videos

wai

Wai,pune

Located on the Krishna River, Wai was a town of some prominence in the days of the Peshwas. Two important Maratha Brahmin from ruling families had their origins here: Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (Tambe family) and Gopikabai, wife of Nanasaheb Peshwa (Raste family). Peshwas, a word derived from the Persian word for "foremost leader," were similar to a modern prime minister, and served Maharashatra state from 1713 to 1857.^[2]

Wai has long been a cultural center. Locally prominent families built several architecturally significant temples in Wai. A few kilometers from Wai on a hill 4,650 feet above sea level is the temple of Mandhradevi Kalubai, which is more than 400 years old.^[3] In more recent times, some 300 Bollywood and Marathi movies have been filmed in Wa

History

Wai has the epithetic name "Dakshin Kashi" (City of Temples) because of the city's more than 100 temples. Wai is known in Maharashtra for its ghats on the banks of the Krishna River and its temples, especially the Dholya Ganapati temple on Ganapati Ghat.

Pandavas established the site of the future city of Wai in the 1700s. The 17th century warlord Afzal Khan (general), representing Ali Adil Shah II of the Bijapur Sultanate, is said to have made his first halt here on his way to the fort of marahtha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. A cache of 105 guns, swords and other weapons were found in Wai around 2005.

Geography[edit]

Wai is located at 17.94°N 73.88°E,^[5] approximately 35 km north of the city of Satara (Devanagari: satara). It has an average elevation of 718 metres (2355 feet). It is surrounded by the mountainous region of the Sahyādris.

Dhom Dam, west of Wai, was completed in 1982. Waters held by Dhom and Balakwadi dams, west of Wai taluka, surround the region's remaining small villages. Most residents of small villages moved elsewhere when dams were built. Dhom, Tasgaon, Aasgaon, Wyahli, Dhawli, Dahyat, Jor, Golewadi, Golegaon and Ulumb are major villages which were moved or lost because of the construction of man-made lakes. Nearly 16 km from Wai is the village of Borgoan, in middle of Dhom dam and Balkawdi dam, with four waterfalls. Borgoan's residents drink water from the falls year round.

Boundaries of Wai taluka: East of Wai are talukas of Khandala and Koregaon. To the west lies the taluka of Mahabaleshwar. The northern border abuts the Pune district. The north-west border is shared with the Raigad district. South of Wai are talukas of Jawali and Satara. A taluka is an Indian sub-district—smaller than a district and larger than a village.

Headquarters of Wai taluka is the city of Wai, populated by about 25,000 people. Wai is 35 km. from Satara, 95 km. from Pune, 250 km. from Mumbai. Situated on the Mahad-Pandharpur State Highway, Wai is a major city on the way to the hill stations of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani.

Wai taluka has seven ghats on the Krishna's banks: Gangapuri, Madhi Aali, Ganpati Aali, Dharmapuri, Brahmanshahi, Ramdoh Aali and Bhimkund Aali.

chittaranjan vatica garden

chittaranjan vatica garden

The Chittaranjan Vatika is a sprawling garden in Pune which is run by the Pune Municipal Corporation. This place is an ideal place for all jaywalkers and joggers. It is a botanical garden that consists of a rich variety of flowers and trees and is completed with a jogging track and a wonderful playground which is designed specifically for kids. The kids’ playground here has traffic signals and various sign boards, which is meant to educate the kids about the traffic rules. This garden also has an art gallery which is quite popular. The natural environment of this botanical garden is clean and beautiful which makes it a perfect place to breathe in fresh air and enjoy some peace and quiet.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is all set to renovate the Model Colony-based Chittaranjan Vatika, one of the oldest and favourite gardens in the city. However, the civic body’s move has not gone down well with the residents, who are of the view that the PMC should keep the sanctity of the garden intact.

Speaking to DNA, executive engineer of the garden department, Yuvraj Deshmukh, said that the PMC also plans to develop a small water body in the garden. Besides, other additions will be a pagoda, renovated 1,500-metre jogging track and a new playground equipment for small children. “We have a plan to renovate the garden to provide maximum facilities to the visitors,” he said.

The department has prepared a master renovation plan with a project cost of Rs89 lakh. According to the plan, two types of jogging track will be developed with soft and hard surface. The new attraction of the garden will be a small water body. The PMC has floated a tender inviting contractors to develop the garden.

However, citizens are not too impressed with the new plan. Jayantrao Mohite, former president of Model Colony Parisar Sudharana Samiti, said, “Chittaranjan Vatika is a Devrai of Model Colony with big indigenous old trees. The garden already has a jogging track and two pagodas. Hence, we think we should not have more development.”

