Jaisalmer Fort, which rises majestically in the middle of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, is perhaps the only 'living' fort in the country today... Why is it that most descriptions or travelogues of places-within India or without-leave one with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction? Is it because absolute beauty sometimes defies absolute description?

That, by the time the registered emotion finds its way through the morass of clichés and superlatives, it is hopelessly lost in translation? Whatever the reason, the legions of scribes will carry on writing, describingand eulogising, as long as there's reason enough to do so. Which brings one to the subject on hand-that is, a moment or place that is so beautiful that it defies description. India has many places within its ambit that would classify under this head, but none as readily as Rajasthan's Jaisalmer Fort. Even 15 km away from the fort, you can see its ramparts, rising like an anomaly from the sands around it.

That's until you approach it front-on and it takes your breath away by its sheer size and beauty. It could very well be the central character of a novel; certainly, its colours and moods seem to change at various times of the day. At the break of day, the fort is swathed in the gentle colours of the rising sun, but later, the full brilliance of the sun converts the yellow sandstone facade of the fort into dazzling gold, earning it Satyajit Ray's epithet, Sonar Kella or 'golden fort', in the story and filmby the same name.

By night, Jaisalmer Fort is a sight to behold. Lights lighten up every nook and cranny; yet, it doesn't take away from the saga and mystery surrounding the citadel. Sitting right in the middle of Thar Desert, atop Trikuta Hill, the Jaisalmer Fort is a five-storeyed structure built in traditional Rajasthani style. Standing tall at 250 m, from which vantage point you can see almost every part of town, the fort is built of jurassic yellow sandstone and is encompassed within three strong walls. It has 99 bastions, of which, 92 were built in the 17th century. Intricately carved screen windows, delicate pavilions and beautiful balconies adorn the facade, all of which makes for a very pretty picture. And within the precincts of these imposing walls lies the heartbeat of the fort-the old city, where almost a quarter of modern Jaisalmer resides, making it, perhaps, the only living fort in India. But first, a little about the antecedents of this great edifice.

Legend has it that Lord Krishna, head of the Yadav clan, had spoken to Arjuna (one of the famed Pandava brothers from the epic Mahabharata), telling him that a descendent of the Yadav clan would build his kingdom atop Trikuta Hill. And so it was that the Bhatti chief Raja Jaisal, who was a Yadav, built the Jaisalmer Fort in 1156, thus fulfilling the prophecy. There were many merchants who served in the royal courts of the rich and powerful Bhatti Rajputs, and it is to them that one can credit the construction and the elaborate carving of the havelis in the fort.