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The Vijaydurg Fort features in the movie [[Killa (film)|Killa (The Fort)]], an Indian Marathi drama film directed by Avinash Arun. Killa's locations include [[Guhagar]], the '''Vijaydurg Fort''' and [[Ganpatipule]].<ref>[http://scroll.in/article/736544/decorated-marathi-movie-killa-is-a-sensitive-portrayal-of-the-wonder-and-blunder-years Scroll.in - Decorated Marathi movie ‘Killa’ is a sensitive portrayal of the wonder and blunder years]</ref><ref>[http://www.priyaadivarekar.com/2014/10/film-review-killa-fort.html Diary of a Dancebee - Film Review | Killa (The Fort)]</ref> The cycle race between Chinmay (the lead character) and his friends to the fort lends the movie its title.
The Vijaydurg Fort features in the movie [[Killa (film)|Killa (The Fort)]], an Indian Marathi drama film directed by Avinash Arun. Killa's locations include [[Guhagar]], the '''Vijaydurg Fort''' and [[Ganpatipule]].<ref>[http://scroll.in/article/736544/decorated-marathi-movie-killa-is-a-sensitive-portrayal-of-the-wonder-and-blunder-years Scroll.in - Decorated Marathi movie ‘Killa’ is a sensitive portrayal of the wonder and blunder years]</ref><ref>[http://www.priyaadivarekar.com/2014/10/film-review-killa-fort.html Diary of a Dancebee - Film Review | Killa (The Fort)]</ref> The cycle race between Chinmay (the lead character) and his friends to the fort lends the movie its title.


== Discovery of Helium ==
== Unverified claims for the Discovery of Helium ==
* [[Norman Lockyer|Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer]], a British scientist was observing a solar eclipse from this fort on 18 August 1868.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} It was during his observation that the Helium Gas was discovered on Sun in the form of a yellow flame! He named this as Helios which was later named as Helium. Vijaydurg can be credited as the place from where, Helium was discovered and observed on sun.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
Some of the locals claim that [[Norman Lockyer|Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer]], a British scientist was observing a solar eclipse from this fort on 18 August 1868.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} It was during his observation that the Helium Gas was discovered on Sun in the form of a yellow flame. He named this as Helios which was later named as Helium. Vijaydurg can be credited as the place from where, Helium was discovered and observed on sun.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}<br />
However, the line of helium was detected by French astronomer [[Pierre Janssen|Jules Janssen]] during a total [[solar eclipse]] in [[Guntur]], [[British Raj|India]].<ref name="frnch">{{Cite journal|title = French astronomers in India during the 17th&nbsp;– 19th centuries |journal = Journal of the British Astronomical Association|volume =101|issue = 2|pages = 95–100|bibcode = 1991JBAA..101...95K|author = Kochhar, R. K.|date=1991}}</ref><ref name="nbb"/> On October 20 of the same year, English astronomer [[Norman Lockyer]] observed a yellow line in the solar spectrum from his observatory in England, which he named the D<sub>3</sub> [[Fraunhofer line]] because it was near the known D<sub>1</sub> and D<sub>2</sub> lines of sodium.<ref name=enc>{{Cite book|title= The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements |pages =256–268 |author = Clifford A. Hampel |location=New York |isbn = 0-442-15598-0 |date = 1968 |publisher =Van Nostrand Reinhold}}</ref><ref name="orbit">{{cite journal | author = Cortie, A. L. | title = Sir Norman Lockyer, 1836 &ndash; 1920 | journal = Astrophysical Journal | date = 1921 | volume = 53 | pages = 233&ndash;248 | bibcode = 1921ApJ....53..233C | doi = 10.1086/142602 }}</ref> [[Norman Lockyer|Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer]] visited the Fort in 1898 to observe the solar eclipse in that year. On that occasion a platform was built. From this visit, it is claimed that helium was discovered on Vijaydurg Fort.


=== World Helium Day ===
=== World Helium Day ===

Revision as of 19:58, 2 September 2015

This article is about the fort. For the city, see Vijaydurg (city).

