Forts and palaces

Forts were built to protect a kingdom from invaders.

So they were placed with care (strategically):

• near important land or sea routes;
• often on a hill, with a clear view of the plains below.

Forts were also homes for the rulers and the army, and sometimes held a whole city inside. Some had royal palaces in them, which is why the chapter looks at forts and palaces together.

Mehrangarh Fort stands high above Jodhpur in Rajasthan. It was begun in the mid-15th century and grew for two centuries, in huge blocks of local red sandstone.

Inside is a palace with rooms for the royal family, separate rooms for men and women, rooms for staff, stables and barracks. A whole little society lived inside its walls.

Nearby is Jaswant Thada, a cenotaph: a memorial to a person who is not buried there. Jodhpur's royal family were cremated at this spot.

Below the fort, Jodhpur's old houses are painted blue. The colour comes from copper sulphate mixed with lime, which is said to keep termites away.

Winding streets, open courtyards, jāli windows, thick walls and balconies all work together to keep these houses cool.

Agra's Red Fort was a ruined brick fort when Akbar rebuilt it as his capital, in red sandstone from Dholpur in Rajasthan. That red stone is where its name comes from.

Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan loved marble, and replaced many buildings with marble ones. Later his own son Aurangzeb imprisoned him in one of them until his death. From there he could see the Taj Mahal in the distance.

The fort's fountains were clever engineering:

• Persian wheels lifted Yamuna water up into tanks on the fort walls;
• the water then flowed down through terracotta pipes;
• and came out as fountains, which worked like eco-friendly 'air-conditioners', keeping the area cool.

Orchha, on the river Betwa in Madhya Pradesh, is a fort-palace complex built by the Bundela Rajput kings. Its Jahangir Mahal, built to mark Emperor Jahangir's visit, mixes Rajput and Mughal styles.

The Mysuru Palace in Karnataka was rebuilt early in the 20th century after the old wooden palace burned down. It is Indo-Saracenic in style (you will meet this style later in the chapter).

It is famous for carved wooden doors, ceiling paintings, stained-glass windows, a golden throne (singhāsana), and nearly 100,000 lights.