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Kolhapur
—  city  —
Kolhapur Location of Kolhapur in Maharashtra and India
Coordinates	16°42′00″N 74°14′00″E / 16.7000°N 74.2333°E / 16.7000; 74.2333Coordinates: 16°42′00″N 74°14′00″E / 16.7000°N 74.2333°E / 16.7000; 74.2333
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District(s)	कोल्हापूर/Kolhapur
Mayor	Kadambari Kawale[1]
Population	5,61,841 (2011[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 569 metres (1,867 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 416001 • Telephone • +0231 • Vehicle • MH-09

Kolhapur {Marathi: कोल्हापूर}  pronunciation (help·info) is a city situated in the southwest corner of Maharashtra, India. Kolhapur serves as the headquarters of the Kolhapur district. Kolhapur is situated on the banks of the river Panchganga and is the location of the Temple of Mahalakshmi, a Hindu goddess.

History[link]

The Hindu Goddess Mahalakshmi

According to Hindu mythology, Kolhapura was settled by Kolhasura, a demon who was later killed by Mahalakshmi to relieve the local populace. However, honouring the demon's dying wish, the city was named after him. Kolhapur finds mentions in Devi Gita, the final and most important chapter of the Srimad Devi Bhagawatam, as one the important places of Shakti "Kollamma" worship, "Devi spoke:..."O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something out of My affection to My Bhaktas. Hear. There is a great place of pilgrimage named Kollapura in the southern country. Here the Devi Laksmi always dwells...."^[2]

It is said that famous Kannadiga Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I (800–878 CE) deeply cared for his subjects and once when a calamity threatened to harm them, he offered his finger as a sacrifice to the goddess Mahalakshmi of Kollhapura.^{[citation needed]}

During 940-1212 CE, it was the capital of the Shilahara dynasty of Kolhapur^[3]. An inscription at Teradal mentions that king Gonka was healed from snakebite by a Jain monk and Gonka built a temple of Lord Neminath. Many Jain temples in this region build in the next few centuries are called Gonka-Jinalya after him. During the reign of Bhoja I, a dynamic Acharya Maghanandi helped establish an institute at Rupanarayana-Basadi. Several kings and nobles of the dynasty were disciples of Maghanandi. Maghanandi is often called Siddhanta-chakravarti i.e. the great master of the scriptures, Gandaraditya I was his disciple. He is sometimes called "Kolapuriya" or walyaa to distinguish him from many other Acharyas with the name Maghanandi.

Kolhapur was the site of intense confrontation between the Western Chalukyas and the Chola kings Rajadhiraja Chola and his younger brother Rajendra Chola II.^[4] Following the Battle of Koppam in 1052, Rajendra Chola II marched on to Kolhapur and erected a jayastambha or victory pillar in the city.^[4]

The Kopeshwar (Shiva) Temple, located in Kolhapur district, was built by Shilahara King Gandaraditya, Vijayaditya and Bhoj-II between 1109 and 1178 AD.^{[citation needed]} It is nearly capital in time of Queen Tararani who is daughter in law of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj. Kolhapur, historically had a major influence and connections with the prevalent kingdoms of Greece/Rome, the availability of bust of Poseidon, the Greek god of sea at one of the excavated site of Kolhapur shows the relations of trade and co-operation shared with both kingdoms^{[citation needed]}

Kolhapur as a princely state[link]

Geography and climate[link]

The Panchganga River at Kolhapur

Kolhapur city is located in south-westen Maharashtra. It has an elevation of 569 metres (1867 ft) which is higher than that of Pune. By road, Kolhapur is 228 km south of Pune, 615 km north-west of Bangalore and 530 km west of Hyderabad.^[5] The nearest cities and towns within Maharashtra are Ichalkaranji (20 km), Kagal (17 km), Sangli (50 km), and Miraj (45 km).

Kolhapur's climate is a blend of coastal and inland climate of Maharashtra. The temperature has a relatively narrow range between 10°C to 35°C. Summer in Kolhapur is comparatively cooler, but much more humid, compared to neighbouring inland cities. Maximum temperatures rarely exceed 38°C and typically range between 33 to 35°C. Lows during this season are around 24°C to 26°C. The city receives abundant rainfall from June to September due to its proximity to the Western Ghats. The heavy rains often lead to severe flooding in these months. Temperatures are low in the rainy season and range between 19°C to 30°C. Kolhapur experiences winter from November to February. The winter temperatures are a bit higher compared to other cities in Maharashtra such as Pune and Nasik. Lows range from 9°C to 16°C while highs are in the range of 26°C to 32°C due to its high elevation and being adjacent to the Western Ghats. Humidity is low in this season making weather much more pleasant. In 2005 & 2006 there was excessive rainfall in Kolhapur resulting in floods.

