In Maharashtra, there are thousands of mansions and fortified residences known as wada and Gadhikots (small forts or fortified homes). After the abolition of the feudal system, many of these gadhis, which had become private properties, started deteriorating due to the owners’ inability to maintain them. As families grew and many descendants moved away in search of livelihood, some gadhis were left deserted and fell into ruin. The general apathy of the local population towards these historical structures has also contributed significantly to their decay. The Ambikhurd Gadhi is one such example. Ambikhurd Gadhi is located about 63 kilometers from Pune via Saswad–Jejuri and 16 kilometers from Jejuri. In Ambikhurd village, this gadhi is locally known as Bamanachi Gadhi (the Brahmin’s fort). ... It is situated near the village’s primary school and spans roughly one acre. When locals are asked about the fort, all they can say is that it belonged to a Brahmin family and that their descendants now live in Nashik. Built during the Peshwa era, very little of the structure survives today except for two bastions, some fragments of the fort walls, and an internal stepwell. Since the fort has been abandoned, most of its structures have collapsed, overgrown with grass, and the bastions have turned into mounds of rubble. The fort, rectangular in shape, once had four bastions, faint traces of which are still visible. The outer stone walls stand 10 to 15 feet tall, and near the surviving bastion, one can still see a traditional lime-mixing pit and a stone wheel used in the construction process. Inside the fort is a half-collapsed bastion made of bricks, about 20 feet tall, indicating that the original structure was likely a two-storied building. At one end of the fort lies a square-shaped stepwell with stone steps running parallel to the ground, leading down into the well. At the end of the staircase, there is an arch built at the water level. Inside the well are four covered porches (ovari), with one of them connected to descending steps from above. Adjacent to the well is a small square tank built with lime for water storage. As children from the nearby school were entering the fort and descending into the well, the steps leading into it have been temporarily blocked with stones to prevent accidents. It takes about half an hour to explore the entire gadhi. As of now, there is no documented history available about this fort.
© Suresh Nimbalkar