Expo of Shivaji’s forts depicts his foresight

Nagpur: An exhibition of the replicas of forts Chhatrapati Shivaji built, depicting how difficult it was to conquer them, was inaugurated at Shivaji Maharaj Square, Mahal, on Tuesday.
Deputy mayor Deepraj Pardikar and former mayor Pravin Datke inaugurated the exhibition, organized by Shri Shivrajyabhishek Sohala Samiti, to mark the great kind’s coronation day. They also garlanded the statue of the Chhatrapati.

The exhibition has 10 replicas of forts like impregnable Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, Suvarnadurg, Jamrud, and Shivneri, where Shivaji Maharaj was born, besides others. These forts have been beautifully replicated by Vishal Deokar and Abhishek Sawarkar by using thermocol and paper.

Jamrud fort, which still stands strong in Pakistan, was one of the highlights of the exhibition. Information about these forts depicts their history and helps in better understanding of their geographical and strategic importance.

Datta Shirke, one of the organizers, told TOI, “The theme this year is water forts. The exhibits are the forts on water, barring two which are on land, one of which is Jamrud, now in Pakistan. We purposely selected Jamrud (Attock, Pakistan) replica for display to let the people know about the Maratha king’s reach from Attock to Cuttack. We want people to know that Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of Indian navy and had his own armour in those days. It also shows how foresighted the Maratha ruler was.”

Another reason for selecting water forts for the exhibition was that besides his heroics, Shivaji Maharaj is more famous for killing Afzal Khan, who was a real challenge to the Hindu kingdom. “We cannot confine the great warrior to a few events and the people should know more about his valour with which he fought with enemies in difficult terrains. People should be made aware of his gallant efforts,” Shirke said.

Shripad Chitale, a senior historian and archaeologist, told TOI that “Shivaji was a great fighter and his forts were his strengths. Being an Indian, one ought to have knowledge about our land and legends. Today’s generation is fast-paced and loaded with stress right from childhood which is why it lacks in knowledge of many historical events. Such programmes are extremely useful to make the youngsters understand how tall the Chhatrapati was in all the respects.”

The exhibition will be open till June 25.

Those present at the programme included Jayant Baitule, chief of Shivmudra Dhol Tasha Pathak and antique piece collector Ashok Singh Thakur.