Sonar Kella, it is almost 900 years old fort in India, one of the biggest in the world. Originally it is named Jaisalmer Fort, built by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1956 AD. After the legendary Bengali film director Satyajit Ray wrote a detective novel based on the fort and later turned it into a film – Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) it became popular in this name. The film was a classic and for that tourists flock in to Jaisalmer only to experience the virtual cinematic déjà vu, surrounding the fort. Especially, the Bengalis have a very emotional attachment with this place.
After coming here, I was surprised when I came to know that people still live inside Sonar Kella. In fact, it is the only fort in India, where still there is residence. Nearly 5000 of population, most of them are born here and living for generations. The whole idea of this huge fort situated in the Thar Desert, these old architectures and the habitation of these ancient people was fascinating for me and I started photographing this fort.
Sarker Protick 