Few know that the formidable design of Vasai Fort traces its roots to Renaissance master Michelangelo. The fort’s thick, angled bastions followed the Trace Italienne style he pioneered in Florence, helping it withstand heavy Maratha cannon fire during the historic Battle of Vasai in 1739
The ruins of the Vasai Fort attract visitors. FILE PICs/NIMESH DAVE
Picture this: It’s 1739, and the Marathas are firing cannonballs after cannonballs at the Vasai Fort in their spirited attempt to claim the fortress. They’re a tad perplexed, to be honest; the thick walls and angled bastions fail to budge. We can’t possibly tell if the Marathas knew, but this ordeal was (partly, at least) courtesy of Michelangelo, the same Italian artist who famously painted the astonishing frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
One of the existing bastions
Known to a few, Michelangelo took a hiatus to serve as the Governor and Procurator General of the Fortifications of Rome around 1527. “Trace Italienne, as we now know the style, first emerged in the fortifications of Florence under Michelangelo. It is the same style that the Portuguese implemented in the Vasai Fort,” says independent scholar Raamesh Raghavan of India Study Centre (INSTUCEN). This weekend, Raghavan will lead a walk through the gates that once opened only after the two-year bloody Battle of Vasai (erstwhile Bassein) aka Vasaichi Mohim.
See for yourself
The inner citadel, one of the surviving structures inside the fort
“The walls of the fort were short, reinforced with mud, and as thick as six metres. Unlike forts in the Deccan, the bastions were triangular and pointed. This design helped it sustain fire from the nearly 10,000-strong Marathas,” says Raghavan. We’re told that at times, Portuguese soldiers would use short periods between Maratha firing to repair the mud walls on the go. There’s a timely lesson to be learnt there, we think.
A dated map of the fort shows the prominent triangular bastions (in pink). PICS COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, RAAMESH RAGHAVAN
While most of the fort’s interiors are currently in ruins, taken over by vegetation, participants can still view and touch these walls and a few of the bastions. Some remnants of the Portuguese artillery survive, albeit far from their original condition. “In their prime, the cannons were at least thrice the size of Maratha cannons. Some of them were made indigenously in Vasai, while others were imported from Goa, or shipped all the way from Portugal,” Raghavan reveals. Maintained by Archaeological Survey of India, the fort is “not in shambles. But could use some extra care to bring it back to glory,” he admits.
What’s in Vasai?
Michelangelo and Chimaji Appa
Raghavan believes the average Mumbaikar today is oblivious to the significance of Vasai. And he’s not talking about the time British band Coldplay brought a whole production crew to the fort to record their 2015 hit Hymn For The Weekend. “Vasai was home to Portuguese noblemen. As the base for their northern territories, it regulated much of the trade through the Vasai Creek,” he says. After all, the Portuguese vacated the erstwhile Bandora (now Bandra) and Versova to focus on protecting Bacaim/Bassein (Vasai) during the two-year siege.
Raamesh Raghavan
The tale of how the fort finally fell to the Marathas is a story to tell in itself, Raghavan adds. Fully aware of the strategic and cultural importance of annexing Vasai, Maratha leader Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I) stood brave in the face of the Portuguese cannons, steadily denting the defence through landmines. More than anything, it was a declaration of power, the symbolic end of foreign rule and the establishment of Maratha pride. Marathi Asmita, for those keeping up with election-time lingo.
ON January 18; 11 am to 4 pm
MEETING POINT Vasai Fort (details revealed on registration)
REGISTER 9322273136 (Drop a WhatsApp message)
ENTRY Rs 1416
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