VASAI FORT: A city in itself

Along with the various important aspects of forts like architecture, style of construction, location and purpose, the highlighting factor for any fort is the scale. Imagine a fort which is a home to 2400 soldiers, 3000 residents, nobles and artisans within its expanse. The scale is what defines the Vasai fort; spread over 110 acres of land and being the commercial, political and military base of the Portuguese in the north west coast of India for nearly 200 years the Vasai fort is not less than a city.

Ruins of the fort.

Vasai, also called bassein, lies about 50 kms north of Mumbai just across the Ulhas River. The name "bassein" is the English version of the Portuguese "baçaim". The Vasai fort in the old city was the headquarters of the Portuguese in the north, next in importance to Goa. The coastal land-fort of Vasai is surrounded by sea on three sides and to the landside it had a moat which was filled by sea-water. Its 4.5kms long strong stone wall have 11 bastions. The fort have two gates – the westward land-gate and a gate opens up towards the creek side on south. There is also a small citadel in the fort. Well – equipped with water-tanks, store-houses, armoury, etc., the fort also had fields for growing grains and vegetables.

old marketplace

Vasai came into prominence when the ancient harbor of Sopara (now nalsopara village, 10kms north of vasai) became unfit for use. The bassein region ruled by Portuguese in not just bassein but included areas far away as bombay, thane, kalyan and chaul (revdanda). Bassein, was important trading center, it’s sources of wealth and trade were horses, fish, salt, timber, stone quarry (basalt and granite) and shipbuilding. It was a significant trading center long before the Portuguese arrived.(Ancient sopara was a important port in trade with the arabs and greeks, romans and persians.). It was also a wealthy agricultural region with rice, betel nut, cotton, and sugar-cane as some of the crops. (vasaiker)My recent visit to the Vasai fort was a part of conservation studio in my course. It was an unplanned trip and we had no idea what to do after reaching Vasai station. We inquired about it to the local fellows, took a rickshaw as suggested by them and headed towards the fort. The journey from Vasai station to the fort was interesting. The dense development near the station eventually turned out in out in expansive salt pans and large open fields. As soon as we entered in the fortified area a large statue of Chimaji Appa (Peshwa Bajirao's brother) portraying the achievement of the great Maratha empire. We were dropped off near Vajreshwari temple- another sign of presence of Maratha empire which was built by Chimaji Appa and started walking toexplore the fort.

Statue of Chimaji Appa (source: Desmond Lobo)

Vajreshwari devi mandir built by chimaji appa in 1739 inside vasai fort

Within vasai’s walled perimeter the ruins of five convent complexes and their respective churches remain (augustinians, dominicans, franciscans, hospitallers and jesuits), as well as two other churches: saint joseph’s parish church east of the perimeter and, up against the original fort in the centre of town, what is most likely the old misericórdia church. (paulo varela gomes)

The fortification of saint Sebastian was the first defense structure built by the Portuguese in Vasai after they received that territory from the sultanate of Gujarat in 1534. As the settlement around the fort grew, a new and larger bastioned perimeter was begun about 20 years later. But this new defense

line took several decades to finish and until the early 1700s saint Sebastian's fort was the city’s only true defensive redoubt. It later lost its strategic value, though it continued to be used as the residence of Vasai’s captain. It is relatively well preserved, especially its main gate. The fort has the shape of an

irregular polygon with three round bastions, one rectangular redoubt, which includes the main gate, and a corner with no bastion where the captain’s house was located.

steps to fort parapet.

Entrance of The Citadel of Saint Sabestine

Watchtower in the citadel

Water body in the courtyard.

On the southeast side of the fortification is a square redoubt which contains an inscription dated 1536. The main entrance to saint sebastian’s fort is located near this bastion and bears the date 1606. Its design is closely related to the central part of the front of vasai’s jesuit church. On the north side are the stairs leading to the fort’s parapets. Nearby was the location of the city’s prison or jail, built between 1635 and 1639, according to gerson da cunha. The captain’s house began in the fort’s northeast corner; it was a two-storey building which rose above the wall parapets and accompanied it for 80 metres. (sidh losa mendiratta)

boys playing cricket inside the nave of the church

In one of the churches inside the fort i saw few guys playing cricket, being a cricket fan I found it interesting but i think for me it is always about respecting the heritage, the alteration in use of heritage is inevitable but not at the cost of vandalism. Vasai’s parish church i.e. the church of Saint Joseph was founded on a direct order from king joão iii to joão de castro in march 1546. Still standing are the side walls of the nave and chancel, the coffered barrel vault over the latter and a large part of the front (tower over ground floor narthex, high choir with arch facing the nave, campanile north of the tower in a slightly set-back position but at the same height). (paulo varela gomes)

church of Saint Joseph

View of the Vasai creek from the top of the Saint Joseph watchtower.

Due to the large expanse of the fort and absence of any map with us, we had no clue where we were leading. We were searching for the other gate to move out. When we went inside the St. Joseph’s church, we decided to climb to the top of the watchtower to get an idea of the surrounding and the right direction to move on. As soon as we reached there, the astonishing view of the Vasai creek made our journey paused for a while and showed us the way too ! The view of endless sea with boats reminded me it's historical importance that it was the main naval base and sort of ship-building center of the Portuguese. The end came in 1739, when Chimaji Appa, Peshwa Bajirao’s brother, stormed the fort and captured it with great loss of life. It was here in 1802, the Peshwa Bajirav ii signed the infamous “Treaty of Bassein” which virtually dissolved the Maratha confederacy. Finally, the fort and the city of Vasai was ceded to the British in 1817 ad.

The Southern Gate

 

Killa bunder (jetty).

In the fort several watch-towers still stand, with safe staircases leading up. Few structures like Vajreshwari temple, fortification are in good condition. The Portuguese buildings inside the fort are in ruins, although there are enough standing walls to give a good idea of the floor plans of these structures. Some have well-preserved facades too. In particular, many of the arches have weathered the years remarkably well. They are usually decorated with carved stones, some weathered beyond recognition, others still displaying sharp chisel marks. Three chapels inside the fort are still recognizable. They have facades typical of 17th-century Portuguese churches. The southernmost of these has a well-preserved barrel vaulted ceiling.

The fort is now also a famous location for shoot, the British rock band Coldplay have shot one of their songs here. Although it cannot be prevailing to the historical values attached to it, it is the new way to highlight the heritage and recreation of values and attachment (same in the case of Banganga tank). It is a good example of featuring heritage and creating awareness among the people for preserving the values and conserves it.

Address: Killa Road,Police Colony, Vasai West, Vasai, Maharashtra 401201

Timings: 9AM to 6PM

Famous for: Sightseeing, Historic significance, Beautiful ruins, Photography,
Experience Seeking and Wandering, Connoisseurs. Educational Experience

Entrance Fee: There is no entry fee to visit this beautiful fort.

Visiting Duration: Between 1-3 hours is the average time of duration that you might
spend frolicking about in the ruins here.

Best Time to Visit: The best time to visit the Bassein Fort is undoubtedly the monsoon
season. Months between July to January provide the most pleasurable ways to spend
your afternoon here.

How To reach: take a local train to reach Vasai road station then Take a rickshaw from
Vasai Station-west.

Bibliography:

http://www.vasaiker.com/index.php/history-of-vasai/

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/photo-essays/2017/06/06/vasai-a-city-within-a-fort

http://www.hpip.org/def/en/Contents/Navigation/GeographicToponymicNavigation/Place?a=567