Hello, friends, travelers, and community! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying time with your loved ones. Recently, I was organizing my files and came across my photos from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. It's a vibrant town where you can find solutions to almost any mechanical or technical problem, as well as services for house building, car repairs, agricultural innovations, metal work, and stone work.
Kolhapur is also renowned for its diverse cuisine and serves as a hub for many cooperative societies. It is a popular tourist destination, especially known for the beautiful Mahalaxmi Temple, a significant Hindu pilgrimage site, and the Shahu Maharaj Palace. Additionally, Kolhapur University has been developed, and the region is well-known for its traditional wrestling and nearby pilgrimage places like Khagrapur, Narsobachi Wadi, and Sangli. It is often referred to as Karvir Nagari.
I visited Kolhapur due to health issues with my back and spent around two weeks there. However, due to a busy treatment schedule, I couldn't explore as much as I would have liked.
Kolhapur is a productive area for agriculture, machinery, local handlooms, and sugarcane jaggery/sugar factories. It has both small and large economic groups called cooperative societies. Some convert into banks. Kolhapur district is self-dependent in food production. They cultivate different grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, famous Kolhapur sugarcane jaggery, and milk products. The people work hard and take pride in their craftsmanship, all under the blessings of Shree Mahalaxmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth. I am grateful to this spiritual and divine goddess, Maa Mahalaxmi. During this period of Navratri, may she bless all of us with her divine love.
Mahalaxmi Mata
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This photo was sent by the Mahalaxmi Devasthan committee. They send it by WhatsApp. It is not allowed to take a photo inside the temple.
The temple from the outside.
The palace is beautiful, but it does not allow taking photos inside.
A small animal sanctuary in a palace complex by the river. Many birds and small animals enjoy living there
Nearby is the freestyle wrestling center. This place is famous for these sports and has a history from Maratha king Shree Shatrapati Shivaji's time.
many public gardens around for relaxing.
Many small and large lakes are good for the public for their daily needs.
As well as birds, they also enjoy their freedom
Here are the public water tanks from the Kolhapur municipality. They have several around town, small and larger, with treated water.
Nice old-style houses are better than big buildings in the center of town.
Still, they have traditional shops. the place is very famous for big malls, but they are outside town. where people have choices.
As part of agricultural production, they organize animal markets a couple of times each year. The larger markets occur before the monsoon and after the harvest.
they repair everything from any kind of big vehicles to small watches, from electronics to mechanical appliances. clever people in every field.
Very good craftsmanship, creative people.Hard workers.
These are the typical road conditions in Kolhapur. it is not a joke, many people live this way in larger towns, and it's just a part of everyday life for them. We spent a couple of weeks there, not as tourists, and experienced both the positive aspects of Kolhapur and the realities of life there. To improve the quality of life for residents, better systems need to be established to enhance the area’s overall appearance.
Thank you for reading about Kolhapur. See you soon, and take care! :)