Saturday, December 1, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
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this photograph has been taken from a site on the internet and the sole reason is to project the eyes of shree ganesh. if one observes they look so real. much importance is given while 'opening ' the eyes of shree ganesh.doesnt this photograph look real?
this photograph is of the idol of one of the pandals of shree ganesh celebrated by one of the prominent locality in mumbai.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
the mouse is supposed to be the vehicle of lord Ganesha.
there is a story to it . one day lord ganesha was mounting on this vehicle and had a fall, the legend says the moon laughed, ganesha was angry he cursed the moon that nobody will even look at him , the moon begged parden and asked for forgiveness. ganesha pardoned the moon, but not fully on the ganesha chaturthi day if anybody looks at the moon then he will bear the curse of ganesh. the curse was that he will be falsely implicated in a crime.this is what the legend says.
with the month of shraavan, bhaadrapad,-the fourth and fifth month in the hindu calender starts a whole lot of festivals which are celebrated in konkan.
Sukhkarta dukhaharta, vakratunda mahakaya…..These are the names and adjectives attributed to shree ganesh
Shree ganesh is the one of the gods of the Hindus.
Shree ganesh or the “elephant- god” is considered the beginner of all things auspicious. People before starting out on any venture pray to this deity.
In the month of “bhadrapad”, fourth day ie the chaturthi as per the Hindu calendar, all Hindus celebrate the ‘ganesh chaturthi festival’ the idol of ganesh is brought and decorated and this festival is called the ganpati festival. Lokmanya balgangadhar Tilak was the pioneer of starting this festival as a social event where a locality celebrated it jointly. This was started as a freedom movement.
However, here we will be observing the celebration of these festivals in private homes by the people of konkan.
This festival is celebrated for either one and a half day, five days seven days or eleven days. The idols are prepared of clay mud or plaster of Paris. While bringing this idol the man of the house will generally wear a white cap, at the entrance the idol is worshipped ie welcomed and then the “pratisthapana” ie placing the idol at its due position takes place. “Aarti” is a kind of verses sung in the praise of the god. This aarti is generally sung twice in the day. Once in the afternoon before lunch and in the night before dinner. It is sort of offerings to ganesha in the form of food, sweets and flowers. The household as a ‘prasad’ later savors the offering
To be contd ….
Sukhkarta dukhaharta, vakratunda mahakaya…..These are the names and adjectives attributed to shree ganesh
Shree ganesh is the one of the gods of the Hindus.
Shree ganesh or the “elephant- god” is considered the beginner of all things auspicious. People before starting out on any venture pray to this deity.
In the month of “bhadrapad”, fourth day ie the chaturthi as per the Hindu calendar, all Hindus celebrate the ‘ganesh chaturthi festival’ the idol of ganesh is brought and decorated and this festival is called the ganpati festival. Lokmanya balgangadhar Tilak was the pioneer of starting this festival as a social event where a locality celebrated it jointly. This was started as a freedom movement.
However, here we will be observing the celebration of these festivals in private homes by the people of konkan.
This festival is celebrated for either one and a half day, five days seven days or eleven days. The idols are prepared of clay mud or plaster of Paris. While bringing this idol the man of the house will generally wear a white cap, at the entrance the idol is worshipped ie welcomed and then the “pratisthapana” ie placing the idol at its due position takes place. “Aarti” is a kind of verses sung in the praise of the god. This aarti is generally sung twice in the day. Once in the afternoon before lunch and in the night before dinner. It is sort of offerings to ganesha in the form of food, sweets and flowers. The household as a ‘prasad’ later savors the offering
To be contd ….
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
vengurla
Vengurla
This place is one of the best amongst the others. Here life is like the other towns very “sushegat” (relaxed in a way). The seashore has its own natural beauty .the additional attraction being the clean seashore and seawaters.
Here is a photo graph depicting a few of the beaches,
It is also well known Hindu temples the sagarika temple, shri mauli-devi temple, shri redi ganesh temple. Aajgaon, shiroda, redi,aachra etc all these are names of small towns and villages. It is often found that majority of the population around this area is of the saraswat Brahmin or bhandari community. The “sir-names” will be shirodkar from shiroda village, achrekar from achra village the redkar from village redi so the village and names are inter-woven or inter-connected. Vengurla being a beach and a beautiful place was looted and plundered in ancient times.
Here I would also like to explain the word “gramdaivat”.
What is a gram-daivat?
A gram daiwat is the god of the village.gram means village and daivat is god or some supernatural power. Even today, if you go to these villages one finds people desperately having beliefs and blind belief. Endless arguments are carried on as to what is a belief and what is a blind belief.
This can be explained with a small example. Suppose we take the example of “nag-panchami”. Nag means snake and panchami is the fifth day coming in order after a new moon day in the month of “shraavan” of the Hindu calendar. On these days until date, actual snakes brought in small cane baskets. Then people will come and perform puja. Puja means offering of ones obeisance and other offerings to a revered deity. Then the snake will be offered a small dot of vermicelli and red powdered “tikka”dropped (they will not touch it for fright of being bitten). Then this puja ends with the offering of milk to a snake on this day. Therefore, the firm belief was the snake drinks this milk, is happy and blesses.
