Satara

:"For the moth genus, see "Satara (moth).

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name=Satara
type= City
latd = 17.69139|longd=74.00092
locator_position=right
state_name=Maharashtra
district=Satara
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name=Mr. Nishanth Patil
altitude=742
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 108043
population_density = 266.77
area_magnitude = 8
area_total=10484
area_telephone= 02162
postal_code= 415 xxx
vehicle_code_range= MH-11
unlocode=
website=www.satara.nic.in
footnotes =

Satara audio|Satara.ogg|pronunciation (Marathi:सातारा) is a town located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The name is derived from the seven (sat) hills (tara) surrounding the town. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna River and its tributary the Venna, 67 mi (about 110 km)south of Pune.

History

Historical inscriptions as old as 200 B.C reveal that probably the oldest known place in Satara district is Karad (mentioned as Karhakada). It is also believed that the Pandavas stayed in Wai, then known as 'Viratnagari', in the 13th year of exile.

The empire of Chandragupta II, known as Mahendraditya Kumargupta I, extended as far as Satara district in Deccan when he ruled between 451 AD to 455 AD. The Mauryan empire in the Deccan was followed by the rules of "Satvahans" for about two centuries between 550 A.D. to 750 AD.

The first Muslim invasion of the Deccan took place in 1296.In 1636 the Nijam Shahi dynasty came to an end. In 1663 Shivaji conquered Parali & Satara fort. After the death of Shivaji, Aurangjeb conquered Satara fort later won by Parshuram Pratinidhi in 1706. In 1708 Shahumaharaj was crowned on the Satara fort. The direct descendents of The Great Maratha King Chh, Shivaji Maharaj continue to live in Satara. The current king of Satara, Chh. Udayanraje Bhonsale is the 13th descendent of Shivaji Maharaj.

After their victory in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the British Empire annexed most of the Maratha territory to Bombay Presidency, but restored the titular Raja Pratap Singh, and assigned to him the principality of Satara, an area much larger than the present district. As a result of political intrigues, he was deposed in 1839, and his brother Shahji Raja was placed on the throne. This prince, dying without male heirs in 1848, Satara was annexed by the British government, and added to Bombay Presidency.

During the independence struggle Satara was known for Prati Sarkar (Parallel Government). During Quit India Movement this parallel government replaced British in rural areas for 4.5 years from August 1943 to May 1946. This type of parallel government was also seen in Midnapur, West Bengal and Balia in UP. Krantisinh Nana Patil was the leader to run this government.

Geography

Satara is located at coord|17.68|N|73.98|E|. [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/16/Satara.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Satara] ] It has an average elevation of 742 metres (2434 feet).

Satara is located in the western part of Maharashtra.The whole of Satara district falls within the Deccan area. It is bounded by Pune district to the north, Solapur district to the east, Sangli district to the south and Ratnagiri district to the west. Raigad district lies to its north-west. Satara District has an area of 10,480 km², and a population of 2,796,906 (2001).

The Sahyadri range, separates the district from Ratnagiri on the western sideThe black rock Mahadeo range starts about 10 m north of Mahabaleshwar and stretches east and south-east across the whole of the district

The main rivers of Satara district are Koyna and Krishna. The Krishna is one of the three largest sacred rivers of southern India. Approximately 172 km of the river course falls inside the district. The Krishna river begins on the eastern brow of the Mahabaleshwar plateau and the source is about 4500 ft. above sea level. Kudali, Urmodi, Venna and Tarali are small feeder rivers (tributaries) of Krishna. Koyna is the largest tributary of the Krishna in the district. Neera and Manganga rivers are the two representative of the Bhima drainage in the north and north-eastern parts of the district respectively.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, [GR|India] Satara had a population of 108,043. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Satara has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 76%. In Satara, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Tourist spots in and around Satara City

