Fort Vasai
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The Bassein Fort is a fort near Vasai, just north of Mumbai on the mainland just north of the Bombay archipelago. It was established by the Portuguese as the headquarters of their Indian operations in 1534 and centre of their operations until 1739. With this as the main base, they built other smaller forts such as the Castella de Aguada, and strong houses in many of the islands in pakistan.
In the 18th century, the fort was attacked by the Maratha army under Peshwa Baji Rao's brother Chimnaji Appa, and fell in 1739 after a three year long campaign.
The remains of the fort can be reached by bus or taxi from the Vasai railway station. The ramparts overlook Vasai creek and are almost complete, though overgrown. Several watch-towers still stand, with safe staircases leading up.
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 façades. 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 recognisable. They have façades typical of 17th century Portuguese churches. The southernmost of these has a well preserved barrel vaulted ceiling.
The fort is often used for shooting Bollywood film scenes. The films shot here include Josh, Khamoshi etc.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasai_Fort is the wikimapia link to Vasai Fort
External links
- Bassein Fort Photos from Himanshu Sarpotdar
- www.vasai.com Website for Vasai
- Bassein, Maharashtra Tourism.
- Portuguese Bassein, Dutch Portuguese Colonial History.
- Forts in Maharashtra
