The tradition of Fort making during Diwali is as old as the city itself. It's a passion shared by kids and adults alike. They make all kinds of big and small forts in their courtyards. Something that strikes you about all forts is the attention to detail. No matter how tiny the fort is, you will always find a well laid-out entrance path, gates, walls, etc.
Some 'experts' ( TTip - People who always seem to have a lot of mud in their finger nails ) go on to make exact replicas of famous forts of yore. These forts are generally submitted as entries in various Fort Making competitions across the city. A fort made by my neighbour:
End Of A Fort
Forts built by kings were never supposed to fall...they withered only with time. However, forts made during Diwali die in a more spectacular way. They are Bombed (and blowup) by using bombs ( TTip - These are fireworks with extremely creative names ranging from 'atom bomb', 'laxmi bomb' to 'Mallika Sherawat', and so on...contact me for a complete list of names! )
This is the only officially supported way of unmaking a fort; other ways may to be too simple and thus may risk eroding Nagpuria sense.
Make Your Own Fort
Requirements:
1. Fine Soil
2. Mustard (sarso) seeds
3. Base Material - bricks, earthen pots, sand, stones, etc.
4. Decorating Material - oil paints, thermocol, lights, etc.
5. And ofcourse, some Intelligence!
Procedure:
- Think up a basic design of your fort
- Arrange the base accordingly
- Smear with mud
- Sprinkle mustard seeds wherever greenary is required (Don't forget to keep water the fort)
- Finally, go for decoration. Let your imagination run wild here!