Now the million-dollar question. How did all this start?
Probably in olden time’s snakes was a great help/nuisance to farmers so to keep them happy this festival has been initiated. There are a couple of other stories too.
So to cut the story short due to efforts of N.G.O. like friends of the animals etc have put an end to this practice of catching live snakes, now puja is done of the image of the snake. So also drinking of milk by the snakes has been stopped and people call it blind belief.
To me it is always a question that those things not proved are beliefs which are all blind and contradictary to the truth or Actual fact and there can never be a blind belief or otherwise.
Coming back to the earlier explanation each village has one god guarding the village. The temple of this god will be at the entrance of that village and every house initiating any new project will first pay obedience to this god. Do not worry the gods grants the blessings by entering a persons body and he or she will start whirling around making all sorts of noises and loud talks and ask for eatables like mutton and fruits or whatever. It is fun to watch all these happenings. Not only this, there are plenty of beliefs and disbeliefs. Each one having its own story, relic, whatever you call it.
Actually, it is very sad to watch all cause this is a part of India the other extreme: uneducated, full of blind-beliefs, poor, ignorant, and unaware of the happenings of the world, exploited by the politicians, urbans educated and the rich.
To be continued
This place is one of the best amongst the others. Here life is like the other towns very “sushegat” (relaxed in a way). The seashore has its own natural beauty .the additional attraction being the clean seashore and seawaters.
Here is a photo graph depicting a few of the beaches,
It is also well known Hindu temples the sagarika temple, shri mauli-devi temple, shri redi ganesh temple. Aajgaon, shiroda, redi,aachra etc all these are names of small towns and villages. It is often found that majority of the population around this area is of the saraswat Brahmin or bhandari community. The “sir-names” will be shirodkar from shiroda village, achrekar from achra village the redkar from village redi so the village and names are inter-woven or inter-connected. Vengurla being a beach and a beautiful place was looted and plundered in ancient times.
Here I would also like to explain the word “gramdaivat”.
What is a gram-daivat?
A gram daiwat is the god of the village.gram means village and daivat is god or some supernatural power. Even today, if you go to these villages one finds people desperately having beliefs and blind belief. Endless arguments are carried on as to what is a belief and what is a blind belief.
This can be explained with a small example. Suppose we take the example of “nag-panchami”. Nag means snake and panchami is the fifth day coming in order after a new moon day in the month of “shraavan” of the Hindu calendar. On these days until date, actual snakes brought in small cane baskets. Then people will come and perform puja. Puja means offering of ones obeisance and other offerings to a revered deity. Then the snake will be offered a small dot of vermicelli and red powdered “tikka”dropped (they will not touch it for fright of being bitten). Then this puja ends with the offering of milk to a snake on this day. Therefore, the firm belief was the snake drinks this milk, is happy and blesses.
Now the million-dollar question. How did all this start?
Probably in olden time’s snakes was a great help/nuisance to farmers so to keep them happy this festival has been initiated. There are a couple of other stories too.
So to cut the story short due to efforts of N.G.O. like friends of the animals etc have put an end to this practice of catching live snakes, now puja is done of the image of the snake. So also drinking of milk by the snakes has been stopped and people call it blind belief.
To me it is always a question that those things not proved are beliefs which are all blind and contradictary to the truth or Actual fact and there can never be a blind belief or otherwise.
Coming back to the earlier explanation each village has one god guarding the village. The temple of this god will be at the entrance of that village and every house initiating any new project will first pay obedience to this god. Do not worry the gods grants the blessings by entering a persons body and he or she will start whirling around making all sorts of noises and loud talks and ask for eatables like mutton and fruits or whatever. It is fun to watch all these happenings. Not only this, there are plenty of beliefs and disbeliefs. Each one having its own story, relic, whatever you call it.
Actually, it is very sad to watch all cause this is a part of India the other extreme: uneducated, full of blind-beliefs, poor, ignorant, and unaware of the happenings of the world, exploited by the politicians, urbans educated and the rich.
To be continued
Friday, September 7, 2007
As mentioned in my earlier post dated 6.09.2007.
“Cotojo” has passed on this award to the Author Of This Blog..
I have to pass on this award to five more bloggers.
These bloggers will further nominate five bloggers each,
with a link to this blog and mentioning from whom they have
received this award.
I am extremely happy and pleased to hand over this award to :
Awesome guy blogger award to
1)Idlemind: Where The Mind Is Idle
2)Greg Lunger: My World-As A Yogi.
3)Tim Anderson : The Medical Migrant.
4)Peter Haslam: Necessary Skils.
5)Ramjee:So-Did-I
Rocking Girl Blogger Award To
1)Elizabeth Potts Weinstan: Chronicles Of Momprenuer.
2)Catherine Morgan : Be The Change You Want To See In Your Self.
3)SINDU/sindu20 .
4)Peg Crossan -
5)Julie And Kevin
KINDLY ADD THESE TO YOUR TECHNORATI FAVOURITES.
DONT FORGET TO PLEASE PASS THESE ON TO DESERVING BLOGGERS....
