While wandering around the Manjarsumba area of Ahmednagar district, we get to see many Nagarkot and unknown forts. These two type of forts are so neglected that even the locals living there do not know the history of them. The neglected fort at Katrad is one of them. Katrad village is 30 km from Ahmednagar and 23 km from Rahuri taluka. Our entry into the village through the gate of Katrad makes us realize that once the village of Katrad was situated within the ramparts of the fort. This is the only remaining gate of Nagarkot today and it has been restored. This door is built in two big bastions and there is a beautiful idol of Lord Vishnu in one of the inner side of the door but its original beauty has been lost as it has been painted. The porch on the other side of the door has steps leading to the upper part of the door. The arch of the door has collapsed and has been newly roofed. ... This door is named as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Entrance. At a short distance from this gate, there is a fort of Katrad on a small hill at the back of the village. This square shaped fort is spread on less than half a acre and there are four circular bastions on the four ends of the fort. The lower half of the ramparts and bastions are built of stone and the upper part is made of mud bricks. Before entering the fort, one can see a distinct virgal near the door i.e. on the left side. In the upper part of this Virgal, Ganapati Puja is shown instead of Shiva Puja and in the lower part, the details on carved idol is from the Satavahana period. In front of the door, another square shaped virgal can be seen. Although the entrance of the fort and its wooden frame remain, the door is not in place. This is the only way to enter the fort. After entering through this door, the main door of the wada (big house) is right in front. This door built in stone has carvings and three lotuses are carved on the upper side. There is a gap of 15-20 feet between the monument and the ramparts and the entire place can be visited from this rampart. The lower wall of the wada is built of stone and the upper structure is made of bricks. Except for this main wall, the inner side has been newly constructed and due to lack of maintenance, it has also fallen down now. In the main wall there are some arches and halls of the original construction. While walking around this place, one can see another door at the back side and two latrines in the outer ramparts and a storehouse under a bastion. Half an hour is enough to see the entire fortress.
© Suresh Nimbalkar