Culture[link]

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Majority of the city dwellers are Marathas along with smaller communities of Brahmins, Buddhists,Gujaratis Marwadis, Marathi Jains, Kannadigas mainly Lingayats and Sindhis with minority population of Muslims.^{[citation needed]} Although Marathi is the main language spoken here due to migration from neighboring Karnataka state considerable kannada speaking people reside. So, this mix culture highlights Kolhapur as a cosmopolitan city.

Kolhapuri Pheta[link]

Pheta (Feta) i.e. Turban is a specialty in Kolhapur. Wearing a turban is high respect.It is a customary honor to guest who comes from other place is welcomed by the offering him to wear the traditional turban. Actually the turban is a long cloth off 3.5 to 6 meters. It is the specific Saffron color is most choice for Kolhapuri turbans. Except this many other varieties are also. Some of lined varieties of the turban are called as Lahiri Feta. In previous period it was customary. Forefathers from many families where using turban in their costume. And it was a part of the Male costume. Wearing turban is an art. Turban is plane cloth had majored by width 1 metre x 4 metres in length. It is folded in six or seven folds in width after which an end of one-fourth meter is given as tail which is known as Shemala. This part of tail blows on air while riding on vehicle especially to Wheeler. The style of the heroes is recorded in many Marathi Cinema. The turban is wrapped on Head with a special style. Last tend of turban is portion of Michael. It decorates leading personality so it is the custom that many family ceremonials are insisted fit us. Muscular bodied wrestlers wearing a special and Festival clothes are decorative road streams is a heritage of City. Except this during festivals as like Dasara, Diwali & Padwa, use of the turban is a common trend.

Kolhapuri Saaz (Jewellery)[link]

The Kolhapuri Saaz is famous ornament worn by Kolhapuri Women since long. This artistically made jewellery due to its specific design and pattern looks tremendously beautiful which adds to the glory to the person wearing it. The saaz being so famous there are many Marathi Movie Songs about it. The jewelers at Gujri Market design and make these ornament.

Kolhapuri Chappal[link]

Kolhapuri chappals are world famous. Known as “Pie-taan” () in local language specially made from leather which is processed in local areas, cobbler community traditionally prepares these chappals.There are three major varieties of Kolhapuri chappals. First type is made in Kolhapur. Other types are Kapashi and Dongari. These chappals are stout, sturdy, day long usable. These are very popular in rural areas.The chappal is completely made from processed leather. Buffalo leather is used for chappals. Some other qualities of Kolhapuri chappals are also available: but these are fashionable varieties. Upper part of shoe is made by attractive processed leather. But lower part i.e sole is made from rubber sheets. This type of chappal is given to customers as Kolhapuri chappals is not actual Kolhapuri chappal. In surrounded area of Kolhapur many cobblers make chappals. This trade is worldwide and receives a big fund.

Kolhapur Film industry[link]

Another field that Kolhapur prides itself of is films. In certain circles, Kolhapur was and is still considered as capital of the Marathi film industry as it has originated at this place. Legendary personalities like Bhalaji Pendharkar, Baburao Painter and V. Shantaram started their careers from Kolhapur. It has been credited^{[by whom?]} as the place where Raja Harishchandra, the first feature film ever produced in India, was conceptualized. Kolhapur still plays host to many film festivals and provides location for shooting. Popular locations for filming include the Rankala Lake, Banks of River Panchganga, Panhala Fort, local farms, Mahalakshmi temple.

Industrial Development[link]

Industrial development in Kolhapur was initiated by an industrial estate known as Udyamnagar which is still running with small scale industries and workshops.Kolhapur has three main industrial corporations (MIDC)namely Shiroli, Gokul Shirgaon and five star MIDC at Kagal. Kolhapur is one of the most important places for foundry businesses. Most of the foundries are in sand casting. Mechanical industries in Kolhapur are major suppliers to the OEM customers like Tata, Bajaj, Mahindra and Mahindra, General Motors, etc.

