Chapora Fort (,

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: शापोरा), located in Bardez,

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, rises high above the Chapora River. The site is the location of a fort built by Adil Shahi dynasty ruler Adil Shah and called Shahpoora, whose name was altered to Shapora (chapora) by Malvankar on the request of the Portuguese . It is now become a popular tourist spot and offers a view north across the Chapora river to Morjim

History

The fort changed hands several times after Portuguese acquired Bardez. Trying to end the Portuguese rule in Goa, the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

s in 1683 and made this place his base camp. It became the northern outpost of the Old Conquests. After the Portuguese recovered from an encounter with the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

, they strengthened their northern defenses and provided shelter to the people there. Across the Chapora river, the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

ruler of Pernem, the Maharaja of Sawantwadi who was an old enemy of the Portuguese held the fort for two years. The Portuguese came in 1717, and carried out extensive repairs of the fort, adding features like bastions and a tunnel that extended to the seashore and banks of the Chapora River for emergencies. The fort fell to Bhonsle in 1739. In 1741, the Portuguese regained the fort when the northern taluka of Pernem was handed over to them. In 1892, they completely abandoned the fort. When Goa's border moved northwards with the acquisition of Pernem as part of the New Conquests, the fort lost its military significance towards the end of the century.

Architecture

The Chapora fort sits on a prominent position which commands views in all directions. It also has steep slopes on all sides. The fort follows the outline of the higher slopes. This forms an irregular outer wall that uses the natural form to add defensive height to the fortifications. This offers an advantage over dry ditches being dug. At the top of the steep approach track, the main gate is small and unpretentious, but narrow and deep. Depending on defense requirements, the positions of bastions are irregularly spaced with enormous embrasures for

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

. Each bastion has a cylindrical

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

offering a special character to the fort. Inside the fort, the church, once dedicated to St. Anthony, has disappeared and inside only a few signs exist of the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

and housing that once filled this vast area. The wide expanse of open space is only a tumble of stones, where a few herds of goats graze and cashew bushes grow. A natural valley to the beach protected by rocky

promontories A promontory is a raised mass of landform, land that projects into a Upland and lowland, lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosion, e ...

provides an excellent natural access to the sea.

In popular culture

The Fort of Chapora got popularized by the movie ''

Dil Chahta Hai ''Dil Chahta Hai'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar in his directorial debut, and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani under the newly formed Excel Entertainment banner. The fil ...

'' (Starring Amir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna) and is now a prime attraction of

References

External links

Photo and description of Chapora fort

your 'Dil Chahta Hai' moment in Chapora fort, Goa

to shacks, yes to getting high - an unusual day at Chapora fort

Chapora fort ratings, reviews and photos on allaboutgoa.com

Chapora Fort's
spherical panoramas 360°.
Walk through Chapora Fort (прогулка по форт Чапора)
22.12.2014 {{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire, state=collapsed Forts in Goa Portuguese forts in India 1717 establishments in India Buildings and structures completed in 1717 Military installations established in 1717

History

Architecture

In popular culture

See also

References

External links