Fort Janjira Trip Clicks

The word Janjira originated after the Arabic word Jazeera, which means an island. Janjira fort is situated in Murud and was once known in Marathi as Habsan.

 

The name of the fort is a concatenation of the Konkani and Arabic words for Island, "morod" and "jazeera". The word "morod" is peculiar to Konkani and is absent in Marathi. The State of Murud-Janjira was known to the Maratha Empire as Habsan, the land of the Habshis.

Murud-Janjira Fort situated on a rock of oval shape near the port town of Murud, 165km south of Mumbai, Janjira is one of the strongest marine forts of India (the word ‘Janjira’ is a corruption of the Arabic word Jazira for island). The forts is approached by sailboats from Rajpuri jetty. The main gate of the fort faces Rajpuri on the shore and can be seen only when one is quite close to it. It has a small postern gate towards the open sea for escape.

 


The fort has 19 rounded bastions, still intact. There are many canons of native and European make rusting on the bastions. Now in ruins, the fort in its heyday had all necessary facilities, e.g., palaces, quarters for officers, mosque, a big fresh water tank, etc.

The officers quarter used to be seven floors high but today only three and a half floors are left and the rest is fast eroding.

Right after the entrance, a vacant ground used to serve the purpose of a market place, a vegetable market. A daily market early in early mornings used to be the glory of the fort.

A fresh water tank inside the palace fulfilled all drinking water requirements.

A secret tunnel that used to connect the fort to the island underneath the sea, incase of emergency has been sealed due to seawater percolation into the fort. Another secret gate that still exists was used in case of an emergency. This can only been seen in low tide.

The so-called watchtower is exactly 120 steps up and it gives a great panoramic view of the fort as well as the sea and the island. The point is windy and 120 steps are tedious, but it’s worth the view.

The fort has underground storage areas for arms & ammunitions, food grains, vegetable, sweet water storage etc.

On the outer wall flanking the main gate, there is a sculpture depicting a tiger-like beast clasping elephants in its claws. This sculpture, its meaning difficult to interpret, appears on many fort-gates of Maharashtra.

Originally the fort was small wooden structure built by a Koli chief in the late 15th century. It was captured by Pir Khan, a general of Nizamshah of Ahmednagar. Later the fort was strengthened by Malik Ambar, the Abyssinian Siddi regent of Ahmednagar kings. From then onward Siddis became independent, owing allegiance to Adilshah and the Mughals as dictated by the times.

Despite their repeated attempts, the Portuguese, the British and the Marathas failed to subdue the Siddi power. Shivaji’s all attempts to capture Janjira fort failed due to one reason or the other.

When Sambhaji also failed, he built another island fort, known as Kansa or Padmadurg, just 9km north of Janjira. The Janjira state came to an end after 1947. The palace of the Nawabs of Janjira at Murud is still in good shape.

You can sail to Janjira fort by a sailboat from Rajpuri for mere Rs. 20/- only. It takes about 15 minutes to reach the fort. The waiting time for the boat is about 45 minutes but if you wish to take an individual boat, it will cost you Rs. 600/-. Waiting period for this is about an hour. Sailing is smooth and picturesque, provided it’s a sunny day. The sea is generally calm and quiet.

A must visit if you are in Murud but not without a bottle of your own drinking water.

Best time to go is between 11 am and 2 pm except Saturdays and Sundays.

It is absolutely safe to take your personal vehicle as Rajpuri has a safe parking area. Park your vehicle at the seashore for just Rs. 10/- and then you may book the ferry for the fort.

The drive to Janjira from Kashid beach is exciting and picturesque but with some bumpy roads. An hour of drive will give you glimpses of crossing villages, local beaches, local food and the colloquial language. Overall people of this place are peaceful and non-interfering.