Manek Burj: The Foundation Bastion of Bhadra Fort
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- India
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Tower
On this page7 sections
History
Foundation of Ahmedabad
Manek Burj is the foundation bastion of Bhadra Fort in Ahmedabad, India, built in the fifteenth century as the city’s original fortified strongpoint. Ahmed Shah I, the ruler associated with Ahmedabad’s foundation and its early fortified center, laid the city’s foundation stone on 26 February 1411. Manek Burj was built around it and was named in memory of Maneknath, a Hindu saint remembered in local tradition for his connection with the city’s foundation and the construction of Bhadra Fort.
According to the tradition surrounding the site, Maneknath intervened during the construction of Bhadra Fort, first obstructing Ahmed Shah I and later helping him. The story links the bastion not only with the physical beginning of the fort but also with the religious memory of Ahmedabad’s foundation.
Waterworks and Later Changes
A roofed stepwell beside the bastion, Manek Kuva, supplied water in the area. It dried after the Sabarmati River changed course, and it was filled and sealed in 1866. A nearby water channel formerly carried water towards the royal baths within Bhadra Fort.
Ellis Bridge, the first bridge across the Sabarmati River near Manek Burj, was built in 1869. Its original narrow steel structure was closed to motor traffic in 1997. A concrete bridge was constructed beside it in 1999, and part of the bastion was demolished to accommodate the expansion. In May 1989, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation declared Ellis Bridge and its boundary, Manek Burj, and a nearby natural watercourse protected sites.
Recent Restoration and Tradition
Damage to Manek Burj became associated in local belief with the difficulties Ahmedabad faced after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the violence of 2002. The surviving bastion was repaired and restored in 2003.
Chandan and Rajesh Nath, described as thirteenth-generation descendants of Maneknath, perform puja, a Hindu act of worship, and raise a flag at the bastion each year on Ahmedabad’s Foundation Day and during Vijayadashami, a major Hindu festival.
Remains
Fortification
Manek Burj stands at the eastern end of Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad’s old city as a projecting fortified structure of the city wall. It forms the foundation bastion of Bhadra Fort and is built of brick and mud. The surviving structure rises 53 feet, or about 16 metres, on its exterior. Part of the bastion was removed during the expansion connected with the replacement of Ellis Bridge, while the remainder was restored in 2003.
Stepwell and Water Channel
Manek Kuva was a roofed stepwell, meaning a well reached by descending flights of steps, formerly contained beside the bastion. It had a circumference of approximately 77 feet, or 23 metres. After it dried, the stepwell was filled and sealed in 1866. A nearby water channel also survives in the site’s historical layout as the former route carrying water towards the royal baths of Bhadra Fort.