Pachgani

Pachgani, is a small hill-station in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located amidst five small hills, from which it derives its name (pach in marathi means five). All these 5 hills are topped by a volcanic plateau which is the second highest in Asia after the Tibetan plateau. These plateaus are known in the local term as "Table Land". These plateaus are part of the Deccan plateau and were raised by the pressure between the earth plates. Because of this it is also an area of high seismic activity with epicenter near Koynanagar which is famous of the Koynanagar dam and hydroelectric power plant. It is located about 265 km from Mumbai and has breathtaking valleys, winding rivers, scenic mountains and scattered hamlets. It attracts many tourists throughout the year, and many Mumbaites visit it as a weekend escape. Some go further, opening resorts which they themselves own, but rent out during certain seasons. There is a Ganesh Temple at Wai, which is located close by. The temperature in Pachgani is around 16 C during the winter and can soar up to 35 C during the summer. There are many elite boarding schools in Pachgani and it has been used as a location to film a number of Bollywood movies. The British set up numerous tuberculosis sanitoriums in Pachgani due to the presence of silver oak trees, which were considered therapeutic.The main attractions are: Table land, Parsi point, Sydney point. [1] Pachgani now faces immense environmental pressures due to commercial activities, opening of illegal hotels, vehicles and temperature inversion (due to humidity) from various new dams built to store water in the vicinity.
Freddie Mercury attended St Peter's school in Pachgani where he formed his first band, The Hectics (1958-1962.)

Mahabaleshwar Mahabaleshwar is a hill station located in the Satara District in the Western Ghats range of Maharashtra, India. Located about 120 km from Pune and 285 km from Mumbai, Mahabaleshwar is a vast plateau measuring 150 km², bound by valleys on all sides. Many tourists also visit nearby Panchgani. After the construction of a new highway, it is only a five hour drive from Mumbai.It reaches a height of 1438 m (4710 ft) at its highest peak above sea level, known as Wilson/Sunrise Point.Mahabaleshwar, "The Queen of Hill Stations", served as the summer capital of Bombay province during the British Raj, and today is a popular holiday resort and honeymoon spot.The area is also an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, and is the site of the Mahabaleshwar Temple.Mahabaleshwar comprises three villages, Malcolm Peth, Old "Kshetra" Mahabaleshwar and part of the Shindola village.The first historical mention of Mahabaleshwar dates back to year 1215 when the King Singhan of Deogiri visited Old Mahabaleshwar. Present Mahabaleshwar came into existence in the year 1829-30 and from old records is mentioned as Malcolm Peth, but in practise today it is known as Mahabaleshwar.

Pateshwar

Tourism has been a prominent industry nowadays and in the last decade it has seen a mammoth growth in turnover and tourists inlay. Though the horizons of this industry are left with no bounds, as it has been an inter-continental affair. Still there are certain places around us, which are hardly been explored. Pateshwar alias Patheshwar aka Surya Patheshwar is one such place near Satara where one can find copious archaic sculptures.

On Mumbai-Bangalore National Highway No. 4, after passing Satara city, take left on Satara-Solapur state highway. Just after one kilometre, take Satara-Addl MIDC road leading to Degaon. This is just nine-kilometer distance from Satara ST Bus terminus. Go south for four kilometres and after leaving village Degaon, you find a long, green stretch of the Western Gahts, adjacent to Janai Malai Hill. From roads, you won’t find any structure on the Pateshwar Hill as the entire hill is wrapped in a green thick blanket of trees. The jungle is of semi-deciduous type with teak, banyan, Jajmun, Karvee and other tree varieties. With lyrical notes of an Indian Robin or Whistling Barbet, one can find serene environ with cool feeling.

Then starts a muddy road followed by well-maintained tar road that takes you on the mid part of the hill. On the way, you need to park your vehicle near a precipice from where you can take a panoramic view of the same National Highway that takes you to Kolhapur. You can see Sajjangad, Urmodi Dam on one side and Satara MIDC on the other.

Wait! At the beginning of steps, you find a Lord Ganesha idol with Ridhi-Sidhi, his wives. The feminine sitting posture makes you think what it might be. History books say, it was the time when, Ganesha to kill a demon, had to appear in a woman form. And from here the mystery begins. More you go on the hill; you find two different Lord Shiva temples and an Ahsram, recently built by Swami Govindanand, one local saint.