Vijaydurg Fort
विजयदूर्ग किल्ला
Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra
Bastions of Vijaydurg fort
Vijaydurg Fort is located in Maharashtra
Vijaydurg Fort
Vijaydurg Fort
TypeSea fort
Site information
Open to
the public		Yes
Site history
Built1193 (1193)
Built byBhoja II
MaterialsStone, Mortar

Vijaydurg (sometimes written as Viziadurg), the oldest fort on the Sindhudurg coast, was constructed during the regime of Raja Bhoja II of the Shilahar dynasty (construction period 1193-1205) and restructured by Shivaji Maharaj.[1] The fort was earlier known as "Gheria", as it is situated close to the village of "Girye". Shivaji captured this fort from Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1653 and renamed it as "Vijay Durg" as the then Hindu solar year's name was "Vijay" (Victory).

Earlier, the fort encompassed an area of 5 acres (1 acre = 4840 square yards or 4047 square metres) and was surrounded by sea on all four sides. Over the years the eastern trench was reclaimed and a road constructed thereon. Presently the area of fort is about 17 acres and is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on three sides. Shivaji extended the area of the fort by constructing three walls on the eastern side, each 36 metres high. He also constructed 20 bastions.

According to legend, this is one of only two Maratha forts where Shivaji personally hoisted the saffron flag. The other fort is Torna.

Vijaydurg Fort was called the "Eastern Gibraltar", as it was virtually impregnable. Its locational advantages include the 40 km long Waghotan/Kharepatan creek. Large vessels cannot enter the shallow water of this creek. Also, Maratha warships could be anchored in this creek and yet remain invisible from the sea. It is a protected monument.[2]

Location

Fort Vijaydurg is located at the tip of the peninsular region of Vijaydurg in Devgad Taluka, of district Sindhudurg. It is one of the several coastal forts on the western coast of Maharashtra, India. It is surrounded by water on three sides and connected to land through a narrow road. The port adjacent to the fort is a natural port and is still used by local fishermen.

Battle of Vijaydurg

After the death of Kanhoji Angre, there were two short reigns by Sarfoji and Sambhaji. The two brothers Manaji and Tulaji started fighting for the Angre throne. Nanasaheb Peshwe had intervened in the disputes between Manaji and Tulaji. This created two spheres of influence, Manaji in the north at Kulaba and Tulaji in the south at Vijaydurg. Tulaji Angre was favored by Chhatrapati Shahu and was appointed as Sarkhel (Admiral) of the Maratha Navy. This was against the will of Nanasaheb Peshwa.[3]

Sarkhel Tulaji

Tulaji was brave and a much more skillful seaman than Manaji. This had gained hus the favor of Chhatrapati Shahu. In a brief span, he had surpassed the record of his predecessors in the number of English ships captured: Charlotte of Madras, William of Bombay, Svern of Bengal and, Darby, Restoration, Pilot, Augusta and Dadabhoi of Surat. He had also captured Anjanvel form the Siddis of Janjira. Another reason for the Peshwa to go against Tulaji was that, Tulaji refused to admit the Peshwa as his superior, maintaining that both were equal servants of the Chhatrapati. He refused to pay revenue contribution and even annoyed the Peshwa by raiding his territory. Nanasaheb could do nothing as long as Shahu was alive, but after his death in 1749, Peshwa was free to wreck his vengeance on Tulaji.[3]

Death of Chhatrapati and Rise of Peshwa

After the death of Chhatrapati Shahu, Peshwa was the next most influential ruler among the ones with huge armies and numerous land forts under his command or at his disposal under ownership of his vassals. Against all advice, forgetting the interests of the Maratha nation, showing little political foresight or wisdom, Nanasaheb sought assistance of the English at Bombay to put down an end to Tulaji's reign. A treaty was signed according to which a ground force under command of the Peshwa and a naval force under command of the Company would attack and destroy Tulaji. Among other articles, the treaty provided that Fort Vijaydurg, when captured, would be given to the Peshwa.[3]

Fall of Suvarnadurg

In 1755, Commodore James of Bombay attacked the fort Suvarnadurg while the Peshwa's army started capturing land and other coastal forts of Angre. This isolated Suvarnadurg from landward. Commodore James first bombarded the fort from the west. 800 shots and shells were expended at a range of 100 yards, but the walls did not collapse.[4] He then entered the channel between the fort and the coast and fired on the eastern face as well as the main gate. Both gave way. Some of the garrison tried to escape from the fort by a tunnel running into the sea, but were discovered and killed.[5] Considerable damage had been caused inside the fort by the bombardment and the garrison, finding no hope of relief or reinforcements, surrendered. Commodore James returned to Bombay for the monsoons.

