I was told that the tank derived its name from the fact that the rainwater skips down the hillocks and gets "collected" in it.

A visit to Chandragiri Fort would be incomplete without witnessing the light and sound shows that are conducted here at nightfall. In a whirling hypnotic motion, the two shows, one with a Telugu commentary, and the other, with an English commentary, wove pictures from a past that dwelt on the Chandragiri Fort. As the sounds faded and the lights died, I realised that Chandragiri Fort was not as much of a place as an experience. What's more, it was an experience that could be had at very little cost and with hardly any hassle. Getting there

Tirupati is well-connected by air (Renigunta Airport) and train from Chennai. Government and private buses regularly ply between Tirupati and Chandragiri. An all-season motorable road connects Chandragiri town and the fort, the monuments and the museum (the museum is not open on Fridays). Three-wheelers and cycle rickshaws are available at the town bus stand.

Third capital of the Vijayanagara Empire.They constructed a fort in which one can see a Kalyana Mandapa and a Palace.Now there the Archaeological Survey of India housed a Site Museum. It has excellent collection of art objects.