Explore Tamil Nadu’s history and its battles through its myriad forts

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, bombs and guns across the world fell silent as Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies, signalling the end of the First World War.

At Chennai’s fort St. George, the only bomb-proof shelter in the premises — St. Mary’s Church — bells tolled and a signal gun was fired. Back then, this British citadel with the the oldest Anglican church east of the Suez, remembered the fallen, with hardly any acknowledgement to the 74,000-odd Indian soldiers who fought at Somme and Flanders fields. Yet, life within the fort went on, a hard fought freedom from the British coloniser was won, and a State Legislative Assembly found space inside its bastions.

A hundred and six years after this day, in 2024, the pulpit of the St. Mary’s Church was decorated in poppies. Solemn wreaths were laid, hymns were sung in praise of the brave, and war veterans who fought in Kashmir, found themselves raising their arms in a salute.

For some brief minutes, the Church came alive, showing us its battle scars. As the bugles played during the service, one was transported to a time when the fort walls saw hard-fought battles with the French and rulers like Hyder Ali in the 1700s. A walk down Charles Street inside the fort premises past the houses once inhabited by Arthur Wellesley, first duke of Wellington, and Robert Clive, first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency, took one back to days when busy officials traded, maintained records, and loaded guns here.

On Armistice day, fort St. George turned sepia.

Citadels often have this transmutative power. Within their thick ramparts and parapets, are stories waiting to be told. A fine day during Chennai’s brief month-long winter is perhaps the best time to go history-hunting through Tamil Nadu. Grab your water bottle, carry a snack, wear a cap and strap on your shoes, as Team MetroPlus curates a list of forts to head to after a brief drive.

Gingee Fort

A drive down the road from Tindivanam to Tiruvannamalai, shows the formations of a fortress emerging from a hill. The Gingee fort complex encompassing three hills, Chandragiri, Rajagiri and Krishnagiri, stands as though forming a triangle. Built in 1200 CE by Ananda Kon I, the chief of the Konar (Yadava) community, the fort was subsequently developed by the fort’s eventual inhabitants including the Nayaks, Marathas, Mughals, Carnatic Nawabs, French and the British between 1383 and 1780CE. Many films have been shot at the site and the grave of mythologised war hero Raja Tej Sing (De Singh colloquially), also lies here. One can see early gymnasiums, watch towers, granaries, cannons, a stunning Kalyana Mahal, royal harem, a throne and temples on the site. A distinct drawbridge which allowed the Marathas to retain control of the fort for several years, often causing enemies to plummet to death, is one of the reasons why it is referred to as the Troy of the East.

Gingee fort is 160 kilometres from Chennai via road. The nearest bus stop and railhead at Tindivanam.

Sadras Fort

If you swerve a little off Kalpakkam’s Atomic power station and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, you will find yourself staring at two cannons located at the imposing entrance of Sadras fort. According to J Thirumoorthy, former Assistant Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), during the period of the Sambuvarayars (local feudatories under the Cholas), Sadras was called Rajanarayanan Pattinam after a Sambuvarayar chieftain who ruled the region. Eventually, it was referred to as Sadras by the Dutch who took over the fortress. The fort, over time, found itself in the midst of a tussle between the British and the Dutch with the final occupation and eventual abandonment by the English. Muslins, spices, magazines and Chinese porcelain are some of the several treasures that were unearthed from the site. The ASI even found Delft Blue crockery, Gouda smoking pipes and arrack glasses from the location. There is also a cemetery with exquisitely engraved granite tombstones and inscriptions, telling tales of the dead.

Sadras fort is 70 kilometres from Chennai via road. The nearest railhead is Chennai.

Vellore Fort

The walls of this 16th century have sheltered many men, women, weaponry and prisoners. Vellore fort, with perhaps one of the most impressive moats in Tamil Nadu. Until only a few years ago, the waterway surrounding the citadel housed crocodiles. Regarded as one of the perfect specimens of military architecture in South India, the fort, according to historian Robert Orme, was ‘the strongest fortress in the Carnatic [Southern India]’ during the 17th and 18th centuries. It proved to be the nemesis of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan in more ways than one. It was here that Lord Cornwallis assembled the historic army that led to the first British victory over Tipu in 1792. In the siege of Srirangapatna in 1799, when Tipu died valiantly fighting Lord Wellesley’s army, Tipu’s family was imprisoned at two mahals part of the fort. The fort today is inclusive and is spread over 133 acres with gardens, the famous Jalakanteshwara temple (completed in 1550), an Indo-Saracenic mosque (1750) and the St. John’s chuch (1846). Take a stroll in the gardens and picnic on the moats to catch a pleasant evening breeze.

Vellore fort is located 138 kilometres from Chennai. The nearest railhead is Katpadi junction.

The Hindu recently published Forts of Tamil Nadu: A Walk-Through with the Department of Tourism, Tamil Nadu. To purchase a copy of the book, contact bookstore@thehindu.co.in or 1800 102 1878. With inputs from T S Subramanian and T Ramakrishnan.