About this episode
This week, The Musafir Stories speaks with a very dear listener - Amruta Dhalkar, a museologist, who takes us to a beautiful yet underrated city in Maharashtra! Today's destination: Kolhapur, MaharashtraNearest Airport: Kolhapur Airport, KLHNearest Railway Station: Kolhapur Railway Stn, KOPPrerequisites - N/APacking - Pack light, carry extra liquids as it can get hot during the dayTime of the year - September to February is the best time to visitLength of the itinerary: 3-5 daysItinerary Highlights: We start off our conversation by a quick peek into the history of Kolhapur, the origin of its name originating from the Kolhasur demon, as well as the other popularly known names of Kolhapur in the past - Brahmagiri and Karvir. The city was ruled by various dynasties including Satvahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Shilharas and marathas. We also talk about the erstwhile links of Kolhapur to european countries as early as 1-2nd century CEWe start off our exploration with the most iconic temple the Mahalaxmi temple or the Ambabai temple that is important to both Shaivites as well as Vaishnavites. Other important places include the Old Palace, which was the seat of Tara Rani Devi, wife of Chattrapati Raja ram, the second son of Chattrapati Shivaji. We briefly discuss the two lineages or gaddis of the Maratha empire - Satara and Kolhapur and the important personalities The next pitstop is the New Palace, designed by Major Mant and built during the time of Maharaj Rajarshi Shahu, it is built in a stunning Indo Saracenic architecture.. A part of the palace also serves as the royal family’s residence. Apart from this the palace also houses a museum, a lake, formerly a zoo, and Khasbaag - a wrestling stadium. We also discuss the contribution of Maharaj Rajarshi Shahu, who was as much a social reformer as a king. He was involved in encouraging Dr. BR Ambedkar in his movement as well as starting his newspaper - Mookanayak. He was also the first to introduce reservation for backward classes, as early as the 1900s. He was also a patron of artists and sportspersons, especially wrestling. The next point of interest are some museums starting off with Townhall, which has a variety of artefacts including some found from the 1st century CE on the banks of the Panchaganga river. Kolhapur has a significant contribution to the Maharashtra film industry and there are a number of museums dedicated to this and personalities from the field. This includes Chandrak