CONGRATULATION AND ALL THE BEST
“Cotojo” has passed on this award to the Author Of This Blog..
I have to pass on this award to five more bloggers.
These bloggers will further nominate five bloggers each,
with a link to this blog and mentioning from whom they have
received this award.
I am extremely happy and pleased to hand over this award to :
Awesome guy blogger award to
1)Idlemind: Where The Mind Is Idle
2)Greg Lunger: My World-As A Yogi.
3)Tim Anderson : The Medical Migrant.
4)Peter Haslam: Necessary Skils.
5)Ramjee:So-Did-I
Rocking Girl Blogger Award To
1)Elizabeth Potts Weinstan: Chronicles Of Momprenuer.
2)Catherine Morgan : Be The Change You Want To See In Your Self.
3)SINDU/sindu20 .
4)Peg Crossan -
5)Julie And Kevin
KINDLY ADD THESE TO YOUR TECHNORATI FAVOURITES.
DONT FORGET TO PLEASE PASS THESE ON TO DESERVING BLOGGERS....
CONGRATULATION AND ALL THE BEST
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
On 3 Sep, while putting up a post on http://adavait.blogspot.com I happened to read a comment posted by cotojo and lo! Behold! What a pleasant surprise it was to inform me that I had been passed on ‘THE AWESOME GUY BLOGGER AWARD”. SO “HAPPY “to receive it and that too at the hands of “COTOJO” whom we all look up to as one of the most “Awesome Blogger” “I AM FLATTERED” hope this does not go to my head.
NO, IT WILL NOT; AND I AM SURE OF THAT, BECAUSE I AM SURE OF COTOJO’S JUDGEMENT.
I have to pass on this award to five more bloggers, which I am sure there are enough of them. While on the “blogging to fame” contest I have read a lot many blogs and thro the various links I know there are a lot many more out there.
Just give me two more days to finalize my list and I will let you know who they are.
UNTIL THEN I WILL SAY, I AM HUMBLED AND INSPIRED WITH A DASH OF MOTIVATION, which will keep me happily blogging for days to come.
Thank- you Colin once more (hey! that award ought to be the” rocking girl award”?
WHAT SAY? Ha! Ha! Ha!
Monday, September 3, 2007
The other places worth visiting are the beaches like the tarkarli which is about 15-20 minutes drive from Malwan,
Tarkarli is a very quiet and a peaceful beach. A person from the hustle and bustle of a city will find his peace here. If you are a little lucky then while on a boat ride off the creek you may notice a few dolphins.We were not so lucky. This photograph taken from maharashtra govt file will give us some clarity of how this beach looks.
The devbaug , here we were told that devbaug is a low lying area but never flooded once and people consider it as a boon of the gods hence its name “devbaug” dev means god and baug means garden.
Achra bunder or the achra harbour and the neighboring village is another place of interest. Now this visit was just recently conducted, but I remember a very dear memory of this achra bunder. It so happened then I was a young kid of say 12 -13 years. Accompanied with my cousins family and my sister who is two years younger to me, we were travelling by ship to konkan. We were supposed to get down at devgad harbour and then travel by a small boat to nearby coast. It was early morning around 3.00am ,we reached and then boarded the small boat and there I and my sister saw a lady on the boat, she was about say 25 years, wearing a nine yard sari with rich tresses of hair, it was a full moon night, the silver lighted moonlight falling on her long hair and her beautiful face. Coincidently my sister and my self were both struck by her heavenly beautiful personality. Now even after say 30 years we still discuss that beauty. Probably she was one of the fisherwoman. But as they say nature is bountifull and blesses without any bias.
Comming back to our journey,we reached this aachra bunder at around 3.00 pm and left within 3 hours after having a good round of this creek and the surroundings. Kunkeshwar temple is another temple to visit. It has become a tourist attraction in the recent times.
Here I would like to mention that malwan has a temparate climate.and has a heavy to moderate rains. Because of the sea there is humidity in the air.
Nearest railway station is kudal and kankavli, both places about 1 hour driving distance,nearest airport one can say is Dabolim in Goa. Rice and fish is the staple food. Houses have slopping roofs.
Other local places to be visited are
1) rock garden(artificially built but is becoming a tourist attraction.)
2) aarse mahal(just recently built by the local politician.)
3) tondavli beach.
4) Rameshwar temple near achra
To be continued…..
Tarkarli is a very quiet and a peaceful beach. A person from the hustle and bustle of a city will find his peace here. If you are a little lucky then while on a boat ride off the creek you may notice a few dolphins.We were not so lucky. This photograph taken from maharashtra govt file will give us some clarity of how this beach looks.
The devbaug , here we were told that devbaug is a low lying area but never flooded once and people consider it as a boon of the gods hence its name “devbaug” dev means god and baug means garden.