In the closet vicinity of the first Hemadpanti Shiva Temple, you find many pieces of statuettes around it and the sidewalls of the temple consists of cave-like openings on the either sides of entrance. One of such never-seen-before engrave has a huge Shivalinga and the other consists of a Hanuman idol. The premises also comprise of two big Deepmalas.

Once you enter the main temple, you find superbly carved Nandi statue in front of the Shivlinga. Another stupendous thing you will find just in front of the Nandi. The miniature figurine gives a view of wedding scene of Lord Shiva and Parvati. On the either sides of main temple there are small temples where you find iconic idols of Kartikeya and another Nandi with a human face. The 18-armed Goddess Mahishasur Mardidni carving is in similar context with that of Kalikamata of Kolkata. In the temple itself, you will find sculpture of Lord Vishnu sitting on the snake and both in horizontal position.

After paying obeisance to the Lord Shiva you move to the eastern part of the hill and on the way again, you find stone-carved cave-like structures, filled with water. These all three cave-lets are again with Shivlingas of various sizes and some unknown kind of god statues. There is one stone-constructed water tank called Hatti Talab around these cave like temples. Normally it has been understood that all Shivlingas have their pointed opening towards North direction, but here one can find omni-directional opening.

From here you take left turn and move towards upper part and you find a temple as if it has been emerged out of soil. This three-sectioned temple begins with a Deepmala, followed by a Nandi. This whole temple is at sub-ground level hence lot of water logging has been seen. The either sides of this temple too consist of cave-like structures and numerous Shivlingas in different forms and the number of Salunki range from three to 100.

Now comes the haunting part of the Pateshwara. You enter the main temple and find a Maha Shiva Linga carved with minute necklace-like linings on it. These are nothing but 551 small Pindis carved on the main Pindi. All the walls are carved with such minute Pindis and the total number of such Pindis is not less than 1,008. The main Pindia deeped in water has exclusivity of the kind and there are number of carvings on the monolithic poles of the temple that you are left spell bound. One snake-like carving, sculptures of the eight Avatars of Lord Vishnu and even you will notice linguistic carvings in Modi script on one of the poles.

Wait, take breath, and see around with caution, you may find white skin on Cobra floating in water. Certainly, snakes do reside there. Take breath, have a sigh of relief and then pay your obeisance to this mesmerising lord Shiva. There were some geographical sculptures like Solar Clock earlier, but now almost all the sculptures are in dilapidated condition, as nobody knows the significance of it.

Historians, sculptresses, art-lovers and geography experts are required to carry out research at Pateshwar and they may come out with awesome findings. The place has not been even recognised by the tourism department, forests or any other government department. Only a religious trust looks after and on the last Monday of Shravan month, one can see a religious get together of the devotees of Lord Shiva. After completing the entire hill, you start climbing down the hill left spell bound with the mesmerising things.

A book written by a Satara-based historian R K Dhongade has written a book titled ‘39 Lakh-year-old Our Country-Our Religion’ in Marathi. The book is all about Pateshwar and it mentions that in the pre-historian era, there had been a geographical observatory of one mystic Saptarshi. This soothsayer carried out various experiments to calculate time, decide days of month and year and study the biological clock of nature on the basis of tracking of the sun. According to him Pateshwar has been the origin of Hindu religion and culture. One can find references of Pateshwar in Bhagvad Geeta and Matsya Purana, Dhongade says.

Ajinkyatara

Satara city is situated on the slope of this hill fort. The fort is located at 17°40'21.87"N 73°59'44.46"E. The Temple of Mangalai Devi is on the fort. Other temples are of Hanuman & Shiv. Apart from temple you can find Television & Radio broadcasting towers on this fort. You can drive up to the main gate and can see a beautiful view of Satara city and Parali from here. You can also see Sajjan gadh.

