While travelling through Palghar district in Maharashtra, one can see a large number of solitary bastions built by the Portuguese. This led me to believe that the chain of solitary bastions created for defensive purposes was an exclusive contribution of the Portuguese to the art of warfare. However, while exploring Chandrapur district, I came across not one or two, but a chain of four such bastions—at Chanai, Vihirgaon, Rupapeth, and Durgadi—along the district’s border, which proved my earlier assumption wrong. Among these four bastions, the one at Rupapeth appears to be the oldest solitary bastion. The word “Peth” in its name means “marketplace,” so it is likely that this bastion was built to protect the market settlement here. Although the present-day village of Rupapeth has been relocated some distance from its original site, traces of old habitation still remain around the bastion. ... Today, Rupapeth village lies about 70 km from Chandrapur district headquarters and 20 km from Korapana taluka headquarters. It is just 2 km off the Korapana–Adilabad highway. The bastion now stands alone on a plain, with no settlement nearby. Therefore, one should first go to Rupapeth village, take a local guide, and then proceed to the bastion. Although it is only a 10-minute walk from the village, there are numerous intersecting footpaths, making it easy to lose the way. The bastion is circular, about 40 feet high, and built using small flat stones. Judging by its construction style, it seems to date back to the Gond rulers’ period. The structure is heavily dilapidated, with large trees growing on it. The roots of these trees have almost blocked the entrance, and due to its ruined condition, climbing it is dangerous. Although the entrance is not visible from the outside, it may have been positioned a few feet above ground level, similar to the Vihirgaon bastion. The collapse of the bastion seems to have buried its internal features, such as storage rooms, chambers, and internal staircases. It takes about 15 minutes to see the entire bastion. If travelling in Chandrapur district with a private vehicle, one can easily visit the four forts—Chanai, Vihirgaon, Rupapeth, and Durgadi—in half a day. During the Gond rulers’ time, some places had forts built for administrative purposes, while in others, solitary bastions were constructed to protect villages or towns. The Rupapeth bastion was probably built for the same reason. Due to the complete lack of historical awareness among locals, the history of this bastion remains unspoken.
© Suresh Nimbalkar