Kolhapur

There is a large city living on the corner of Panchganga river named "kolhapur" And who live in kolhapur called , "Kolhapuri"

Kolhapur
Mahalakshmi Temple
Kolhapur
Location of Kolhapur
in Maharashtra and India
Coordinates
Country  India
State Maharashtra
District(s) कोल्हापूर/Kolhapur
Population 493,167 (2001)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area

• Elevation

• 569 metres (1,867 ft)

Kolhapur pronunciation (Marathi: कोल्हापूर) is a city situated in the south-west corner of Maharashtra, India. The population of Kolhapur city was 493,167, as per the 2001 census.[1] Kolhapaur also serves as the headquarters of the Kolhapur District. As is the case in most of the Maharashtra cities, the main language spoken here is Marathi. Kolhapur is situated on the banks of river Panchganga and is the location of the Temple of Mahalakshmi, a Hindu goddess.

Contents

History

Kolhapur is an ancient city, famous for its food, headwear, footwear, jewellery, wrestling and religious connections. According to legend it was settled by Kolhasur, 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 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 Kolhapura in the southern country. Here the Devi Laksmi always dwells...." [2].

During 940-1212 CE, it was the capital of the Shilahara dynasty of Kolhapur. An inscription at Teradal mentions that king Gonka was healed from snakebite by a Jain monk and Gonk had built a temple of Lord Neminath. Many Jain temples in that region build in the next couple of century are called Gonka-Jinalya after him. During the reign of Bhoja I, a dynamic Acharya Maghanandi helped establish an institute at Rupanarayana-Basadi. Several of the 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.

Khidrapur The Kopeshwar (shiva) Temple - located in Kolhapur district, it is known for one of most outstanding and beautiful examples of Temple Architecture in India, It was built by Shilahara King Gandaraditya, Vijayaditya and Bhoj-II between 1109 and 1178 A.D

Kolhapur as a Princely State

see Kolhapur (princely state)

Geography and climate

The Panchganga River at Kolhapur

Kolhapur city is located in south-westen Maharashtra at . It has an elevation of 569 metres (1867 ft) which is higher than that of Pune.Hence its climate is usually pleasant. By road, Kolhapur is 228 km south of Pune, 615 km north-west of Bangalore and 530 km west of Hyderabad.[3] The nearest cities and towns within Maharashtra are Ichalkaranji (20 km), Kagal (17 km), Sangli (50 km), 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

Majority of the city dwellers are Marathas along with smaller communities of Gujaratis, Marwadis, Maharashtrian Jains, Lingayats and Sindhis with considerable poulation of Muslims next to Marathas. Communal harmony has been the proud culture of Kolhapur. Kolhapur has the distinction of having two Bhattaraka seats, that of Lakshmisena Swami and of Jinasena Swami which has shifted from Nandni to Kolhapura.

Kolhapur has one of the highest per-capita income for a city in India. Trade is mostly dependent on farming of cash crops like sugarcane, the metal industry with important inputs from textiles and mining. The prosperity and the resulting spending prowess of the Kolhapuri people was famously reported in a list of cities with the highest number of Mercedes cars in the state of Maharashtra, where Kolhapur came second only to Mumbai[4]. Similarly, Kolhapur also attracts lots of shoppers from around the region. The main shopping hub of the city is Mahadwar Road, near Mahalaxmi Temple inside the old city walls. Showrooms of adidas,RBK,Wrangler,Pepe Jeans,Indian terrain, Turtle etc. and food chains like dominoes, naturals ice-creams have also popped up in the historically residential area, Rajarampuri. Kolhapur is famous for its Kolhapuri chappal footwear.

Another field that Kolhapur prides itself of is films. In certain circles, Kolhapur was and is still considered the capital of the Marathi film industry. Legendary personalities like Bhalaji Pendharkar, Baburao Painter and V. Shantaram started their careers from Kolhapur. It has been credited as the place where Raja Harishchandra, the first feature film ever produced in India was conceptualised. Kolhapur still plays host to many film festivals and provides location for shooting. Kolhapur is also a strong political center. Nationalist Congress Party along with Congress are the current political powerhouses in the region.

