By Neha Kirpal
The Mud Fort is a heritage hotel located in Kuchesar, only 75 kilometres from Delhi. More than 280 years old, the fort served as the erstwhile seat of the Jat Kingdom of Uttar Pradesh. This mid-18th century fort has been meticulously preserved. While retaining elements from the British era, the fort continues the traditional Indian mantra of hospitality. Kuchesar is also surrounded by vast green orchards of sugarcane, mango, guava, lemon, litchi and peaches.
In an exclusive interview, the owner of the Mud Fort Kuchesar, Kunwar Vikram Jeet Singh, talks to us among other things about the history of the fort, the local experiences created around the property, and Kuchesar as a popular destination for weddings and film shootings.
Tell us about the history of the Mud Fort Kuchesar?
The recorded history of the fort that we have is from 1734 onwards. Our family belongs to a village called Mandothi in District Jhajjar, Haryana. Four brothers of the family came to Kuchesar, and settled down in a village called Kisauna, approximately 5-6 kilometres away from here. They then started building the fort. The first property they made was called Jagmandir.
The jagir we got was 365 villages, first by the Muslims and then by the British in 1804. We have been annexed from Kuchesar once by the Muslims, and we settled down in a place across the Ganga called Chandausi, where one brother settled down, and where we have about 13-14 villages. Of the four brothers, one died young. One family presently lives in Mohiuddinpur, near Hapur, where we have 12 villages. In Kuchesar, we have 14 villages.
The basic structure of the fort—the moat, ramparts and lawns—are all the same as they were originally. We have only made internal changes, first as a family home and then as per the needs of the hotel’s guests. We first let out the fort as a hotel in 1998.
Tell us a little about your rooms, the restaurant and guests who come to visit?
We have divided all our 19 rooms into four categories—heritage (2), deluxe (6), palace (7) and super deluxe (4). Since we are a village-based property, we have kept our menu as simple and local as possible. We offer home-cooked food of various cuisines—Chinese, Rajasthani, UP food, Mughlai, Continental, etc. We have three categories of guests coming to us—people who come from NCR (including Faridabad, Gurgaon, Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida) for weekend getaways; MICE; and small wedding groups.
What are some of the local experiences that you have created for guests within the property?
Kuchesar is a destination for people to come and relax over the weekend. Over a period of time, we have developed some unique local experiences, which we offer our in-house guests. The tractor ride and bullock cart ride takes one through the farms, mango orchards and villages around us. A visit to the jaggery making plant is also organised during the winter. We have a person who helps guests do pottery on a wheel. The idea is to show people, particularly young children, what village life is like. A visit to the Ganges can also be arranged, for a boat ride or religious purposes.
Apart from that, guests can play table-tennis, softball, cricket, badminton, volleyball, tug-of-war, gillidanda, kancha and board games within the premises itself. There is a small dip pool also for families to indulge in.
The property is also a popular destination for weddings and film shootings. Tell us more about this?
We sometimes host small weddings of about 100-200 guests. They stay with us for about two days and the complete wedding takes place on the fort premises. When we do weddings, we share the property with our neighbours, my uncle, who owns Rao Raj Vilas, Kuchesar.
We have had several shootings for films, ads, songs and serials in the property so far. The first serial shot here was in 1995. Naseeruddin Shah’s The Hungry (2017), Govinda’s Kill Dil (2014), Vidya Balan’s Begum Jaan (2017), a satire film Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho (2015) and Special OPS (2020) were some of the major ones filmed here. Just 15 days ago, Kangana Ranaut visited the property, and will start shooting in September, a film about the Emergency that she is producing and acting in.
What are the hotel’s expansion and other plans for the future?
Our long-term plans include building and adding 30 more rooms within the property.