“Instead of pouring in more cement blocks in the garden, the civic body should keep the sanctity of the garden intact by leaving it as it is,” he added.

Neelima Mysore, secretary of the samiti, said, “The garden department of the PMC should take our views into consideration before making any changes in the garden."

Thosegar Falls

Thosegar Falls:

Thoseghar Waterfalls in Satara are one of most preferred picnic spots near Mumbai and Pune for youngsters. Though mostly visited during rainy season, you can visit this destination even during summers, thanks to its topography. Perched atop hills, this area in Satara is famous for its roaring waterfalls and lush greenery during monsoons. Here is how you reach this place.
By Road:
Best way to get here for people staying in Mumbai and Pune is to take a bus/car. Here is the distance in terms of kilometres from each of these places.
Satara: 20 kilometres
Pune: 130 kilometres
Mumbai: 140 kilometres
Kolhapur: 150 kilometres
By Train: Nearest railhead is Satara, which is well-connected to all big cities and towns in the state.

Thoseghar Falls – Satara’s Monsoon Wonder

The best part of our trip to Satara and Kaas was the Thoseghar Falls. The roaring Thoseghar Waterfalls vie for the attention of both your eyes and ears as you stand on the viewing platform looking at the milky streams of water plunging down.

On our right were the twin waterfalls, falling into a U-shaped gorge. On our left, a single waterfall was plunging down in tiers reaching the bottom of the valley. And joining the river formed by the earlier waterfalls collectively called Thoseghar falls.

As we took our eyes off these thick waterfalls and looked at the surface of the hill in front of us, we could see many smaller waterfalls coming down. Bit silently clinging to the surface of the hill. There are pathways built to take the visitors from this viewing platform to the upper part of the twin falls where you can see their source.

Tapola

Tapola - Mini Kashmir near Mahabaleshwar

 Long time back when i was still new to Pune i had asked a friend about places near Pune one could visit. He mentioned Tapola and called it the mini kashmir. I wondered why! I decided to go there to see for myself but for one reason or the other the place kept eluding me. Made me wonder whether the place is something like the Vaishno mata where in you could visit only if you have the "mata ka bulawa"!!
Either it was raining mad or i was running short of time or it was thanks to google maps. The google map story actually is interesting. According to google maps Tapola is ahead of Pratapgad fort on the way to Poladpur. I had taken that route to go to Tapola where in a reached a reservoir - Shivsgar dam with some options for water sports only to realize that it was not actually Tapola and to reach Tapola one had to travel about 25Km from Mahabaleshwar in the other direction towards babbington point and ahead, On that occassion i had returned to Mahabaleshwar and made the trip back to pune cursing the monopoly and inefficiency of google the giant corporate misleader!! on after thoughts however google maps is not that bad, the only thing that i dont trust about google maps is the distance quoted and approximate projection of time required. They just calulate the time with an assumption of 60 Km/hr without considering the road condition or terrain. So i have learnt to live with it and use it only for general research or lets say for starters i have google maps and for main course i go some where else !!

  
So this monsoons i decided to bell the cat anywhich way. I left for Tapola from Pune at 6:30 am to reach Panchgani at about 8-8:30. I had planned to have my breakfast at mapro garden. Normally they are open by the time i reach but this time i found them closed. Was the Tapola jinx still working; for those who dont know i have a superstitiously skeptic tinge to my personality. Once i settled for a less than special breakfast elsewhere i carried on to Tapola. From Mahabaleshwar the roads are quite confusing and i ended up at some view point. Apparently i had taken a right instead of a left and had deviated from the main road. How am i to blame when both the roads where of the same width and equally muddy because of the continual drizzle, more over the visibility was on the lower side on account of the fog. However i was quick to recover and resumed my trip to Tapola. The roads like the tail of a snake was taking me deeper and deeper into the land of nowhere.

sinhgad fort

sinhgad fort:

Sinhagad (also known as Sinhgarh or Sinhgad) is a hill fortress located at around 25 km southwest to the city of Pune, India. Some of the information available at this fort suggests that the fort could have been built 2000 years ago. The caves and the carvings in the Kaundinyeshwar temple stand as proofs for the same.
Previously known as Kondhana, the fort had been the site of many battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670. Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range in the Sahyadri Mountains, the fort is situated on a hill about 760 metres above ground and 1,312 metres above mean sea level.^{[citation needed]}
The Sinhagad (Lion's Fort) was strategically built to provide natural protection due to its very steep slopes. The walls and bastions were constructed only at key places. There are two gates to enter the fort, the Kalyan Darwaza and Pune Darwaza which are positioned at the south east and north-east ends respectively.^[1] The fort was also strategically located at the centre of a string of other Maratha occupied forts such as Rajgad Fort, Purandar Fort and Torna Fort.

