Ever since I moved to the suburbs of Gurgaon amidst the work-from-home regime, I have suddenly been presented with immense possibilities for indulging my wanderlust. On one recent weekend afternoon, I set out on my scooter in pursuit of a place called Rundh Indor which seemed on Google Maps to be home to a fort. Nestled in a cove of the low-lying Aravallis on the Haryana-Rajasthan border, Indor is a non-descript village, accessible by a narrow road that is flanked by the Aravallis on both sides beyond strips of agricultural land and a hamlet or two. The area is not so remote as it is sparsely populated.
Once at Indor, from the road, I could see a long fortress wall and the domes of a few structures stretching across the left-side Aravalli hills. Tantalising as it seemed, I still did not think of accessing the fort till I came across a rubbled track that looked like the approach road to the fort. After some dawdling, I finally gathered the courage to ride up the approach road till I came upon the base of the hill, where a young duo was contemplating accessing the fort themselves. In what was already quite a desolate location, my only chance at setting foot in the fort now hinged on me joining forces with a couple of rank strangers!
Wary of any untoward incident, I followed the duo on the trek uphill using goat tracks. Once atop the fortress wall, the vastness of the fort immediately dawned upon us. Sprawling across at least one or two square kilometres of the hillside were disparate structures – palace-like havelis interspersed with domes and grand arched gateways – all in dilapidated condition and swamped in typical Aravalli vegetation. And nary a living being in sight! We waded through the thick jungle from structure to structure, with the fear of snakes, wild animals and miscreants writ large on our faces. However, the fear was amply compensated by a breathtaking sight of the Aravallis stretching endlessly on the opposite side of the fort.
It was only when the sunlight began to dim that we realized it was already 5.30pm and we had advanced a long way into the fort area. Turning, we were confronted with tracing an uncharted path back just like our way up. Luckily, climbing atop a crumbling wall gave us a clear line of sight to the place where our scooters were parked. Treating the direction as sort of a North star, we trekked down the hillside until we reached a huge depression – our final hurdle. The fortress wall swerving around the depression was broken, making access through it precarious too. Crawling over the broken portion of the wall, we were finally outside the fort precincts. Within minutes, we were back riding on the way home even as the sun set behind the Aravallis.
The Timber Trawler 