A day in Hissar

Long time no post, as you said. You are right, of course. So I went through the D drive and noticed a few pictures of Hissar, which I visited two years ago. I am sure you would love these pictures and the stories associated with some of them. 

Hissar as you know, is a district town in the State of Haryana, known to be the home base of one of the steel barons who have a huge multinational enterprise going at present. Several, in fact.

View of Hissar from an observation tower

Before visiting Hissar, we went to see the ancient ruins of a fort in Hansi. Known as the fort of Prithviraj Chauhan, one of the most romantic kings of medieval India. Blinded after the second battle of Tarain where he finally lost to the invading armies of Mohammad Ghori, legend has it that he sought out the invader and managed to shoot him dead, aiming only by his voice. Maybe therefore, almost all the statues of the redoubtable king, also known for his love affair with the princess Samyukta of Kanauj, have him astride his horse and aiming at the blue sky ..

Statue of Prithviraj Chauhan, Hissar

Entry to Hansi fort is generally through the Barshi gate, right into the town. And the bustling market starts right after the entry to the fort, as you may have noticed elsewhere as well 

It was a little distance, to the site of the ruins.

The fort is known to have been destroyed during the Mutiny of 1857. Only a few structures have been partially restored, most of it lying in mounds

A horde of bronze statues was found some time back in the Hansi fort and perhaps, other treasure also lie buried somewhere within. Because, this fort was also known as Asigarh, Asi meaning sword and garh meaning fort, and there used to be a sword manufacturing factory somewhere inside.

Next stop, the fort of Firoz Tughlak in Hissar, about 30 kms from Hansi. There was also a subterranean tunnel between these two forts, as people say.

The palace of the emperor also had a tehkhana within its premises, or an underground vault and an armoury.

Most of the passages appeared to have been sealed off, including those leading down. The complex also has a small mosque in front of which is a pillar which is actually the top portion of an original Asokan pillar from the 3rd century BC. Brought down by Firoz Tughlak.

But the interesting part is the Gujari Mahal, which was built by the emperor for his wife or mistress, which is presently just across the road. It is rumoured that there was a subterranean passage as well as a maze between the palace and the Gujari Mahal, which cannot be accessed now as the Gujari Mahal is all locked up. The local lore has it that a marriage procession entered the tunnel as a shortcut and has been trying to find its way out ever since, horses and all ..

It is said that the young prince Firoz met a local cowherd girl during his hunting expeditions. Dying of thirst, he was saved by the offer of milk by the girl. And then, Firoz started frequenting the dera of the gujars, where this girl lived with her family and before long, marriage was proposed and accepted but she reportedly refused to accompany the prince to Delhi.

Some say that the Gujari queen did visit Delhi, and that is why you find a maze in the fort of Firoz at Delhi also, where we have the cricket stadium now. The maze with the djinns!

 Gujari Mahal. Notice the buttressed walls

But there was another structure behind the fort complex which seemed equally interesting

At some risk to our selves, we climbed up what remained of some stairs to find a set of fine living quarters, with evidence of fireplaces, in built cupboards and wooden beams in the ceiling, so these were definitely done up by the Britishers. One could almost imagine the memsahibs airing themselves in the verandahs and little children chasing the squirrels and mynahs ...

However, the lower storey was built on arches, so the original structure must have been built at a much earlier date, another time

Some previous attempts at maintenance is evident but clearly such efforts have not been enough. If these buildings are restored, they would definitely complement the fort complex of Firoz Tughlak, showing off the contrasts from different periods in history.