• Few of the large industries are
  • Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd
  • Manugraph India Ltd
  • Menon Group of Companies
  • Raymond Textiles
  • Kolhapur steel ltd
  • Mather and Platt pumps
  • Sanjay Ghodawat group of Industries
  • R. M. Mohite Group of Industries
  • Vardhaman textiles
  • Ghatge Patil Industries
  • Undercarriage and Tractor Parts Pvt.ltd.
  • Carrera Holdings
  • Gokul Milk Co-operative
  • Warana Co-operative Group

Transportation[link]

Railway[link]

Kolhapur railway station known as Chattrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus is connected to major Indian cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Solapur, Nagpur, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Dhanbad through express trains. There are daily passenger shuttle services between Kolhapur and Miraj.

Road[link]

Kolhapur is connected to Mumbai to the north and Bangalore to the south by National Highway 4 which is further extended to Chennai. The city is one of the primary destinations on this highway. Kolhapur has three state transport bus stands namely Central Bus Stand (CBS), Rankala Bus Stand & Sambhajinagar Bus Stand. Kolhapur Municipal Transport buses cover almost all routes inside the city. The National highway connectivity also ensures a large number of private bus service offerings.

Air[link]

Kolhapur has an domestic airport at Ujalaiwadi, 9 km from city. There were regular services to Mumbai by Kingfisher Airlines. But due to financial crises within Kingfisher there are no scheduled flights presently.

Education[link]

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Shivaji University established in 1962, is located in Kolhapur. The jurisdiction of the University is spread over three districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts with strength of about 2,00,000^{[citation needed]} students studying in 225^{[citation needed]} affiliated colleges and recognised institutes. The University imparts education in 10 major faculties of Arts, Social Science, Science, Commerce, Education, Fine Arts, Law, Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Engineering and Technology.

There are many institutes in Kolhapur which provide Ayurvedic, homeopathic and pharmacy courses. Famous primary and higher-secondary schools in Kolhapur are Vidyapeeth High School, Chhatrapati Shahu Vidyalaya, St. Xavier High School, New English Medium School, Holy Cross Convent School,Private high school,Kolhapur public school(BUDS),Shantiniketan etc. There are many residential schools being established in the city.Some ICSE-IGCSE curriculum schools like Podar international,VIBGYOR have also started operating in the city.

Sports[link]

Kolhapur is famous for Wrestling. Khasbaug wrestling stadium is one of the largest stadiums in India for wrestling with seating capacity of about 20,000 people. Kolhapur has also contributed in Olympic level games such as shooting, and swimming. Tejaswini Sawant, who won the Gold Medal for 50m rifle prone shooting at the 2010 ISSF World Shooting Championships held in Munich, is from Kolhapur. She is the first woman shooter representing India who has won gold medal in this event.^{[citation needed]} Virdhawal Khade, from Kolhapur, who has won medals in national as well as international events of swimming. Kolhapur's new rising sport is karting with a dedicated karting track by Mohite's Academy and training facility has seen many young boys and girls take part in National level Karting events.^{[citation needed]}

Suhas Khamkar is a professional bodybuilder who drew inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger and embarked on a journey of becoming a world champion in the sport of bodybuilding.^{[citation needed]} the kolhapur people's like football and there 4 stedium's in kolhapur shivaji stedium,shahu stedium,polo ground 1 and 2.

Football is very famous in Kolhapur. Kolhapur League matches are held at Shahu Stadium Kolhapur. League games between famous clubs like P.T.M, Kahandoba leaves Stadium jam packed. Recently FIFA has approved Shahu Stadium for getting turf. ONGC Leage games are also held at Shahu Stadium.

Cuisine[link]

The city also lends its name to many common products such as Kolhapuri Lavangi Mirchi, Kolhapuri Gul and Kolhapuri Masala. Most preparations in Kolhapuri cuisine include usage of "Kolhapuri Masala". The most famous part of the Kolhapuri cuisine are red meat preparations called Tambada Rassa (Red Curry), Pandhara Rassa (White Curry), and Sukaa Mutton (Dry Meat)and Kolhapuri Misal. Jaggery is produced here in large scale due to large production of Sugarcane.^{[citation needed]}

Kolhapuri Misal

Kolhapuri Misal is one of the famous dishes of Kolhapur. Hot and Spicy are the words which describe the dish to certain extent.This is a delicious dish. It is not a snack but a medium diet. Anybody who wish to have a variety of food, will definitely like this dish. For preparation of the dish confectionery items are preferentially used. Chivada, Shev, Papadi are the indigents of dish. A thin curry covers for all confectionary items. For making it tasty ginger, garlic, mint is also used. The dish is accompanied by a slice of bread. Some chopped onion along with lime makes it even more mouth-watering. Tasting it with the bread and enjoying the "Kat" (curry) is a craze in Kolhapur. In every hotel this dish is available but a few places in town are renowned.

