Sawantvadi

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Sawantwadi | type = city | latd = 16| longd = 73
locator_position = right | state_name = Maharashtra
district = Sindhudurg
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude = 111.86
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 22,871| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone = 91(0)2363
postal_code =416512
vehicle_code_range = MH-07
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
website =
footnotes =

Sawantwadi (Marathi: सावंतवाडी) (sometimes also written as "Sawantvadi" or Savantvadi) is a Taluka place in Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Sawantwadi has a municipal council, which is a local civic body. Sawantwadi was formerly the capital city of the 'Royal Kingdom Of Sawantwadi'.

Sawantwadi is well known for its wooden toys (including life-like wooden models of fruits and vegetables) thanks to an active woodcraft industry. It is also becoming a major tourist attraction.

History

"Sawantwadi Town" was the former capital of the erstwhile 'Kingdom Of Sawantwadi' during the pre-independence era. It was ruled by the Bhonsale clan. In 1947, it was merged with the Independent Republic of India. (This is actually ambiguous year because it was the last independent state to merge into free India.) Since then it has been the capital town of the Sawantwadi "taluka".

The town

The Sawantvadi Town, also known as "Sawantvadi" or "Sunderwadi" is built around a lake called the 'Moti Talav'. Its other principalities include the "Khaskilwada" at the north-east of the lake, "Royal Palace Complex" at the north, "Vizierwada" at the north-west and newly developed housing complexes at the south. The sprawling Queen's College Of Medicine is at the west.

The place is extremely scenic with the lake (Moti Talav) right in the middle, surrounded by small lanes. The whole city is surrounded by mountains on all sides, which gives it an enigmatic view.

Sawantwadi is connected by road and rail to Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and other parts of India. Sawantwadi is located on the Mumbai-Goa NH-17 National Highway. By road, it is 59 km from Panjim, the capital city of Goa, 390 km from Pune, 95 km from Belgaum (Belgaon) and 540 km from Mumbai. Maharashtra State Transport (ST), Kadamba Transport (State Transport of Goa) and Karnataka State Transport supply bus service to Sawantwadi from Belgaum, Panjim, Mumbai, Pune and various other places of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Sawantwadi Road station on Konkan Railway is situated 6km from Town Centre. By railway, it is connected to Mumbai, and other Southern destinations like Panjim, Karwar,Mangalore, Kochi(Cochin) and Thiruvananthpuram (Trivandrum).

The nearest hill station is Amboli, which comes under the Sawantvadi taluka jurisdiction.

Nearby villages include Verle, Chaukul, Kumbhawade, Banda,Sangeli, Kalmbist, Shirshinge, and Dongarpal

There is a temple of Lord Shivas avtar named Shree Ghodemukha situated in heart of deep forrest on an high hill on 14 km from Sawantwadi city at the border of villages Nhaveli-Pendur-Malewd

Demographics

As of 2001 India census [GR|India] , Sawantwadi had a population of 22,871. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Sawantwadi has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 79%. In Sawantwadi, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

PeopleThe people of Sawantvadi are ethnic Malvanis. Prior to being a separate principality, Sawantvadi was a bastion of the Maratha Empire. All religions, castes and clans live here in harmony. Majority of the population is composed of ethnic Marathas. The s make up a small minority.

Entertainment
*Govinda Natyamandeer
*Govind chitramandir, erstwhile Sudarshan Cinema at Salaiwada of Dajisaheb Padgaonkar from silent movie till 1960, sold license to Vasantrao Kesarkar who built Govind Chitramandir near Gavali Titha and allowed Dajisaheb Padgaonkar to manage it till his death.

CuisineThe cuisine of the city is the predominantly non-vegetarian Malvani cuisine.

LanguagesThe official language used in Sawantwadi is Marathi. Though, Malvani, which is a dialect of Konkani is widely spoken by the people. Portuguese and Goan Konkani are also spoken in this region by a small minority. Most of the people understand Hindi and few people can also communicate in English.

Arts and handicrafts

Sawantvadi City is famous for its arts and culture. It is especially known for its wooden crafts. Apart from that various traditional arts still thrive in the city.

Lacquerware - Sawantvadi is well-known for its extremely popular lacquer-ware. Earlier a languishing trade, this art form was brought in the public eye, and more importantly to foreign tourists, by Princess Satwasheela Devi. Using traditional local talent more people have been trained and the palace has proved instrumental in the production of lovely lacquer-ware furniture, chess sets, board games, candlesticks, fruit and vegetables and little dolls — all beautifully made and coloured. However, the quality of the articles render the items extremely expensive.

Shilpa Gram Shilpgram (which means a community centre for performing arts). In this case it is folk dance, development of wooden toys, earthen pots, etc. It is developed to revive the arts and crafts in this region. It is a major Arts and crafts village where local manufacturers produce handicrafts. Tourists can actually watch them perform live and buy different artifacts produced by the locals. Besides this an amphitheatre for performing local arts and lakeside accommodation is also being developed by Maharashtra Tourism (M.T.D.C.)

