THE massive late rite walls are coated black with dried algae, a tell-tale sign of antiquity. They hug the promontory so snugly that it would seem that Bekal Fort was fashioned out of a seaside cliff. It is almost as if Nature had been co-opted by the builders of the fort for their defense needs.

The revetment of the walls is such that the man-made behemoth offers the least resistance to the elements. Perhaps that is also the reason why Bekal is one of the best-preserved forts in this part of the country. You notice that over the centuries, the alternating rain and shine have only been able to corrode the walls surfaces in the most part. Bekal Fort is on the main rail and road route from Kozhikode to Mangalore.

The nearest airport at Mangalore is 80 km away, while Kanhangad (Kerala), the nearest town, lies 12 km to the south.There is a separate bus stop for the Fort on National Highway-17 and the front wall rears up as you approach the beach about 50 metres from here. The Bekal Resorts Development Corporation Ltd., has set up an information counter close to the fort entrance. Tourism brochures of all kinds are displayed in the small glass-and-plywood cabin, where a couple of sofas have been provided for visitors. The corporation is spearheading a multi-crore project aimed at providing infrastructure facilities such as five-star hotels for tourists.

Bekal is to be promoted for attracting foreign tourists to the north of God's Own Country. After all, it was Kovalam which first drew back-packers and tan-seekers to the south of the palm-fringed State back in the 1960's. Pallikere, one kilometre south of the fort, and Kappil, about five km north, rival the famed beaches of Kovalam in scenic beauty. The signs of ongoing renovation work were visible as one entered the fort. Freshly hewn late rite blocks lay piled up one side of the courtyard. To the left, the walkway along the outer periphery of the fort wall had been re-surfaced. It is apparently difficult to remove the black algal coating from the corroded stone, and the new reddish-yellow layer stood out like the annual ring at the heart of a tree.

The 40-acre enclosed space of the fort revealed the crumbled foundations of various structures near the entrance, where archaeological excavation was under way. There were visitors even at noon that mid-May, but in the sprawling space, they seemed few and far. A group of college students was having a photo session on the watchtower. Now, the monsoon is in full swing.

The heat of the sun could be felt only during lulls of the sea breeze, which has free access everywhere. The lookout openings on the parapet and even the gun-holes that honeycomb the scarp, serve as ventilators. You observed that the gun-holes are angled to enable the defenders to direct raking fire at the enemy from afar, when he is closer, and when he is almost upon the walls.

When you stand on the lookout perch facing the ocean, the force of the wind is such that it almost pushes you back. You visualize the medieval soldier standing on guard day and night, scanning the horizon for the first sign of danger in the form of the sail-tops of an approaching enemy fleet.

Historians credit Shivappa Naik of the Ikkery dynasty with the construction of the fort between 1645 and 1660 A.D. The Ikkery Naiks were a line of feudatory chieftains who rose to power after the decline of the mighty Vijayanagar empire following the battle of Thalikkotta in 1565. There is also a version that Shivappa Naik from the Kolathiri Rajas, who were its original owners, captured the fort.

There are no remains of a palace inside the fort, which points to the fact that Bekal was not a centre of administration, but primarily a defence establishment. The fort seems to have served the Nayaks' twin purpose of overseas defence and the need to maintain a base for attacking Malabar. The Chandragiri Fort near Kasargod was built during this period for the same purpose.

Bekal fell into the hands of Haider Ali who defeated the Nayaks, and later came under the control of his son, Tipu. The fort served as an important military station of Tipu when he launched the expedition to capture Malabar. An old mosque is situated very near the fort, which is believed to have been built by the Sultan. Following the death of Tipu and British hands in 1799, Bekal slipped into the custody of the East India Company.

During the reign of the British, Bekal fort became the headquarters of the newly organised Bekal taluk of South Canara district in Bombay Presidency. South Canara became part of Madras Presidency in the 1860's and Kasargod taluk was set up in place of Bekal taluk. Gradually, Bekal declined in importance. Now the Archaeological Survey of India is administering the fort.

It would appear that even at present, Bekal Fort is putting up a defense, the only purpose for which it was conceived and created. The difference is that it is now defending not bustling armies or the territories and people dependent on them, but itself - from the ravages of the elements and the challenges of modern times.

As of now, the structure stands in detached grandeur, its historic relevance and aura of invincibility seemingly undimmed by whatever latter-day mortals choose to do.