Achra bunder or the achra harbour and the neighboring village is another place of interest. Now this visit was just recently conducted, but I remember a very dear memory of this achra bunder. It so happened then I was a young kid of say 12 -13 years. Accompanied with my cousins family and my sister who is two years younger to me, we were travelling by ship to konkan. We were supposed to get down at devgad harbour and then travel by a small boat to nearby coast. It was early morning around 3.00am ,we reached and then boarded the small boat and there I and my sister saw a lady on the boat, she was about say 25 years, wearing a nine yard sari with rich tresses of hair, it was a full moon night, the silver lighted moonlight falling on her long hair and her beautiful face. Coincidently my sister and my self were both struck by her heavenly beautiful personality. Now even after say 30 years we still discuss that beauty. Probably she was one of the fisherwoman. But as they say nature is bountifull and blesses without any bias.
Comming back to our journey,we reached this aachra bunder at around 3.00 pm and left within 3 hours after having a good round of this creek and the surroundings. Kunkeshwar temple is another temple to visit. It has become a tourist attraction in the recent times.
Here I would like to mention that malwan has a temparate climate.and has a heavy to moderate rains. Because of the sea there is humidity in the air.
Nearest railway station is kudal and kankavli, both places about 1 hour driving distance,nearest airport one can say is Dabolim in Goa. Rice and fish is the staple food. Houses have slopping roofs.
Other local places to be visited are
1) rock garden(artificially built but is becoming a tourist attraction.)
2) aarse mahal(just recently built by the local politician.)
3) tondavli beach.
4) Rameshwar temple near achra
To be continued…..
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
KONKAN-HEAVEN.....contd....
Our journey towards malwan
The place we were staying is called poip; from here, we proceeded to Malwan. Malwan geographically can be called a part of sindudurg taluka,it’s a taluka place with important beaches like the tarkarli chivla devbaug etc. the place where we were located was very near chivla beach so we had good fun at the beach and it being the summer season the children did not want to leave the waters.
It is about 1 hour distant from poip .malwan can very well be called a well-developed town. It has a proper market place, selling variety of items from clothes, gold, eatables, good restaurants, grocery etc,
People from surrounding areas come here to purchase their provisions and other durables. We have a very good family friend staying right in the midst of this market. He has a large house with about nine rooms and a backyard and a front yard. He is a very hospitable and a well-known person. The tragedy of his life is anybody from the neighboring villages coming for marketing makes it a point to visit him. People around this part of the world do not require permission or appointments to visit any house. They may drop in any time, and the host will go out of his way to make him feel at home. Sometimes it is a great inconvenience to the host. Then in India, such exchange of inconvenient hospitability is a common practice. He invited our group to his place for dinner and an overnight stay. Next day we moved into a private hotel . This place was rather a convenient place and here we experienced the same comfort level in the staying as in a city.
My father was the ex-student of topiwalla high school a prominent and important school of malwan, we visited the school. The other place of education is the kanya-shala ie the school for girls, the bhandari high school, the government polytechnic and the industrial training institute.
The other places worth visiting are the beaches like the tarkarli which is about 15-20 minutes drive from Malwan, To be cont…
The place we were staying is called poip; from here, we proceeded to Malwan. Malwan geographically can be called a part of sindudurg taluka,it’s a taluka place with important beaches like the tarkarli chivla devbaug etc. the place where we were located was very near chivla beach so we had good fun at the beach and it being the summer season the children did not want to leave the waters.
It is about 1 hour distant from poip .malwan can very well be called a well-developed town. It has a proper market place, selling variety of items from clothes, gold, eatables, good restaurants, grocery etc,
People from surrounding areas come here to purchase their provisions and other durables. We have a very good family friend staying right in the midst of this market. He has a large house with about nine rooms and a backyard and a front yard. He is a very hospitable and a well-known person. The tragedy of his life is anybody from the neighboring villages coming for marketing makes it a point to visit him. People around this part of the world do not require permission or appointments to visit any house. They may drop in any time, and the host will go out of his way to make him feel at home. Sometimes it is a great inconvenience to the host. Then in India, such exchange of inconvenient hospitability is a common practice. He invited our group to his place for dinner and an overnight stay. Next day we moved into a private hotel . This place was rather a convenient place and here we experienced the same comfort level in the staying as in a city.
My father was the ex-student of topiwalla high school a prominent and important school of malwan, we visited the school. The other place of education is the kanya-shala ie the school for girls, the bhandari high school, the government polytechnic and the industrial training institute.
The other places worth visiting are the beaches like the tarkarli which is about 15-20 minutes drive from Malwan, To be cont…
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
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Dashavataar - It is a popular dance form performed in this region and more so in and around Malvan. It is a play that depicts the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu (as in Hindu mythology) this continues until wee hours of morning. This is a platform for the performers to comment on the current happenings in the social and political scenario. this is not actually a total dance form but it is also enacted with the drama. The costumes of these dashavataries-as they are called are zazzy silk one with sasshys and a crown to depict various kings and queens, so also a bit of a loud music and beating of drums and whistelling by the onlookers.as there is no ticket charged there is a vast crowd out there. any dig at the current political or social conditions then there will be a loud applause and whistelling etc
The whole atmosphere is charged.
basically this performance goes with the basicl nature of a Konkani-he loves all forms of exxaturation.
in the next blog I will be putting together one or two incidances which goes to depict the humorous side of a konkani
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
The " Konkani Muslim” is also another moderate minded community either speaking the Marathi language or a dialect which is a mixture of Marathi and Hindi or Urdu. They normally have fair skin, and light eyes.