Attack on Vijaydurg

After the fall of Suvarnadurg and all other forts of the Angre, Vijaydurg was the only fort left under the command of Tulaji. In 1756, a large force under Admiral Watson converged on Vijaydurg. Watson had arrived at Bombay from eastern waters and had with him Colonel Clive with 500 marines. The English ships took station with Watson flying his flag on the Protector. Two bomb vessels were in the extreme east. The Maratha ships were anchored at the mouth of the creek, close to the fort. They all were bunched up, almost hull to hull. Amongst these was the Company's ship Restoration, which caught fire. The fire spread rapidly till the entire Angre fleet was destroyed, The bombardment of the fort had caused considerable damage inside the fort and magazine had been blown up.[3]

Fall of Vijaydurg

Tulaji, meanwhile had left the fort and gone to the Peshwa's camp seeking a negotiation but was promptly arrested and sent to one of the inland forts as a prisoner. The garrison was asked to surrender and in the absence of any response Clive landed his marines on 11 February 1756, entered and captured the fort. A huge amount of booty was captured. 250 pieces of cannons, stores and ammunition, 100,000 Rupees and 30,000 in valuable items fell into English hands.[3] Vijaydurg was not handed over immediately to the Peshwa as per the terms of the treaty. It was eventually given up but only after the Company obtained Bankot in exchange.[6]

End of Maratha Naval Supremacy

The battle of Vijaydurg marks the end of the Maratha Navy as a potent force.[6] The Maratha Admiral Dhulap captured some ships later. The Sawants of Sawantwadi, the Chhatrapati of Kolhapur and the Gaikwads of Baroda, all had a few ships. But the command of the seas, for all practical purposes had passed to the Company permanently. they achieved this in 1756 only because of the alliance with the Peshwa.[6]

Features of Architectural Interest

  • According to unconfirmed reports, there is a 200 meter long, undersea/underground tunnel from the fort to the palatial Dhulap house in the village.[7] Supposedly, the roof of the tunnel has been pinched to protect it from landslides and it is also well ventilated. Now the tunnel is partially blocked. If the presence of the tunnel can be confirmed, and the tunnel cleared, it could serve as a tourist attraction of historical and architectural interest.
  • Recent oceanographic evidence supports the existence of an undersea wall, constructed out at sea at a depth of 8–10 meter depth undersea.[8] Made of laterite, the wall is estimated to be 122 meter long, 3 meter high & 7 meter broad. Attacking ships often met a watery grave after colliding against this wall.When the Siddhi of Janjira was going to attack Vijaydurg, he got a message from Portuguese telling him that they had lost 2 of their ships while they were nearing the fort.
  • 1.5 km from the fort up the Waghotan Creek, exist the remains of a naval dock carved from rock.[9] This is where Maratha warships were built and repaired. The ships built here were of the 400-500 tonnage capacity. This 109 meter long and 70 meter wide dock faces the north side and is an achievement of Maratha naval architecture. Most of the smaller ships used to be docked near this small inner port. [10] The southern and eastern side is cut out of a natural rock and rest is dry masonry. In addition to this a number of grapnel and triangular stone anchors were noticed in the adjoining area of dockyard. [11]
  • On the other hill in front of the fort a wall was built to deceive the enemy. When the enemy attacked the wall, he had already wasted his ammunition and before he could understand, he would be attacked by Marathas from the rear side.
  • The Archaeological Survey of India had undertaken restoration and repair works for Maratha forts in Maharashtra which included Vijaydurg Fort along with Shivneri and Sindhudurg Fort.[12]
  • The fort has many monuments, now in ruins which show the characteristics of Maratha architecture. The food storage and court are such classic examples.
  • This fort also has a Khalbatkhana, where important meetings were held. There are only 3 forts that had a Khalbatkhana. They are Rajgad, Raigad and Vijaydurg.