History:

The Sinhgad Fort was initially known as "Kondana" after the sage Kaundinya. The Kaundinyeshwar temple coupled with the caves and carvings indicate that the fort had probably been built around two thousand years ago. It was seized by Muhammad bin Tughlaq from the Koli in 1328 AD

Shahaji Bhosale, as the commander of Ibrahim Adil Shah I, was entrusted with the control of the Pune region. His son Shivaji, refused to accept the Adilshahi and initiated the task of setting up Swarajya. Shivaji gained control of Kondana in 1647 by convincing Siddi Amber, the Adilshahi Sardar who controlled the fort, that he, the son of Shahaji Bhosale, could manage the fort's defences optimally. Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande played a key role in this activity. Adil Shah jailed Siddi Amber for this treasonous act and schemed to get it back. He imprisoned Shahaji Bhosale for a concocted crime and informed Shivaji. In 1649, Adil Shah traded the fort for Shahaji's release. Shivaji Maharaj recaptured it in 1656 again with the help of Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande who convinced the Fort commander by giving land in the newly created Shivapur village and peacefully gained control of the fort.
This fort saw attacks by Mughals in 1662, 1663 and 1665. In 1664, "Shahistekhan", a Mughal general, tried to bribe the people of the fort to hand it over to him, but was unsuccessful.
Through the Treaty of Purandar, the fort passed into the hands of the Mughal army chief "Mirzaraje Jaysingh" in the year 1665.
In 1670, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reconquered the fort for the third time and the fort came and stayed under the Maratha rule till 1689 A.D.
After the death of Sambhaji, the Mughals regained control of the fort. The Marathas headed by "Sardar Balkawade", recaptured it in 1693. Chatrapati Rajaram took asylum in this fort during a Mogul raid on Satara but died in the Sinhagad Fort on 3 March, 1700 A.D.
In 1703, Aurangzeb conquered the fort. In 1706, it once again went into the hands of the Maratha's. Pantaji Shivdev of Sangola, Visaji Chafar and the Pant Pratinidhis played a key role in this battle. The fort remained under the Maratha rule till the year 1818, after which the British conquered it. The British however took 3 months to capture this fort, which was longest it took them to win any fort in Maharashtra.

Culture and Tourism:

 The Sinhagad Fort is a popular weekend destination for many residents of Pune, including trekking enthusiasts with access to the top of the fort from the base of the Sinhgad village.
Parts of the once extensive fortification are in ruins. The fort houses a memorial to Tanaji as well as the tomb of Rajaram Chhatrapati. Visitors can see the military stables, a brewery and a temple of goddess Kali (goddess) along with a Hanuman statue to the right side of the temple, as well as the historic gates.
Training exercises are carried out at the fort by cadets from the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla. Cadets from the academy are regularly sent on hikes and runs from NDA to Sinhagad in full battle gear.
The fort also houses a television tower for broadcasting local TV signals. Currently, Non-Vegetarian food, Partying including alcoholic beverages and smoking is banned on the fort.^[5][6]
The local municipal transport service runs buses every hour from "Shaniwarwada" and "Swargate" to the Sinhagad foothills at Donje village. The climbing route from either side of the fort can be covered in an hour. Shared taxi services to the base as well as the top of the mountain are also available.

 

sambhaji park

sambhaji park:
Sambhaji Park is a beautiful garden which offers a plethora of fauna of varied variety. The park is constructed in a wonderful way with gazebo, a magnificent water fountain, a globe model, a statue of Lord Shiva, clay animal statues, a aquarium, besides a old battle tank on display. A clay fort model is placed inside the park to keep your little ones busy.

 In a large number of languages, the etymology of the word ‘garden’ and its cognates refer to enclosure, protection, and reclusion. The Indian suffix ‘-garh’, meaning a fort in Hindi, Sanskrit, and other Indo-Iranian languages, appears in many Indian place names, while the Persian word ‘pairidaeza’ means ‘garden’ and translates as a form of protected community, a climatic optimum, a paradise.
If etymologically ‘garden’ stands for a place of enclosure, reclusion and isolation, on the other hand a public garden is a meeting place, an area where new, temporary communities are constantly made and unmade. The artists invited to conceive interventions in Sambhaji Park work around this dialectic between inclusion and exclusion, sociality and isolation, while using a variety of already existing elements and materials of the park. Their works invite each visitor to find their own peculiar ‘idiorrhythmy’, their own pace within the communal context of the park and, more generally, to consider their own role in a community.