Tarapur is a port in Palghar district and Chinchani here is a very old village. There used to be a huge trade taking place here. A little before going from Tarapur fort to Chinchani village, a road leads to a tribal village by the sea. Tarapur Bastion can be seen on the right side of the road. To the west of the bastion is the sea and to the south is the bay of Tarapur, and this bastion is a round-shaped stone block built for the protection of the Tarapur fort and to watch over the route of the bay. As the historical name of this bastion is not known, it is known as Tarapur or Chinchani bastion. This bastion, which was once on the bay, has been completely razed to the ground due to geographical and human intervention. Rough stone and lime have been used for the construction of this bastion. The current height of this bastion of 15 feet should have been 20 to 25 feet in original height. ... From the battlement on the bastion it is clear that its main purpose was protection and surveillance. As there is no way to climb the bastion, one has to use a ladder. Due to the overgrowth of trees on the bastion, the remains cannot be clearly seen and cannot be identified. The height of the stone railing on this 22 feet bastion is about 5 feet and it seems like it has collapsed up to some extent. The bastion is small and can be seen in 10 minutes. Those who come here with an expectation to see a fort are likely to be disappointed, but those who want to see the Portuguese watch post on the ancient sea trade route and its geographical importance must visit this place. Apart from this, the restored Peshwa era Nageshwar Mahadev temple can be seen in Chinchani. This temple existed during the Vasai campaign i.e. 1739 or it may have been built during this time. The temple has a Shivlinga encased in black stone. There is an ancient idol of Ganapati in black stone on the right outside the temple hall. Looking at the ruins, it seems that this bastion, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, may have been made only for surveillance. The Portuguese established their empire along the northern Konkan sea route, using small-sized forts, watchtowers and long-range cannons. Mughals attacked this area twice in AD 1582 and AD 1612. Chhatrapati Shambhaji Maharaj had attacked Tarapur in AD 1684 but the Marathas did not have enough time to lay siege and did not capture this area. Correspondence in the Peshwa's office mentions that at the time of the battle the Maratha army was stationed 1 to 2 miles north of the Tarapur fort i.e. the army was in the Chinchani area. After the victory over the Tarapur fort in the Vasai campaign of 1739 AD, the Tarapur area came under the control of the Marathas on 24 January 1739. While conquering the Tarapur fort, the British first took this bastion and fired cannons from here. It is mentioned that a bastion was built one and a half km north of Tarapur. It was 9 meters in diameter and 7 meters high. A three-meter high dome was built in it. Ten cannons were fired from it in the year 1818.
© Suresh Nimbalkar