Ganjifa cards - The "ganjifa card" is a card featuring painted pictures of the Dashavatara (Ten reincarniations), Planets, and other folklore. These brightly painted cards are made by pasting layers of cloth together with tamarind seed paste, then coating the surface with chalk, before polishing it with a stone, to make a smooth base for painting with natural dyes. The back is stiffened with lacquer. Sawantwadi Moghul pattern cards - The Moghul pattern cards are brightly coloured, quite thin and flexible. They are found in a simple bazaar style and also in an elaborate durbar (court) style, with many shades of quality in between, ranging in size from 55 mm to 112 mm. The largest cards often have a small figure in the centre of every numeral card, known as 'Darchitri' format. An indication of date is that prior to around 1875 the lid of the card box has a tongue, thereafter it is square. At about the same time a high-domed crown is substituted for the stepped crown found on some of the earlier court cards. Most cards are anonymous, but some have been recorded from the workshop of Narayan Ramchandra Kelkar, which flourished late in the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth. The initials of painters may also be found on some modern packs.

Noteworthy residents

* [Late Shri. V. S. Khandekar] [Novelist]
* [Shri. Mangesh Padgaonkar] [Poet]
* Vijay Manjrekar, "cricketer"
* Sanjay Manjrekar, "cricketer"
* [ Sagar Bandekar] , [Kabbadi Player]
* [ Late Dr. Vasant Sawant] , [Marathi poet]
* [ Shri. Harihar Athalekar] [ novelist, essayist]
* [ Late Vidyadhar Bhagvat] [ novelist]
* [ Shri. Jayanand Mathkar ] [ Socialist leader, Ex-MLA, Editor, Journalist, Freedom Fighter]
* [ Shri. L.M.Bandekar] [ Playwright]
* [ Prof.Pravin Bandekar] [ Poet, Novelist & Editor]
* [Dr. Bhairu Parulekar- Gynaecologist] [famous abortionist]
* [Prof.Dr.Sharayu Asolkar] [ Poetess, Critic ]
* [Prof. Govind Kajrekar] [ Poet & critic ]
* [Shriniwas Narwekar] [ actor, director, playwright, filmwriter]

Bold text= Common surnames =

Notable surnames of the people include Sawant, Bhonsle, Parab and Gawade. Some other frequent surnames are pokle, Bandekar, Korgaonkar, Kesarkar, Rawool, Gawas, Dalvi, Naik,Gavkar etc. Local Christians have common Lusitanic names. Many Karhade Brahmin families, most notably Kirloskar, can trace their ancestry to this region on the Konkan.saraswats surnames e.g.padgaonkar, chitnis, sabnis, wagle, rangnekar, kalelkar, salgonkar,pandit,wagh.

Villages in Savantwadi Taluka

*Verle
*Otvane
*Kariwade
*Kalambist
*Charatha
* Bhalawal
* Padve Mazgaon
*Mazgaon
*Banda, Sindhudurg
*konshi (konas)
*Insuli
*Sarmala
*Vilawada
*Madkhol
*Danoli
*Kesari
*Devasu
*Phansawade
*Satarda
*Satose
*Degwe
*Parpoli
*Dodamarg
*Aronda
*Gulduve
*Malewad
*Talawane
*Kinale
*Kondura
*Aaros
*Nirawade
*Malgaon
*Nemle
*Nhaweli
*Kolgoun
*Talwade
*malewad
*Majgaon

Places of interest in and around Savantwadi

Amboli - It is a hill station with divine natural beauty located in the Sahyadri ranges. Around 30km from Sawantwadi, this is also origin of Hiranyakeshi river.Moti Talav - This pearl-lake formed like an open oyster under the sun that lies in front of the royal palace. Built in the era of the then King Khem Sawant Bhonsale III (1755-1803), the palace buildings which are still in pretty good condition possess the rustic beauty of Maharashtra's wadis uplifted by regal proportions. This scenic lake is situated the centre of the town. With walkways and designer lamp-posts all round, it makes evenings very beautiful.

Ubha Bazar- It is a bazaar in sawantwadi famous for wooden toys.

Aronda is beautiful village joining Maharashtra and Goa state. Kiran Pani-Aronda feri carries the vehicles & people through Terekhol creek. It is also the Sun Set Point. Temples of Gram Devta Sateri-Bhadrakali is famous here.

There is a temple of Lord Shivas avtar named Shree Ghodemukha situated in heart of deep forrest on an high hill on 14 km from Sawantwadi city at the border of villages Nhaveli-Pendur-Malewd

Gallery

About Aronda:Aronda have hutatma memoria, plus great seenary.Also Shiroda, Aravali,Hamal all these beaches & Redi Ganesh temple, manganese mines are mere 5 KM away from Aronda each.Vitthal kamats hotel just built in Aronda & Aronda-kiranpani bridge under construction, may fuel tourism in skyrocketting direction.

in Aronda the famous wadi is Bhatpawni.About bhatpawani oldest well cultural & having beautiful nature.In Aronda the famous Shri Devi Tulja Bhavani Temple.Shri Devi Bhavani is Kulswamini of Maratha (Naik) religions in Aronda.

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=savantwadi&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=15.905764,73.821344&spn=0.00453,0.01075&t=k&om=1 Sawantwadi in Google Maps]
* [http://www.outlooktraveller.com/aspscripts/tripout_home.asp?destname=Sawantwadi&klm=0 Sawantwadi on Outlook Traveller]

References