Topmost in the hierarchy are those who distinguish themselves from the rest because of purity of descent and ancestral nobility. Families with surnames like Faqih, Farid, Khatib, Patel, Burbere, Narvil, Hani, Qazi, Tase, [among some others] and Muallim belong to this category.
Similarly the Brahmans will have different dialect the speech is nasal and a few words may be called typical chitpavani. There are also the daivadnya Brahmins who are goldmiths and the saraswat Brahmins coming specifically from rajapur area and goa. The kavale math prominently attached to this community. The chitpavans and the saraswats are mostly an educated and well earning community consisting of the intellectual strata of the region.
There exist certain traditions and rituals in Konkan. For example 'Mahar Muth'(symbolically giving some share of corn to Mahar as the first 'Mankari'(authority or owner of the land), 'Mahar dhan'(symbolically giving some money to mahar and buy some land for funeral rites) etc.
Gabits or Aarmari Maratha, Bhandari, Kumbhar, Madwal etc are some of other castes especially in South Konkan and Goa. The traditional profession of Gabit people is fishing and working on the ships. They are also one of the ancient dwellers in Konkan, living with the help of the sea.
Topmost in the hierarchy are those who distinguish themselves from the rest because of purity of descent and ancestral nobility. Families with surnames like Faqih, Farid, Khatib, Patel, Burbere, Narvil, Hani, Qazi, Tase, [among some others] and Muallim belong to this category.
Similarly the Brahmans will have different dialect the speech is nasal and a few words may be called typical chitpavani. There are also the daivadnya Brahmins who are goldmiths and the saraswat Brahmins coming specifically from rajapur area and goa. The kavale math prominently attached to this community. The chitpavans and the saraswats are mostly an educated and well earning community consisting of the intellectual strata of the region.
There exist certain traditions and rituals in Konkan. For example 'Mahar Muth'(symbolically giving some share of corn to Mahar as the first 'Mankari'(authority or owner of the land), 'Mahar dhan'(symbolically giving some money to mahar and buy some land for funeral rites) etc.
Gabits or Aarmari Maratha, Bhandari, Kumbhar, Madwal etc are some of other castes especially in South Konkan and Goa. The traditional profession of Gabit people is fishing and working on the ships. They are also one of the ancient dwellers in Konkan, living with the help of the sea.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Konkan … heaven of greenery ….contd.
This was just background of this region. Now we the visitors to this region after completing our tour at gopuri returned, yes of course we did not forget to purchase a few dozen alphonso mangoes, cashew nuts at the gopuri counter. And those mangoes were a la-treat to our palates. Any city dweller has to keep a restrain on the food for the first two or three days of the travel. The reason for this is that the fruits specifically jackfruit, mangoes, cashew nuts are so yummy that one tends to eat a little beyond the boundaries of the digestion system.
After tea, the same evening we i.e. our entire group left for poip. Poip is a place around 55 minutes drive from kankavli. It is equi-distant from kudal. Kudal is the next station after kankavli on the konkan railway track.
Piling our luggage and ourselves in two 6-seater cars, we drove towards poip. On the way, we watched the trees and grass, the vast expansion of land the smell of the earth.
We reached poip late evening the village seemed ready to go to bed, but one has to know that in a village whatever happens anywhere any corner it reaches the ear /eyes of all villagers. It looks silent on the outside. The house we lived was small ground floor house with a courtyard (padvi) a large hall with sofa chairs a dining table in one corner then a kitchen having gas, a bathroom, and a room for the gods. Three bedrooms, but as it was the summers we all slept in the open in the outside yard under the skies.
It was a very new experience to all. The chirping of the birds, the cuckoo singing. The clear blue sky the vast farm land with all the trees of mangoes, coconut, beetle nut, berries, the earth below without the touch of cement, experiencing all this we were happy to have taken the decision to come and stay here.
Earlier we had thought that we would be staying in a hotel at malwan and giving this place a day visit. But it has to be noted that many of the lodgings are very old fashioned but in places like malwan, ratnagiri etc one does find a few hotels good for your stay and for the pocket. After dinner, we all settled for a song performance by our cousin (house we had settled) and 3 members from our group. It should be observed here that people pf konkan have an inborn affiliation for the art like singing the tabla, the harmonium dancing and talking endlessly for hours on topics close to his heart like politics and social on goings in the surrounding. A Konkani will always discuss the most serious topic with a blend of humour.He will criticize, appreciate, Comment, everything with a pinch of humour. So the tabla harmonium was all set and the party continued until the wee hours of the morning.
We slept around 3.30am but in a village one always gets up with the first break of the sun’s rays.
The people of this region are Konkani. The language they speak is Konkani but the major portion of the Maharashtra konkan region speaks the malwani language. This malwani word derived from the “malwan” region. Malwan is a prominent and advance place/city in this region. .
