Sawse - Stir it Up!

The Ahichhatragarh fort located at Nagaur, in the desert state of Rajasthan in India, gets yet another grant from the California based institution Getty. This is the fourth time the fort is getting funding from the institute. The reason for the fort getting this much attention is because of its architectural brilliance and the number of brilliant wall paintings that are kept inside. The recent grant that was allocated was for the restoration and purposes of conserving these paintings.

The fort of Ahichhatragarh, which means the ‘Fort of the Hooded Cobra’, is possibly one among the oldest architectural spots in the country of India that is still in decent condition considering its age. The fort is located on the edge of the great Indian dessert and is almost 100 miles away from the city of Jodhpur. The fort is also very close to the Pakistan border and still remains as one of the main attractions of the Thar Dessert. The town of Nagaur was an important trading post during the period of its glory, which was during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. During this time period the various Muslim as well as Hindu rulers were responsible for constructing spectacular sandstone palaces inside the fort. These rulers also decorated these palaces with beautiful wall paintings and other delicate works of art. They also played a large role in making the wonderful Rajput and Mughal gardens.

The fort is an architectural splendor, as it was constructed in such a way that only a tiny amount of water would be lost under harsh conditions. A system inside the fort was developed in such a way that if there was an attack on the fort, almost one year’s worth of water could be stored. But the condition of this splendid creation has been deteriorating and was in need of restoration. The ideal terms to describe the condition of the fort now would be desolate and forlorn.

Since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the fort has been lived in by India’s Border Security Forces. It was during this time that the condition of the fort went from bad to worse. The people of the BSF divided the rooms of the castles very carelessly and left horrible inscriptions on the wonderful paintings of the walls. They also went on to use grease on most of the walls to make the condition even worse. As time passed, huge amounts of debris accumulated in the spacious courtyards and the magnificent walls that surrounded the huge fort.

Grants till now

The people who are maintaining the fort however, have been receiving financial aid from the Californian based institution Getty on a regular basis for sometime now. The Ahichhatragarh has been given three donations in the past for the purposes of conservation and for the further restoration of the fort. Apart from Getty, it has also gotten funds from the Helen Hamlyn Trust which is based in Britain, the Maharajah’s charity and some from the Mehrangarh Museum Trust. As the fort of Nagaur has more than just one structure in it, it has been more or less treated as a huge location with multiple architectural sites inside. This has enabled Getty to sanction more than one award for its refurbishment. To date, the institution has sanctioned $750,000, out of which $200,000 was earmarked for the purpose of conserving the splendid wall paintings that are present throughout the castles. The awards given by the Hamlyn trust were also mainly for the study and conservation of these paintings.

The most endangered artifacts in the fort are the delicate paintings and the elegant mirror decorations that are located in the Sheesh Mahal or the Palace of Mirrors. The paintings here date back from the 18th century and have therefore sustained a lot of damage due to water and salt deposits. Work is now under way, courtesy of the grants from various concerned institutions, to protect and conserve these paintings. Most of the conservation work that is underway is due to a joint venture with the department of paintings of the Courtauld Institute which is located in London. It is this institute that currently manages the fort. The research work that is to be done on the various wall paintings is being done in order to discover who created the work and to know under which ruler’s regime the work was commissioned.

In the year 2004 the forts of Nagaur managed to win the Unesco-Asia Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The award was given for the use of contemporary scientific methods and other traditional construction practices. Numerous stonemasons, traditional artisans, and many other conservation and architectural students were trained in the ways of ancient construction methods for the purpose of maintaining the Ahichhatragarh fort. The main objective of the project that has been undertaken by Getty is to make the conservators of India more proficient in the department of Wall paintings.

Main problems

The main problems the various artifacts in the fort face at this point, is the damage that has been caused by the combined evils of water seepage and salt deposition. Because of the leaks in the water vaults the paint in most of the paintings is peeling off in large amounts. This has irrevocably damaged these age old paintings. However most of these problems are now being taken care of as the water leakage has now been put to a stop. The salt efflorescence and deposition are also going to be taken care of in the near future in order to make sure that the architectural brilliance remains to inspire future generations. The most important of the forts features which is the water recycling system, has been completely and successfully restored. The aqueducts which run through the roofs of the palace and the walls have now been repaired along with the various pipes which carry water to make sure that the system does not degrade any further, ensuring that no amount of water leaks and destroys the paintings.