Tambra/Pandra Rassa

Every Culture has a special food and cuisine attached to it. In case of Kolhapur its the Non-Veg that makes a mark as a special cuisine. Kolhapur has a some good traditional dishes prepared from "Mutton" (goat meat) which are very tasty and delightful.

" Pandhra Rassa " the white curry is a liked starter at Kolhapur. A Soup like dish of water used to boil the "Mutton" along with spices such as coriander , ginger & garlic etc. This is a very tasty pre-food item. Apart from taste it has certain medicinal use as well. This "Rassa" is recommended for cough and throat related ailments. This is a part of a well-know duo curries. the other one is termed as "Tambra Rassa"

"Tambra Rassa" the second starter of the duo. This is a curry prepared using red chilly powder to make it appear "Tambra" redish. Made in almost same ways as Pandra Rassa this type of curry is more famous within the rural area of Kolhapur. After these starters comes the special roasted mutton.

"Roasted Mutton" is a special variety of non-veg dish prepared extensively at Kolhapur. The special recipe of this mutton makes it a unique disk attributed to Kolhapur. Different varieties of this dishes are prepared with different spices. One such famous type is "Ghaati" Mutton. These various dishes along with "Bhakari" or "Chapaati" constitute the Kolhapuri Taat.

Places of interest[link]

Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur.

The New Palace, Kolhapur

• Places for Entertainment
  • Gandharva Resort and amusement park, Top Sambhapur
  • Dream world water park at Ramanmala
  • Kent Club at Sadale Madale Village
  • Sidhagiri Wax Museum(Gram-Jeevan Museum)at Kaneri

• Temples
  • Mahalakshmi Temple
  • Khidrapur (Kopeshwar Shiva Temple)
  • Jotiba
  • Narsinhwadi
  • Kashi Vishveshwar Temple
  • Bahubali
  • Katyani Devi
  • Tembalai alias Tryamboli
  • Radha Krishna Temple
  • Kaneri Math
  • Shankaracharya Cloister (Math)
  • Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir

• Lakes
  • Rankala lake
  • Kalamba lake
  • Panchganga

Town Hall Museum, Kolhapur.

• Historical places
  • Panhala
  • Vishalgad,pavankhind
  • samaangad
  • Bhudargad
  • paargad
  • Dajipur Bison Sanctuary
  • New Palace,Raman Mala, Kolhapur
  • Bhavani Mandap
  • Shalini Palace, Kolhapur
  • Chandrakant Mandare museum
  • Town Hall museum
  • Motibag Talim
  • Shivaji University
  • Khasbaug Talim
  • Giroli Tourist Park
  • Barkhi
  • Ramtirth , Ajara
  • Radhanagari Dam
  • Gokak Falls

Rankala lake panorama

See also[link]

Maharashtra portal

• Kolhapur Municipal Corporation

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.kolhapurcorporation.gov.in/Mayor.html
2. ^ Devi Gita; Chapter XXXVIII: The Vow and the Sacred Places of the Devi The Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess), Excerpt from the Srimad Devi Bhagawatam, translated by Swami Vijnanananda (Hari Prasanna Chatterji), 1921."O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something out of My affection to My Bhaktas. Hear. There is a great place of pilgrimage named Kolhapura in the southern country. Here the Devi Laksmi always dwells. The second place is Matripura in the Sahyadri mountain; here the Devi Renuka dwells." Verses: 3-10.
3. ^ Temples and legends of Maharashtra, Volume 97 of Bhavan's book university, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1962
4. ^ ^{a b} K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (2000) [1935]. The CōĻas. Madras: University of Madras. pp. 256–257. 
5. ^ Google Maps

• Population Census 2011 India
• Kolhapur bazar in 1894
• "Kolhapur State". The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 15. Oxford at Clarendon Press. 1909. pp. 380–87. http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V15_386.gif. 
• http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/midc-to-acquire-1000-acres-for-kagal-park/268529/
• www.kolhapurworld.com

External links[link]