Yawateshwar

A famous and old shiv temple on the east side of satara city. Many people do pilgrimage on Monday's of marathi month Shravan. It is about five km away from Satara. You can walk from Satara or get there by road. You can have Sai Baba temple on the road. You can take a bird's eye view of Satar city & Kanher Dam while on the road to temple.

Kaas Lake

Further going eastward from Yawateswar, Kaas Lake is situated on Kaas Platau. It is about 26 km away from Satara city and accessible by road. Built in 1875 the lake provides most supply of drinking water to the old city. This is also a famous picnic spot for the rainy season.

Bamnoli

Bamnoli is about 36 km from Satara city and is situated on the bank of Koyana Dam backwater. Though there is nothing at Bamnoli, it is basically a last road stop for people who want to go Koyana Sanchury from satara city. From here you can take a motor boat to see Tapola which is famous for water sport.

SajjangadSajjangad is place of great saint Samartha Ramdas Swami. Ramdas Swami is famous for his message of mental and physical exercise. He established temples of god Hanuman all across Maharashtra and India. These temples was meant for exercise known as 'Talim'. He was Chatrapathi Shivaji's spiritual guru. His writings 'Manache Shlok'-Thoughts of Mind, and Dasbodh teaches principles of life through simplest way. You can see Saint Ramdas Swami's tomb here. This is also a Hill fort visited by thousands of pilgrims and trekking entusiasts. You can reach by road almost up the fort followed by climb of 100 steps to reach on top. Accommodation is available from charity trust. Fort gives great views of scenic beauty, most watchfull is view of Urmodi Damn, windfarms of Chalkewadi. And apart from all gives sense of mental peace because of its unmatchable climate, beauty and spirituality.

Thoseghar WaterfallTo reach this waterfall you have to drive little further on same road of Sajjangadh from Satara. This fall is approximately 100 m high.

Chalkewadi

Satara is put on international map of renewable energy source due to over 100 windmills build on Chalkewadi plateau. Installed capacity of windmill project is around 350 MW second largest in India until 2006.

Nandgiri or Kalyangad Fort

(Koreganv T; 18° N, 74° E; RS, Satara Road, 2 m. w;) 3,537 feet above sea level, stands at the end of a spur of the Mahadev range running south-west from the villages of Vikhale and Bhadle, eight miles north of Koreganv and about fourteen miles north-east of Satara. It is separated from the rest of the spur by a small gorge or Khind and stands on a lower hill than the Candan Vandan range close to its north-west. It forms, therefore, a less conspicuous object from Satara than the Candan Vandan twins, though from the south it comes prominently in view as it forms the southern extremity of the spur dividing the Vangna and Vasna valleys. The hill sides are very steep and rugged and the scarp is very perfect. There is no regular approach and the ascent is made by very tortuous and precipitous footpaths from Dhumalvadi the village immediately at the foot of the hill to the east to the first gate directly above the village and facing north. Though easy at first, the ascent becomes very steep afterwards and much blocked by prickly pear. Halfway up in a ravine is a good spring and pond known as the Kham pond, the water of which is not potable. The pond is hollowed out of the rock in three divisions and the roof is supported by pillars. The water is abundant. [Mr. H. R. Cooke, C. S., found that perhaps the most remarkable feature on the hill was its water-supply. Immediately after entering the lower gate a steep footpath descends within the western was into a hollow at the bottom of the scarp. The hollow is about forty or fifty feet deep. When the bottom is reached the entrance to a huge cavern is seen which can only be reached by stooping. The cavern is full of water but very dark. Outside the gate and to the north there evidently were huge caverns but these have been built up with rough masonry.] The fort has two gateways the one below the other connected by steps. The first gate faces north, the path turning abruptly as it is reached. Within is a hollow used formerly for stores. From the inside facing east is another cave pond called the Gavi also full of good water. The entrance to it is protected by a wall. This cave pond is very difficult of access, the way being thickly blocked with prickly pear. The second gateway of mortared stone leads out into the plateau, which is about two hundred yards high by one hundred broad with many ruined buildings, and four chief ponds inside the second gate. The first pond is about ninety feet by forty in area and twenty feet deep, its sides made of large blocks of masonry. Another smaller one is near the eastern face; a third is in a hollow stopped with an earthen dam; and the fourth is a small one near the south wall. The fort walls are in a state of bad repair. There are no buildings inside the fort except the temple of God Maruti. There are also idols of Dattatraya and Parasnath. It is said that the water of the pond is good for health. Even though water is available abundantly there is no habitation on the fort. The temple of Maruti was renovated by Dahanebuva of Ninapadali. The tomb of Abdul Karim, a Musalman Saint which is inside the fort is still visited by a few people. An Urus is held in his honour for five days before Holi Paurnima. The fort was the head-quarters of an administrative sub-division with a treasury and had an establishment of a mamlatdar, phadnis, sabnis, havaldar and daffedar, two karkuns, three naiks, and one hundred and sixty sepoys. According to tradition the fort was built by the Silahara king Bhoj II, of Panhala [Grant Duff's Marathas, Vol. I, 27.] . In 1673 with other Satara forts it was surrendered to Shivaji [Grant Duffs Marathas, Vol. I, 202.] . The Pratinidhi, administered it till his struggle with Bajirav, the second Peshva (1720-1740). In 1791 Major Price describes it as looking like the hull of a ship of war with opposite it another hill with on its summit some places of devotion [Memoirs of a Field Officer, 261.] . In the last Maratha war it fell to the army of General Pritzler in April, 1818. In 1862, it is described as a dismantled and uninhabited fort with a steep approach and a strong gateway but no water and no supplies [Government List of Civil Forts, 1862.] .

