Zorawar Fort
Text and Photographs by Mr. Sachin Vaidya
Zorawar Fort was a mud fort built by General Zorawar Singh (1786 - 1841) who served the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
It was built in 1836.
Signboards depicted direction to the Fort and café.
The Fort was renovated to mark the golden jubilee of India's independence.
A board depicted details of restoration work.
A canon greeted the visitors.
There was a closed room called 'topkhana' meaning 'canon storeroom'.
Various boards clearly depicted that the Fort was managed by army.
Museum was added to the Fort on 11th September 2006.
A cart was displayed in a shed.
A decorative door was closed.
The Museum was dedicated to Dogra and Ladakhi warriors.
Guest rooms were added on 23rd August 2017.
Himalayan vista was visible from the Fort.
Zorawar Singh's bust was visible from back side.
Two canons guarded the bust.
Zorawar Singh's bust was visible from the front side.
I read Mehta Basti Ram's biography.
Some flags were at display.
Biographies of Zorawar Singh and Raja Gulab Singh were of interested reading.
The 'History Room' had interesting objects.
Surprisingly, many books on Ladakh, Tibet, Himalayas were kept in open for browsing / reading; but there were few takers.
The Museum had another room called 'Artefacts Room'.
A similar statue (also present in History Room) greeted visitors.
The bust of last Ladakhi king was also displayed.
Traditional Ladakhi (hand crafted) leather shoes (sourced from Changtang) were called 'Pabu' in local language.
Flags and swords were displayed in a corner.
The musical instrument 'veena' was locally known as 'kopongs'. It was played during various functions.
Pen and pen stand were displayed.
An old time measuring instrument looked interesting.
A decorative ceremonial stick was displayed.
Traditional Ladakhi jewellery was displayed.
Necklace (locally known as 'skecha') was made up of pearls imported from China. It had significance in religious activities.
Traditional Ladakhi clothes were displayed.
One more shield was displayed.
Cooking ware were normally made of brass and copper; the displayed pot was procured from Eastern Ladakh,
A vessel 'Pungpa' was made of copper and was use in monasteries to store sacred water.
Old utensils were at display.
Lock was locally known as 'kulick kulick' and was made of copper and iron.
Teapot was locally known as 'thagoo' and was made of pure copper.
Other pots were also displayed.
An old clock was displayed.
The Fort appeared to be extensively renovated.
It was time to say goodbye to the Fort at sunset.
Comments
Post a Comment