Movies

The Vijaydurg Fort features in the movie Killa (The Fort), an Indian Marathi drama film directed by Avinash Arun. Killa's locations include Guhagar, the Vijaydurg Fort and Ganpatipule.[13][14] The cycle race between Chinmay (the lead character) and his friends to the fort lends the movie its title.

Unverified claims for the Discovery of Helium

Some of the locals claim that Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer, a British scientist was observing a solar eclipse from this fort on 18 August 1868.[citation needed] It was during his observation that the Helium Gas was discovered on Sun in the form of a yellow flame. He named this as Helios which was later named as Helium. Vijaydurg can be credited as the place from where, Helium was discovered and observed on sun.[citation needed]
However, the line of helium was detected by French astronomer Jules Janssen during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India.[15][16] On October 20 of the same year, English astronomer Norman Lockyer observed a yellow line in the solar spectrum from his observatory in England, which he named the D3 Fraunhofer line because it was near the known D1 and D2 lines of sodium.[17][18] Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer visited the Fort in 1898 to observe the solar eclipse in that year. On that occasion a platform was built. From this visit, it is claimed that helium was discovered on Vijaydurg Fort.

World Helium Day

Since 2009 World Helium Day is celebrated at the Fort. Friday, 18th August 2015, has a significance in the glory of the Fort and the Festival with the announcement of setting up of a Science Centre. The Festival was organised by Ex MLA of the area Shri. Pramod Jathar and Dr. Rajesh Ghangurde, Director, The Big Discovery with students and locals[who?] at the very place where Sir Norman Lockyer had installed his Telescope Equipment to observe the Total Solar Eclipse.[self-published source?] The platforms are still called 'Sahebache katte' (The Englishman’s platform)[citation needed]

  • To mark the importance and credit Vijaydurg with the Discovery of Helium and promote Science and Astronomy The Big Discovery has proposed setting up of Space Centre at Vijaydurg with the help of Government of Maharashtra. This Space Science Centre will have an Astronomy gallery, Planetarium and Information Kiosk. Local youth and students will be provided skill training and education to run the Science Centre and also generate self employment opportunities for Locals with the Tourism Promotion.[citation needed]
  • To promote International Tourism a Cultural exhibition gallery will also be setup at the Science Centre to highlight the glorious History and Cultural Diversity of India, Maharashtra State and the Kokan Heritage.[citation needed]

World Helium Day Celebration

See also

References

  1. ^ Coastal Konkan - Forts, Temples, Exotic Beaches
  2. ^ "List of the protected monuments of Mumbai Circle district-wise" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b c d e Naravane, M. S.; Battles of the Honorary East India Company: Making of the Raj, op cit page 103, New Delhi, 2006
  4. ^ Keay, I., op cit page 267
  5. ^ Keay, I., op cit page 268
  6. ^ a b c Naravane, M. S.; Battles of the Honorary East India Company: Making of the Raj, op cit page 104, New Delhi, 2006
  7. ^ Vijaydurg Marvels
  8. ^ TOI EPaper - Underwater Secrets!
  9. ^ Nature Club Holidays - One Day Forts
  10. ^ konkanonline.com - Vijaydurg Fort
  11. ^ India Travel Guide - Forts - Maharashtra - Vijaydurg
  12. ^ India Today - Shivaji's citadels are crumbling with neglect
  13. ^ Scroll.in - Decorated Marathi movie ‘Killa’ is a sensitive portrayal of the wonder and blunder years
  14. ^ Diary of a Dancebee - Film Review | Killa (The Fort)
  15. ^ Kochhar, R. K. (1991). "French astronomers in India during the 17th – 19th centuries". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 101 (2): 95–100. Bibcode:1991JBAA..101...95K.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference nbb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Clifford A. Hampel (1968). The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. pp. 256–268. ISBN 0-442-15598-0.
  18. ^ Cortie, A. L. (1921). "Sir Norman Lockyer, 1836 – 1920". Astrophysical Journal. 53: 233–248. Bibcode:1921ApJ....53..233C. doi:10.1086/142602.
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