Vasai Fort, a treat for Mind Body and Soul

Today I had been to Vasai fort. Although I have visited Vasai many a times this was the first time I explored Vasai west and Vasai fort which is also known by the name ““Fort Bassein”

The distance from Vasai Railway station to Vasai fort is about 9.9 km. I took a share auto from the station. As we were riding, I came across various houses which dated back to as early as 1947. The structures were well preserved, maintained and still habitable.

The city was neat and the roads were mostly wide. I enjoyed my sojourn to the fort.

I got down at ‘Nageshwar Temple” just near Vasai fort. The temple is dedicated to “Lord Shiva”

 

Nageshwar Temple- Vasai   In the same premises there is one more temple, that of ‘Vajreshwari Devi”         As per the information jotted down on the board, During the Peshwa regime Mumbai up to Daman was under the Portuguese Ruling. The news of their barbaric treatment on the fellow countrymen and the ongoing rape assault on the women folks of the region reached “Chimaji Appa”. It was then, in the year 1737  Chimaji Appa had made a vow that if his troop succeeded in defeating the Portuguese who were Ruling this part of Mumbai back then, he would construct a temple for “Vajreshwari Devi”. He did manage to conquer the Portuguese and thus fulfilled his oath and installed the idol of Vajreshwari temple here.           After coming out of the temple I proceeded to what seemed like a fortress to me. The grand entrance welcomed me  and I entered in to see what lay behind those walls

Entrance to the Vasai Fort

Inside there was nothing much to see except for the vast open space laced with lots of Date trees and huge Mango tree in the center of those walls. But being there I found myself in tune with nature. The cool wind blowing on my face, the chirping of birds and sight of butterflies and lush green trees all around. It was a very unique experience I have had. I took a small video of the place and you will be able to see how clean and beautiful the place is and also hear the sound of the winds blowing and sounds of birds chirping in the background.

I stayed there for some time soaking in the overall beauty and the life experience of the place and my being there. As I was coming out I once again looked at the entrance from where I had gone in. There I saw some symbols inscribed, so I took a close up snap of the visual. I do not know much about those signs but I intend to find out soon.

Signs & Symbols on the Entrance of the Vasai Fort

I could see another structure in some distance so I moved towards it. The road to that place was covered with trees of Mango and Dates on both the sides. It was like I was walking through the forest except for the fact that the pathway was very clear almost like a road.

The pathway

After walking for about 3-4 mins I reached what seemed like a sort of gathering hall or courtroom ( I really wished there was a guide or some local person one who could have given some insight about the place)

Courtroom as per my guesswork

One good thing I liked and admired about this place was that it was very neat and clean. Although I did not see any instruction or notice board regarding loitering from Government authorities yet the place was well kept.

I also noticed that there seemed a scarcity of water in the area as the “Well” inside the fortress was almost dry.

Dry Well in the Fort

Also, the local female folks were fetching drinking water from one other well and were also using its water to wash their clothes.

 

Local women washing clothes by the “Well”

Some other interesting things which I saw and took pictures of can be seen below :

 

An old dead tree with a huge trunk

 

Date Tree

That one thing which caught my attention was a cut out on the tree which read ” Rs 1,000/- fine if found plucking Mangoes”

Warning stuck out on the tree

The journey had come to an end, and it was time to head back home. So I got to the auto-rickshaw stand and took the share auto for Parnaka, and from there another auto to Vasai Railway station.

Auto stand near Vasai Fort

My trip to Vasai fort will remain one of the most memorable ones.

It rejuvenated me, as for few hours my Mind was away from all the daily life humdrum, Body was inhaling pollution free air and Soul was immersed in the silence of the historical monuments in the natures galore and beautiful surroundings.

Sometimes it so happens that even though we live close by ( in my case about 50 km from Vasai) but we seldom go to the place, for which people come looking from all over.

Have you any such experience of the place which you visited which was close yet you never went or want to go. Please do share it with me and I will appreciate if you take out a few more moments to drop your comments and valuable feedback.

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Happy Day 🙂