Sports

Though Kolhapur is famous for Wrestling but their favorite sport is football. There are many tournaments organised during winter and summer session in Ch. Shahu Maharaj Stadium.Football Mahasangram is one of the best tournament. The popular teams are Patakadil Talim Mandal, Uttreshwar vghachi talim, Dil Bahar Talim Mandal, shivaji tarun mandal,Police team, Khandoba Talim, Bal Gopal Talim, Practis Club and many other teams.

Cuisine

The city also lends its name to many common products such as Kolhapuri lavangi mirchi, Kolhapuri gur and Veg Kolhapuri. The most famous part of the kolhapuri cuisine is the red meat preparations called Tambada Rassa (Red Curry) and Pandhara Rassa (White Curry) and also Suke Mutton (Dry Meat).

Places of interest

The Hindu Goddess Mahalakshmi

There are many schools & colleges in Kolhapur

Transportation

Local transportation includes auto rickshaws and buses run by KMT (Kolhapur Municipal Transport).

Train

Kolhapur Railway Station is named "Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus" or "C Shahu Maharaj Terminus" (Station code: KOP). It was moved from the South Central to Central Railways in 2003.[5] It has daily trains to Mumbai, Pune, Tirupati, Bangalore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and newly started solapur express. The weekly Nizammuddin Express is the only direct train to Bhopal and Delhi. The station also runs an inter-city shuttle service between Kolhapur and Miraj (Sangli). It has 12 trains from and 12 trains to the station every day.

Miraj railway junction is a very busy junction and entry point to Kolhapur. Miraj lies on Mumbai Bangalore main line and has daily connectivity to important cities. Miraj junction has 4 broad gauge branches connecting it, one of which is Kolhapur Miraj section. Long distance trains like Karnataka Sampark Kranti, Goa express, Chalukya Express, Poorna express, Suvarnajayanti express, Ajmer Bangalore Express, Jodhpur Bangalore express, Gandhidham Bangalore express, Hubli express and numerous other passenger trains are available from Miraj junction. Miraj railway station is about 45 km from Kolhapur and well connected to Kolhapur by road and rail. You can get down at Miraj and then take a train, bus or cab to Kolhapur. It takes 40 minutes from Miraj railway station to Kolhapur.

Road

The National Highway (NH 4) connecting Pune and Bengluru passes through Kolhapur, it has excellent connectivity with a number of major cities in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Bus is a more preferred mode of transport due to its wider network and speed. Buses run by private companies are generally considered more comfortable and reliable, with most offering sleeper and air conditioned coaches. Kolhapur has multiple state transport bus stands like central bus stand (CBS),Rankala & Sambhajinagar bus stand spread around the city. These provide services connecting to most of cities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and some places in Andhra Pradesh. The private companies generally serve the more popular routes, to and from big cities, like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Panjim, Nashik, Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli, Solapur, Hyderabad, Ratnagiri, Shirdi and Tirupati.

MSRTC runs a intercity bus service from Kolhapur to the Sangli, which is 50 km from Kolhapur. There are buses to Sangli almost every 10 minutes from Kolhapur. For local transportation KMT buses,autos and private cars like INDICA,INNOVA,TAVERA are available. Local Roads of Kolhapur city in and around are very very tough to ride and for pedestrians it is a hell. Mahanagar Palika needs to improve this situation of this Sahuji Maharaj city

Air

The city has an airport near Ujlaiwadi, 13 km from the city center. The airport runway which was declared unsafe by Airport Authority due to monsoon is now under construction.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kolhapur Population
  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. ↑ Google Maps
  4. ↑ Kolhapur's passion for Mercs
  5. ↑ Kolhapur moved between Indian Railway zones

Kolhapur Art Gallery. The Art Dealer Harshad Kulkarni's art gallery collection and research of Bombay school paintigs of artist Like Abalal Rahiman Baburao painter, Madhavrao Dhurandhar, Dattoba Dalvi, M.K.Parandekar, S.L.Haldankar, A A Almelkar,Madhav Satawalear, Changdev Shigavkar, G.M.Solegavkar, Chandrakant Mandre. Gallery Exhibit the art works of Upcoming artist as well as Veteran artist in Bombay Delh And Goa of paintings and sculptures. In future, gallery introduce his art works in Europe and Abroad.

External links