People living in this area are of various caste sub caste and religion. The original residents are gramins or the Gramit or Gamit tribals of the Maharashtra Konkan; they live in the forestlands, now reduced to tribal, and "low caste. Gramit gramin originates from the word gramin, which means Grama or a village-
Another prominent caste of this region is the Marathas and the chittapavan kokanasth Brahmins. There are three subgroups among the Konkani Marathas - the Shahnav Kuli Marathas, the Kunbi Marathas and the Gomantak Marathas. The Marathas of this region are coming from different social strata the very rich, the rich and the lower middle class. People are quite friendly and hospitable They are happy with whatever they have ,are very peace loving and satisfied lot.
Now regarding our journey the next day, we toured the entire village and the surrounding area. There is a school primary and secondary. There is a church, could not find any mosques as I think there were no Muslims residing, but quite a few houses of the Christian community are found.
There is a big dam built with mud but it had no water in it (it was summer), also visited the mandir (temple) of gram devta (god of the village) on our way to the dam we notice that an entire jungle had been turned into ashes. This had happened due to a jungle fire (always a problem) due to scorching heat of the sun. The Konkani muslim.israelis Catholics are other such people living a peaceful life.
There are wadas or wadis in each village and people following a particular religion will prominently live clustered together in their own wadas /wadis. Like we have Brahman Wada (Hindus) kazi Wada (Muslim) teli wada (considered of a lower caste than Brahmans do) etc. In general as a village, they all share a good rapport with each other. The entire village celebrates urus, mela, bhandara, dashavtar etc,
Then there are the kolis (fisherfolks), gabits, aagris, mahaars, chambars, Buddhists, etc.
Let us take a break and happy blogging until next.
This was just background of this region. Now we the visitors to this region after completing our tour at gopuri returned, yes of course we did not forget to purchase a few dozen alphonso mangoes, cashew nuts at the gopuri counter. And those mangoes were a la-treat to our palates. Any city dweller has to keep a restrain on the food for the first two or three days of the travel. The reason for this is that the fruits specifically jackfruit, mangoes, cashew nuts are so yummy that one tends to eat a little beyond the boundaries of the digestion system.
After tea, the same evening we i.e. our entire group left for poip. Poip is a place around 55 minutes drive from kankavli. It is equi-distant from kudal. Kudal is the next station after kankavli on the konkan railway track.
Piling our luggage and ourselves in two 6-seater cars, we drove towards poip. On the way, we watched the trees and grass, the vast expansion of land the smell of the earth.
We reached poip late evening the village seemed ready to go to bed, but one has to know that in a village whatever happens anywhere any corner it reaches the ear /eyes of all villagers. It looks silent on the outside. The house we lived was small ground floor house with a courtyard (padvi) a large hall with sofa chairs a dining table in one corner then a kitchen having gas, a bathroom, and a room for the gods. Three bedrooms, but as it was the summers we all slept in the open in the outside yard under the skies.
It was a very new experience to all. The chirping of the birds, the cuckoo singing. The clear blue sky the vast farm land with all the trees of mangoes, coconut, beetle nut, berries, the earth below without the touch of cement, experiencing all this we were happy to have taken the decision to come and stay here.
Earlier we had thought that we would be staying in a hotel at malwan and giving this place a day visit. But it has to be noted that many of the lodgings are very old fashioned but in places like malwan, ratnagiri etc one does find a few hotels good for your stay and for the pocket. After dinner, we all settled for a song performance by our cousin (house we had settled) and 3 members from our group. It should be observed here that people pf konkan have an inborn affiliation for the art like singing the tabla, the harmonium dancing and talking endlessly for hours on topics close to his heart like politics and social on goings in the surrounding. A Konkani will always discuss the most serious topic with a blend of humour.He will criticize, appreciate, Comment, everything with a pinch of humour. So the tabla harmonium was all set and the party continued until the wee hours of the morning.
We slept around 3.30am but in a village one always gets up with the first break of the sun’s rays.
The people of this region are Konkani. The language they speak is Konkani but the major portion of the Maharashtra konkan region speaks the malwani language. This malwani word derived from the “malwan” region. Malwan is a prominent and advance place/city in this region. .
People living in this area are of various caste sub caste and religion. The original residents are gramins or the Gramit or Gamit tribals of the Maharashtra Konkan; they live in the forestlands, now reduced to tribal, and "low caste. Gramit gramin originates from the word gramin, which means Grama or a village-
Another prominent caste of this region is the Marathas and the chittapavan kokanasth Brahmins. There are three subgroups among the Konkani Marathas - the Shahnav Kuli Marathas, the Kunbi Marathas and the Gomantak Marathas. The Marathas of this region are coming from different social strata the very rich, the rich and the lower middle class. People are quite friendly and hospitable They are happy with whatever they have ,are very peace loving and satisfied lot.
Now regarding our journey the next day, we toured the entire village and the surrounding area. There is a school primary and secondary. There is a church, could not find any mosques as I think there were no Muslims residing, but quite a few houses of the Christian community are found.
There is a big dam built with mud but it had no water in it (it was summer), also visited the mandir (temple) of gram devta (god of the village) on our way to the dam we notice that an entire jungle had been turned into ashes. This had happened due to a jungle fire (always a problem) due to scorching heat of the sun. The Konkani muslim.israelis Catholics are other such people living a peaceful life.
