Golconda

The walls of the fort spread out over the vast horizon,twisting and turning around trees and leading the limbs to a majestic view of the landscape.The view was breathtaking - the setting sun lent its rays to  make the most ordinary of sights, extraordinary.The sunset shades made a golden glow touch upon distant lakes and buildings.The eye lapped up the scene as if it was a camera clicking a panorama.Squirrels ferreted by the ruins in search of food,while  pigeons gathered on the rocks looming over the ancient stone structures.There stood  a tree barren of its leaves,and yet it held on to its beauty.Farther away, children could be seen playing in a school compound,making merry under the last rays of the sun for the day.A flock of birds flew away in perfect formation,away,away,back home.Youngsters posed for photos beside a lamppost.Security guards sauntered near the steps leading up to other landmarks in the fort.Occasionally, a few stones would pelter off the age-old ramparts into the undergrowth.Birds chased each other over the turrets.A river flowed,flanked by a clump of trees,a small green wood.Giant,barren rocks jut out and bushes flourished from the precipice.Smoke billowed from a chimney.Men made idle conversation while a crow strutted on a distant landing.The setting sun smiled upon this lovely view,perhaps frowning disapprovingly at the plastic waste inevitably strewn in unfortunate crevices of the worn battlements,somehow retaining its grandeur despite having faced the sands of time.Aided by nature,but definitely not by humans, the fortress lives on.A pretty parrot flies swiftly by,emitting its shrill call,visible only to the observant eye.Two pups made fun and frolic,far removed from the retreating visitors.One last look,and a yearning to stay and watch the sun kiss the horizon was left unfulfilled by the clutches of time.