Gove

A small village on the bank of Krishna river, around 16 km north to the Satara city, attract many devotees due to famous Koteshware temple. The temple of Lord Shiva is too old and classic example of 16th century architecture. Most of the villagers are farmers and it is nice to see farming in Western state of Maharashtra here.

Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Museum

Charbhinti or Hutatma Smarak

Natraj Temple

Shri Kshetra Mahuli

Pedhyancha Bhairoba

Kuraneshwar or Khinditla Ganapati

Dholya Ganapati

Phutaka Talav or Talyatla Ganapati

Jawaharlal Neharu Udyan and Koyana Dam

Priti Sangam Karad

Mayani

Mayani Bird Sanctuary is located in the Satara district of Maharashtra state near Vaduj, in India.

Lots of migratory birds come here during winter. Flamingoes from Siberia come here in large numbers Fact|date=August 2007. Around 400 of them were reported in 2005.

Other birds like the Northern Shoveller, Stork and Kingfisher are also found here. Other resident and migratory Bird species also noted during the winter season November -end of February. They are- Koot, Brahminy Ducks, Black Ibis, Painted storks, Common Spoon bills etc. The nestings of storks are also observed near lake. The greater and lesser flamingoes are the regular winter visitors to this place. The Flamingo species are observed feeding in shallow water. They mainly feed on insects, small fishes, crabs and the important one is there is growth of aquatic plant species Otolisa species in shallow water. The flamingoes are observed to feed these as a food. Mayani Bird Sanctuary is studied as a typical wetland ecosystem which is rich in flora and fauna. Some efforts have been taken for conservation of natural forest near lake. This region is mainly under draught condition. Some plots have been alloted to local farmers; in dam during summer when all of water dries off. Some medicinal plants, cactus are also planted nearby the lake.

chool and colleges in Satara

Anant English School

New English School

Annasaheb Raje Bhosale Prathamik Vidyalaya

Shri Bhavani Vidya Mandir

Annasaheb Kalyani Vidyalaya

Abasaheb Chirmule School

Bhimabai Ambedkar Kanya Vidyamandir

Dr. J. W. Airan Academy ( formerly known as Narmada Education Academy)

Kanyashala

KSD Shanbhag Vidhyalaya

Maharaja Sayajirao Vidyalaya

Mona School

Navin Marathi Shala

Deccan Education Society's New English School

Nirmala Convent High School

Sainik School, Satara

Vishal Sahyadri Shikshan Santha

Satara is also home to the first Sainik School of India. It was inaugurated on 23 June 1961 and today serves as a famous landmark in the town. It has sent hundreds of students to the National Defence Academy. Interestingly quite a few of its ex-students have landed up in Bollywood. Prominent among them are producer-director Rakesh Roshan, music director Anu Malik, late Mukul Anand, Sunil Sharma (who was also associated with the children's serial Tele Tubbies) and Pramod Khanna, brother of actor Vinod Khanna.