There are wadas or wadis in each village and people following a particular religion will prominently live clustered together in their own wadas /wadis. Like we have Brahman Wada (Hindus) kazi Wada (Muslim) teli wada (considered of a lower caste than Brahmans do) etc. In general as a village, they all share a good rapport with each other. The entire village celebrates urus, mela, bhandara, dashavtar etc,
Then there are the kolis (fisherfolks), gabits, aagris, mahaars, chambars, Buddhists, etc.
Let us take a break and happy blogging until next.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Heaven of Greenary--Konkan
The Heaven of Greenary--Konkan
http://adavait-amibloggingtofame.blogspot.com
http://adavait-amibloggingtofame.blogspot.com
Mythology says Lord Parshuram the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, created the region. After cleansing the world of evil-forces several times, he came and rested in Konkan, blessing the area with his presence. The only Lord Parshuram temple in the country is found in Konkan, near Chiplun, in Maharashtra
There are many a tourist spots in the Konkan, Sindhudurg fort- the name itself denotes as a sea fort built by the great Maratha warrior, Shivaji. The massive walls designed to serve as a deterrent to approaching enemies and to the waves and tides of the Arabian Sea. Shivaji Maharaja’s hand and footprints preserved here. As soon as we reach the fort, we get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. One wonders the difficulty faced while constructing this fort. The Yadavas built the Kunkeshwar, a seaside temple in the same region in 1.000 A.D.
Tartaric - A serene beach located eight kms off Malvan town. This beach is a favorite with sand particles devoid of any red tinge and sky reflecting waters. The other tourist attraction is the
• Rock garden
• Chivla Beach
• Aarsse Mahal Beach
• Tondavali Beach (19km North of Malvan)
• Achra Beach (22km north of Malvan)
• Rameshwar Temple (23km north of Malvan)
• Devbaug Beach (12km south of Malvan)
Vangaon, Murud Janjira, Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar, Murud Harne, Anjarla, Ganpati Pule, Ratnagiri, Malvan, Vengurla, Ubha danda, Sagareshwar & tarkarli Devbaug, are just a few coastal towns
Chiplun & Ratnagiri are two fast-developing towns Kudal, Kankavli Mahad are developing towns. However, fortunately, most parts in the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga free from commercialization. However, if you can manage to spend a few days living a simple life with not much luxurious expectation from life, then one gets an unadulterated village life at its best.
Konkan, consist of white-sand beaches and palm trees (mostly coconut and betel nut). Konkan has been prime destination among divers all over the world. Sources says that beautiful barrier reef exist just 100 km inside the ocean from the coastline……………..To be contd
There are many a tourist spots in the Konkan, Sindhudurg fort- the name itself denotes as a sea fort built by the great Maratha warrior, Shivaji. The massive walls designed to serve as a deterrent to approaching enemies and to the waves and tides of the Arabian Sea. Shivaji Maharaja’s hand and footprints preserved here. As soon as we reach the fort, we get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. One wonders the difficulty faced while constructing this fort. The Yadavas built the Kunkeshwar, a seaside temple in the same region in 1.000 A.D.
Tartaric - A serene beach located eight kms off Malvan town. This beach is a favorite with sand particles devoid of any red tinge and sky reflecting waters. The other tourist attraction is the
• Rock garden
• Chivla Beach
• Aarsse Mahal Beach
• Tondavali Beach (19km North of Malvan)
• Achra Beach (22km north of Malvan)
• Rameshwar Temple (23km north of Malvan)
• Devbaug Beach (12km south of Malvan)
Vangaon, Murud Janjira, Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar, Murud Harne, Anjarla, Ganpati Pule, Ratnagiri, Malvan, Vengurla, Ubha danda, Sagareshwar & tarkarli Devbaug, are just a few coastal towns
Chiplun & Ratnagiri are two fast-developing towns Kudal, Kankavli Mahad are developing towns. However, fortunately, most parts in the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga free from commercialization. However, if you can manage to spend a few days living a simple life with not much luxurious expectation from life, then one gets an unadulterated village life at its best.
Konkan, consist of white-sand beaches and palm trees (mostly coconut and betel nut). Konkan has been prime destination among divers all over the world. Sources says that beautiful barrier reef exist just 100 km inside the ocean from the coastline……………..To be contd
Konkan is a region of tropical forest with abundance of flora fauna and mountains. One will find the area covered with trees of jackfruit, mangoes, guavas, berries. Coconuts tamarind beetle nut bamboo etc. the alphanso mango the king of fruits is a gift by the konkan region to the world. One will also find wild animals like the leopards. Lions etc.
There are rivers like the savitri gangavali mayura, vahishthi shastri etc.
There are rivers like the savitri gangavali mayura, vahishthi shastri etc.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The sindudurg taluka of konkan region,is situated in Maharashtra, India
we a group of 10 people which included 3 children visited some of these places and it was a real hevenly journey.
The train left the station at 6.10 am and our heavenly journey started.The train had the same travellers who were excited of having to visit their near and dear ones or some of them of having to visit a new place.