• Kolhapur Municipal Corporation

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kolhapur

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Rajiv Radheshyam Dixit was an Indian social activist. He started social movements in order to spread awareness on topics of Indian national interest through the Swadeshi Movement, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and various other works.^[1] He served as the National Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan he is the founder of bharat swabhimaan andolan ]^[2] He was a strong believer and preacher of Bharatiyata.^[3] He had also worked for spreading awareness about Indian history, issues in the Indian constitution and Indian economic policies.^[4]

Life[link]

Dixit was born on 30 November 1967 in Naah village, Atrauli tehsil of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh . Under the tutelage of his father RadheShyam Dixit, he was educated till the 12th grade in the village schooling system in Firozabad district. In 1994, he moved to Allahabad (Prayaag) for higher studies. He pursued his M.Tech degree in Satellite Telecommunications from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and pursued his doctorate in telecommunications in France. Subsequently, he worked at CSIR as a scientist. But his passion for his motherland made him give up a paid-position for the sake of Indian culture and Swadeshi movement, serving the cause of "Rashtra Dharma". His audio cassettes on Indian Nationalism and greatness of India's past did well in 1999. He had been recording them over months traveling across India spreading his message of great optimism about India and its enormous contributions to the human civilization. He was a Brahmachari and never married. He was influenced by the ideologies of Indian revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. Later in life, he began to appreciate the early works of Mahatma Gandhi. His life was dedicated to not just ideas with high ideals, but also causes like stopping alcohol and "gutka" production, cow-butchering and social injustices. On the 9th of January 2009, he became one of the founders of "Bharat Swabhiman" movement. He died on 30 November 2010, while in Bhilai in Chattisgarh. The circumstances around his death are uncertain and the cause of his death is unknown. In his memory, the constructed Bharat Swabhiman building in Haridwar has been named "Rajiv Bhawan". He refused to take any modern medicine on his death bed, insisting instead on Ayurvedic medicine.

Work[link]

Dixit suggested that the Indian supreme court should declare money held by Indians in Swiss banks as national property so that foreign banks would have to legally hand over this money to India.^[5]

He fought various MNCs like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Colgate as he considered that these companies are draining wealth in their country making India poorer.^[6]

Initiated and supported movements[link]

• Dixit supported the movement of opening a chain of Swadeshi General Stores, where only Indian-made goods are sold.

He believed in swadeshi. He initiated movements like the Swadeshi Movement and Azadi Bachao Andolan and became their spokeperson.^[7] He addressed a rally of over 50,000 people under the leadership of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in New Delhi.^[8] He also took leadership of the programme held at Calcutta which was supported and promoted by various organizations and prominent personalities and was celebrated all over India on the eve of the 150th Anniversary of the 1857 war of Indian Independence.^[8]

• He demanded decentralization of taxation system, saying that the current system is the core reason for the corruption in bureaucracy. He said that 80% of taxes is being used to pay the politicians and bureaucrats and just 20% for development purposes for the people. He compared the current budget system of the Indian government to the earlier British budget system in India, presenting statistics to show that they are the same. Recently he was working with Swami Ramdev in Bharat Swabhiman Trust as national secretary.^[9]

• He also doubted the terrorist attack on the United States Twin Towers, claiming that it was stage managed by U.S. Government itself, and supported the claims of the Lone Lantern Society of the U.S.^[10]

• He also said that "liberalization, privatization and globalization, the three evil faces staring at us today, have pushed us towards a suicidal state."^[1]

• He argued that modern thinkers have neglected agricultural sectors and farmers have been left to feed themselves and commit suicide.^[1] Expressing his views on the Indian judiciary and legal system, he said that India is still following the laws and acts enacted during the British era and had not taken the burden of changing them as per the requirement of Indian people.^[2]

• He accused the current Indian Government (Congress person Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India) of being an agent for USA. He claimed a huge stock of radio-active elements is buried in Indian sea below Setu Samudram, also known as Sri Ram Setu. These radio-active elements could be used to produce electricity and Nuclear weapons for coming 150 years. He also accused that Indian government is trying to break that bridge, which is more than 700,000 years old. ^[1]

Sudden death[link]

Dixit was in Bhilai to deliver lecture as a part of his Bharat Swabhiman Yatra, where he died on 30th November 2010. His death was unexpected. The cause of death is still unknown, though it was initially believed that he died of a cardiac arrest.

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Media silent on the death of Rajiv Dixit
• [2] Rajiv Dixit and his Articles (New Website)
• Rajiv Dixit and his Articles
• mp3-of-rajiv-dixit-lectures
• Complete Mp3 Lectures on History of Ancient & Modern India
• [3]
• Swabhiman Yatra Videos