Satara English Medium School

Saint Paul's School

Colleges in Satara

Lal Bahaddur Shastri College, Satara

Azad College Of Education

Chhatrapati Shivaji Arts College

Dhananjay Gadgil Vanijya Mahavidyalay

Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College

Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College of Engineering, Satara

Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara

Satara College Of Pharmacy, Degoan, Satara

Satara Polytechnic, Satara

Samarth Educational Trusts Sawkar College of Pharmacy (D. Pharmacy), Satara.

Samarth Educational Trusts Arvind Gavali College of Pharmacy (B. Pharmacy), Satara.

Samarth Educational Trusts Arvind Gavali College of Engineering. Satara.

Samarth Educational Trusts Sawkar Homeopathic College (B.H.M.S), Satara.

Famous Personalities

* Ch.UdayanRaje Bhosale-
* Ch.AbhaySihraje Bhosale-
* Ch.Shivendraraje Bhosale-
* Prin.Arvind Salunkhe
* Arvind Kondiram Gavali (Sawkar)
* Dr Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil

Education

Founder Dr Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil's birth anniversary will be celebrating on 22 September, 2007.
* [http://www.rayatshikshan.edu/ Rayat Shikshan Sanstha Satara] Hutatma Parshuram Vidyalaya, Vaduj,Shivaji Highschool, Vaduj

Hydroelectricity

Among other things that Satara is well known for are the 3 dams located her. They are Koyna dam, Kanher dam and Dhom dam. Satara is well known for hydroelectricity.

External links

* [http://satara.nic.in/ Welcome to Satara]
* [http://www.educationinfoindia.com/medical/m_indexkrishnainsttmedi.html Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences]

Newspapers

* [http://www.dainikaikya.com/ Dainik Aikya]
* [http://www.esakal.com/ Dainik Sakal]

Maps

* [http://www.educationinfoindia.com/maharashtra.gifMap of] Maharashtra.
* [http://satara.nic.in/htmldocs/distmap_roads.htm Satara District Main Roads and Railways]
* [http://satara.nic.in/images/sat_map_phyi_new2.jpgPhysical Map of Satara District]

Pictures

* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/hitejas/sets/72157594179307761/ Beautiful Satara Pictures]

Further reading

* Selections from the Historical Records of the Hereditary Minister of Baroda. Consisting of letters from Bombay, Baroda, Poona and Satara Governments. Collected by B.A. Gupte. Calcutta 1922.

* Malik, S.C. Stone Age Industries of the Bombay & Satara Districts, M. Sayajirao University Baroda 1959.

* Irawati Karve, Jayant Sadashiv Randadive, The Social Dynamics of a Growing Town and Its Surrounding Area. Deccan College ,1965, Poona. ISBN B0000CQW3J

* Valunjkar, T. N. Social Organization, Migration & Change in a Village Community, Deccan College Poona 1966.

References

External links

* Paul H. von Tucher: Nationalism: Case and crisis in Missions - German Missions in British India 1939 - 1946. Diss. Erlangen 1980. Author's edition Erlangen/Germany 1980. [http://gaebler.info/politik/tucher-14.htm] , [http://gaebler.info/politik/aa.htm#2-2] , [http://gaebler.info/politik/tucher.htm] and [http://gaebler.info/politik/satara.htm] in Satara 1940-1946.

* Wilhelm Filchner: "Life of a Researcher" (chapter XXIII). Wilhelm Filchner was interned from September 1941 until November 1946 in the Parole Camp in Satara. Later on he lived in Poona in the Maharashtra state of India.

* [http://local.currentsamachar.com/pune.php Satara]