 Beckoning the keen traveller’s eye...
Vasai, known as Bassein or Baçaim is a historical village which falls in Thane District on the mainland just north of the Mumbai archipelago. Therein lies the Bassein fort which has stood witness to many owners and periods in history.
Historically speaking...
The Fort was initially built by the sultan of Gujarat - Bahadur Shah with the purpose of guarding the coast against the Portuguese and the pirates. Surrounded on three sides by the sea and only accessible by land on one side, the Vasai fort was tough to conquer. The Portuguese however captured it in 1534 and went on to be its proud owners and developers over the next 200 years or so. It was an edifice of the Portuguese rule in India.
It took the Portuguese more than 30 years to remodel the original structure into a very strong fort with a citadel inside. Initially it was called the northern capital of the Portuguese. It gradually developed into a fort city for its aristocracy, complete with churches, hospitals, college institutions, and other administrative and community places. It was therefore not surprising that the Portuguese used it as their commercial and military base on the North Western coast in India. The layout of the fort city were similar to the ones in Portugal and hence it became a popular colony for the Portuguese and is also described in there literatures. This city housed a cathedral, 13 churches and 5 convents. Today many of the buildings still stand, though without roofs.
The fort was attacked by the Maratha army under Baji Rao Peshwa and after a three long year campaign finally fell in 1739. What followed were several decades of neglect under Maratha ownership. The fort changed hands once again in 1818 when it was handed over to the British as part of a treaty. The British, however had developed Mumbai as their preferred port city and did little to maintain or develop it. They only exploited the place for commercial use like setting up a leased sugar mill in one of the church premises.
The Present Day...
Though the fort is so old, having weathered the attacks of man and nature, the remains still portray the grandeur of Portuguese architecture. The ramparts overlook Vasai creek and are almost complete and several watch-towers still stand, with safe staircases leading up. The buildings inside the fort are in ruins. However there are enough standing walls to give a fair idea of the floor plans of these structures. Some have remarkably well-preserved façades as well. One can still find them with carved stones, some weathered beyond recognition while others still displaying sharp chisel marks. Three chapels with façades typical of 17th century Portuguese churches are still recognisable. In fact the southernmost of these has a well preserved barrel vaulted ceiling as well.
For the nature lovers the dilapidated parts of the fort offer a great opportunity to observe butterflies, birds, plants and reptiles. And for Bollywood lovers it may be of interest to know that the fort has been the venue or several Hindi movie shoots including Josh, Khamoshi and Ram Gopal Verma's Aag.
Ruchika Batra
Vasai Fort
Address: Vasai (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra
Location: In Vasai, 55 Kms from Mumbai by road. 77 Kms along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
|
Loading...
