Fort of the lion

Memories from a rainy morning drive up to Sinhagad fort from Pune…

Stopping at this curve on the road when the clouds looked threatening and the roads dangerously slippery…

Near the top, stopping for chai and garam pakoras, and to take in the fog rolling all the way towards Pune many kilometers away…

Climbing the steps to get to the top of the fort with only the regular peanut sellers on the way for company – garam garam timepass – few tourists on a wet Sunday morning…

Here is what I found about Sinhagad : It was here that Shivaji’s general, Tanaji Malusare launched an attack to recapture the fort. In the ensuing battle, Tanaji valiantly laid down his life, but captured the fort. A grieving Shivaji is known to have said,”Gad ala pan sinh gela” (The fort is won but the lion has gone). And this is how the fort got its name: sinh (lion’s) gad (fort).