Konkan authentically can be called the paradise of greenery. With its trees and mountains and ever flowing streams, the entire scenario is just awesome .We reached the station kankavli at around 12.45 pm one of our cousins had arrived at the station to receive us.
Kankavli is like a small town and the moment any train reaches the station, there is a flurry of activities. One will find people running around to search of potters and cabs. Of course the number of porters will be larger then those searching for one. However, people coming here from bigger cities take some time to settle down to the peaceful and laid-back attitude of the locals. Once the train clambers out of the station, you find the station back to its usual self of relaxation. Yes, people here are too relaxed to worry about any thing.
Nature has given this region bountifully so the people have developed a “sushegat” not to worry about anything attitude.
We reached the place of destination, freshened, and had a scrumptious meal. In the evening, we visited the “Gopuri ashram” situated at kankavli.
Kankavali is a prominent city and a taluka place situated on Mumbai-Goa National Highway and about 460 KMTs from Mumbai city.
A hermitage of P.P. Bhalchander Maharaj and "Gopuri Ashram" of late” Aappasaheb Patvardhan”, also known as Mahatma Gandhi of Kankavali. Sihngad Fort. Ganesh Temple and 'Surya Murti' from Kharepatan Talukas are also places worth a visit.
After a tour in the entire Gopuri ashram we were enlightened by the supervisors of how this entire ashram is self sufficient with water, growing their own farm products and a selling counter where fruits ,hand woven cloth like bedsheets towels etc and other typically items well known in the konkan region are sold.
Self-discipline and self-sufficiency seem to be the motto of this ashram (a place run by trustees and used principally for social upliftment.
The items we ate that day were ghavane, kalya watanyachi aamti. Phanas and aambe. These are all typical food eaten in the konkan regions.
(These food items and many other typical Konkani things are to be explained in a separate chapter some times later).
Konkan' the coastal region of “Maharashtra” state facing the Arabian Sea. , is a thin strip of land, about 720 km. It is widest between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats or the Sahyadri mountain ranges it is made up of the districts of Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, and Ratnagiri & Sindhudurg. The Konkan region is separated from the rest of the state by the Sahyadri mountain range also known as the Western Ghats. 'Konkan railway' - the rail route that connects Mumbai (Bombay) with the entire western coast of India. There are also buses plying from all-important cities of India.
to be continued................
we a group of 10 people which included 3 children visited some of these places and it was a real hevenly journey.
The train left the station at 6.10 am and our heavenly journey started.The train had the same travellers who were excited of having to visit their near and dear ones or some of them of having to visit a new place.
Konkan authentically can be called the paradise of greenery. With its trees and mountains and ever flowing streams, the entire scenario is just awesome .We reached the station kankavli at around 12.45 pm one of our cousins had arrived at the station to receive us.
Kankavli is like a small town and the moment any train reaches the station, there is a flurry of activities. One will find people running around to search of potters and cabs. Of course the number of porters will be larger then those searching for one. However, people coming here from bigger cities take some time to settle down to the peaceful and laid-back attitude of the locals. Once the train clambers out of the station, you find the station back to its usual self of relaxation. Yes, people here are too relaxed to worry about any thing.
Nature has given this region bountifully so the people have developed a “sushegat” not to worry about anything attitude.
We reached the place of destination, freshened, and had a scrumptious meal. In the evening, we visited the “Gopuri ashram” situated at kankavli.
Kankavali is a prominent city and a taluka place situated on Mumbai-Goa National Highway and about 460 KMTs from Mumbai city.
A hermitage of P.P. Bhalchander Maharaj and "Gopuri Ashram" of late” Aappasaheb Patvardhan”, also known as Mahatma Gandhi of Kankavali. Sihngad Fort. Ganesh Temple and 'Surya Murti' from Kharepatan Talukas are also places worth a visit.
After a tour in the entire Gopuri ashram we were enlightened by the supervisors of how this entire ashram is self sufficient with water, growing their own farm products and a selling counter where fruits ,hand woven cloth like bedsheets towels etc and other typically items well known in the konkan region are sold.
Self-discipline and self-sufficiency seem to be the motto of this ashram (a place run by trustees and used principally for social upliftment.
The items we ate that day were ghavane, kalya watanyachi aamti. Phanas and aambe. These are all typical food eaten in the konkan regions.
(These food items and many other typical Konkani things are to be explained in a separate chapter some times later).
Konkan' the coastal region of “Maharashtra” state facing the Arabian Sea. , is a thin strip of land, about 720 km. It is widest between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats or the Sahyadri mountain ranges it is made up of the districts of Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, and Ratnagiri & Sindhudurg. The Konkan region is separated from the rest of the state by the Sahyadri mountain range also known as the Western Ghats. 'Konkan railway' - the rail route that connects Mumbai (Bombay) with the entire western coast of India. There are also buses plying from all-important cities of India.
Here i would like to acknowledge that some names of the rivers, hills animals and some of the geographical areas and people origins where research has been done at wikipeadia and later confirmed by this author the rest is authors own expeirience .
to be continued................
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