Andhra Pradesh - Kondapalli Fort, Vijayawada

Event date: 11th March 2012
Kondapali Fort

It was very early on Sunday morning that Phani Kumar, my driver came to fetch me from the apartment in Kantheru. First, we went to get Deepika who waited for us in her house at Vijayawada City. It was very nice of Deepika's mother to prepare our breakfast and lunch for the trip. The place is not really well kept and it was so quite when we reached the top of the hill at around 9am. We were the first to arrive and had to wait for the caretaker to open the Fort. Minimum entrance fee is charged. Deepika gave a sweet post next to the canon as soon as we passed the entrance gate.

The fort is located to the west of Vijayawada city in the main hill range known as "Kondapalli". The hill range, about 24 kilometres in length, extends between Nandigama and Vijayawada. It is connected by road from Ibrahimpatnam and Kondapalli villages. It took us only about 21 km from Vijayawada using National Highway 221 which is also a way connecting to Hyderabad City. The fort, locally known as "Kondapalli Quilla", is the historic fort built by Prolaya Vema Reddy, the Hindu kings of Reddy dynasty of Kondavid during the 14th century (1360), initially as a pleasure place and a business centre, along with the Kondavid Fort in Guntur District. Over the subsequent centuries, it became the theatre of several wars among many northern and southern rulers and the British. In 1541, the fort and the province were conquered by the Muhammadans (Bahmani Muslim sultanate.   

It was under occupation of the Bahmani Kingdom for quite some time, until the Gajapati rulers of Orissa (AP's neighbouring state) followed by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire and it later fell into the hands of another Muslim rulers of the Qutubshahi dynasty in the 16th century. Two treaty of alliance were signed with the Nizam ruler, Ali, recognising the control of the British over the territory. This treaty was initially signed on 12 November 1766 under which, the British Company, in return for the grant of the Sarcars agreed to garrison troops in the fort for the Nizam's aid at an annual cost of 90,000 pounds. It is also stated that in 1766, the British under General Caillaud, stormed the fort and took control of it.

A second treaty was signed on March 1, 1768, under which the Nizam recognised the grant provided to the British by Mughal ruler, Shah Alam. But, as a gesture of friendship, the British (then the East India Company) agreed to pay an allowance of 50,000 pounds to the Nizam. However, in 1823, the East India Company rested total control of the Sarcars under an outright purchase from the Nizam. In the initial years, the fort was used as a business centre but after the British took over the fort in 1766, it was converted into a military training base and being left abandoned after the British departure.

The fort has the best picturesque sight (see my photo above) and has 3 successive entry gates. The main entrance gate is called 'Dargha Darwaja' built with single block of granite. It is 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. It's name is derived from the tomb of Darga of Gulab Shah, who was killed in the battle at the gate area. Besides Dargha Darwaja, another entrance is located on the other end of the hill, which lead to Jaggaiahpet village. Inside the fortified wall, it house numerous towers and battlements. At the far end of the fort there is the Tanisha Mahal (palace), perched on a crest between 2 hills. This palace when in good shape had many chambers on the ground floor and a huge hall on the upper floor. In addition, there are several buildings still standing in the fort, which are ruins.

As for the water supply, there is a deep reservoir near the palace (3rd picture), which is sourced by a spring. The water in the reservoir is said to be cold and to cause fever, thus, its being fenced by the Local Authority. There are numerous other water tanks in the fort area, which go dry during the summer months. An English barrack is still standing in the fort area, which has 8 large rooms apart from a house in an annex. An English cemetery can also be found here.

There were some photos that I wish to share here, i.e. a view of Vijayawada Thermal Plant seen on the east side and a unique trees. Since it was nowhere it can be recovered (gone forever), those wishes and hopes will not bring the photos back. Sigh! Nevertheless I'm still thankful that I have very few left for me to write in this blog to record my travelling journal in Vijayawada, Kondappali Fort. I stayed in Vijayawada for almost a year. Will always remember the memoirs of Vijayawada and the friendship that I left forever close to my heart. Forget me not Deepika :)

Peace!