Barshi

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Barsi is a town and the name of a railway station in the Solapur district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is famous for its toor dal (lentil) and other agriculture products. It is also known as Door to Marathwada. In Barshi is one of two temples dedicated to Lord Bhagvant; the other is at Kashi.

Barshi also had three cotton textile mills, although only one is surviving. The three were Rajan Mill, Lokmanya Mill, and Barshi Textile Mill (called BTM), which is under the management of NTC GoI's Ministry of Textiles.

Barshi is also known for its wholesale trading market, called " Krishi Utapanna Bazar Samiti (adat bazzar)". Farmer and cattle owners come to Barshi from all over to sell raw commodities, crops, vegetables, fruits, animals, and animal products to wholesale buyers, who then sell to big city traders. It is emerging as a regional education centre with reputed educational institutes.

On the lighter side, "Barshi Light" (Built by British raj in 1897) Narrow Gauge Railway that used to operate through Barshi. Known for its extremely slow speed, it is referred to by many Marathi writers in their humor. Of the Barshi Railway it is said that you can get off and make a cup of tea and drink it and hop back on.

Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Hospital, initiated by Indian film actor Sunil Dutt, is situated in Barshi. It has state-of-the-art facilities and is funded privately(for instance Bill And Milinda Gates Foundation) as well as by the government.

The great spirtual guru of Kundalini Shakti, the late Vamanrao Gulawani Maharaj, lived in Barsi for almost 12 years while he worked as a young school teacher in a local high school.