Tag: Tourism

  • Dharur Fort: Gem from an unexplored area

    Dharur Fort: Gem from an unexplored area

    It’s a second leg of our Incredible India!!! bucket-list journey after first Sunday break. Today we are visiting a historic place which stands witness to a very large part of our history. We are visiting an old fort of Dharur (धारूर) which is in Latur district of the state of Maharashtra. This is a gem from a comparatively unexplored area of Marathwada.

    I would like to mention a very amazing treasure trove of information about forts in Maharashtra at the very beginning of this post, TreKshitiZ. You will find very nicely documented, indexed information on their site. I don’t remember when I stumbled upon this site for the first time, but I have been using it at least for a decade now whenever I need any information about Maharashtrian forts. Credit for the photos which you will see in this post goes to them. 

    Story time:

    Back in the days of Satvahanas, Dharur rose to become an important market town on a major road to Satvahana capital city, Paithan. The Rashtrakuta dynasty followed the Satvahanas and ruled the region. Understanding the vitality of Dharur as a market town, they built a fort called “Mahadurg” for its protection. They just piled stones on top of eachother and built battlements and walls. 

    Subsequently, Kalyani Chalukyas, Devgiri Yadavas and Bahmani Sultanate ruled the region. After the fallout of the Bahmani Sultanate in five different factions, this particular region came under the influence of Barid Shah of Bidar. This region witnessed frequent battle action during the volatile period that followed after that. Baridshahi of Bidar succumbed to this volatility, and Adilshah gained control over Dharur. 

    Kishwarkhan from Adilshah court constructed a new fort at the same place of the Mahadurg using stones of the old one in 1567 CE. This is the fort which still stands the ground. Just a couple of years after that, Nizamshah took charge of the place in 1569 CE and in 1630-31, Mughals took control of Dharur. 

    Later it fell in the hands of Nizams of Hyderabad and remained in their control except a brief period of Maratha rule till the accession of Hyderabad principality to the union of India.

    Panorama of Dharur Fort (Photo courtasy: TreKshitiZ)

    What not to miss:

    Dharur Fort has a straight access from Dharur town as both of them are at the same level. However, the fort has a natural protection of the valley from the remaining three sides. This is a very unique combination in itself. 4.2 m wide and 4.5 m deep mote secures the side with straight access.

    There are two walls protecting the fort with battlements at regular intervals to mount the defances. One of the battlements houses the mint started by Mughals. As a memorial to the capture of Dharur fort, they issued a coin. This mint produced Mughal coins for almost the next hundred years. There are two major water tanks with the names of Godi Dindi (गोडी दिंडी) and “Khari/Solapur Dindi” (खारी/सोलापूर दिंडी). There is a dysfunctional “Hamam” with decorative water faucets. We can see a few guard rooms, a couple of mosques, a temple and ruins of various palaces in this fort. Fort also houses a few Percian inscriptions scattered around

    Fort was inhabited till the Indian Independence. As a result of this, it’s in a pretty decent condition. Marathwada region is not famous for tourism but this fort is a gem from this unexplored region. You can stay in the town of Ambejogai or Parali Vaijanath. Both of these are important pilgrimage sites of Hinduism and have good accommodation facilities. Please plan to visit this place and share the word about this.

    Photo courtasy: TreKshitiZ

    Adisjournal or me personally don’t have any claims of copyright over the photos you see in the post. I am a fan and frequent user of a wonderful trekshitiz.com to which these images belong. 

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 4 challenge. “D is for the Dharur Fort, Latur District”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Basilica of our lady of good health: A place that rose to the glory

    Basilica of our lady of good health: A place that rose to the glory

    This bucket-list journey started with the magnificent Chola legacy of Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram. Our today’s destination is not far away from it. Merely 80-85 km towards east of Darasuram, there’s a small village of Velankanni. This coastal village is the house of our today’s “Incredible India Attraction”. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is a Marian Shrine on the coast of Velankanni. Built in the Gothic style of architecture, this shrine is a major pilgrimage for Christians in India. 

    Story Time:

    Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at dusk Photo by Koshy Koshy Copyrights CC BY 2.0

    This Basilica is dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health and is attributed to three miracles attached to the area around it. Oral tradition of the stories of two apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the saving of Portuguese Sailors from the storm in Bay of Bengal are the only source of these miracles as there are no historical written records about them.

    First apparition of the Virgin Mary dates back to the mid 16th century. Local shepherd boy was on his milk delivery duty. A woman holding a child asked milk for the little one to a shepherd boy. Boy moved to his next delivery after giving some milk to the woman. When he completed the delivery, he discovered the milk jug was still full with fresh cool milk. Then, a small shrine was built at the place of apparition called Matha Kulam, which means Our Lady’s Pool.

    Second time, Virgin Mary appeared in front of a crippled buttermilk seller boy asking buttermilk for the little one in her hand. Answering her request, the boy gave some buttermilk. Woman then asked him to go to the next town and meet a gentleman there. After reaching there, ask the gentleman to build a chapel in her honour at that location. As soon as he started the journey, he realized that he is no longer a cripple. They quickly built a thatched chapel in the honour of Our Lady of Good Health (Arokia Matha in Tamil).

    Third miracle occurred to the Portugues Ship sailing from Macau to Sri Lanka. The ship got caught in a horrific storm in the Bay of Bengal. When sailors prayed to Virgin Mery under her title “Star of the Sea” storm subsided. As a result, all 150 sailors reached the coast and as a thanksgiving rebuilt the shrine to Our Lady of Good Health and continued enhancing it in their subsequent voyages.

    • Gothic Architecture of Basilica Photo by Krrishnah Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Right side of Main Chirch Photo by BrownyCat Copyrights CC BY 3.0
    • New extension to the Basilica Photo by BrownyCat Copyrights CC BY 3.0
    • Matha Kulam (Our lady’s pool) Photo by Muzirian Copyrights CC BY-DA 4.0

    Architecture:

    This Basilica is a classic example of a place rising to glory with time. Started with just a thatched chapel, Basilica is currently standing in its glory of Gothic Architecture. Currently, the Shrine Basilica contains three chapels, as well as Our Lady’s Tank, Church Museum, Priests’ Residence, Offering Center, Stations of the Cross, Stations of the Rosary, Shrine Mega Mahal and Vailankanni Beach. This magnificent white Gothic building has red-tiled roofing.  It witnessed many extensions like one one southern side in 1928 and the northern side in 1933. Latest extension included a new two storied church with 28 m high dome and 25 m Gothic spirals to accommodate multilingual pilgrims. This extension took place in 1974-75.

    Significance and Pilgrimage:

    HH Pope John XXIII granted the status of Minor Basilica to this shrine on 3rd November 1962. through an Apostolic Brief. He also aggregated it to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

    Annual festival takes place between 29 August to 6 September. This is the time along with Christmas Velankanni Basilica draws maximum pilgrims. As a result, “the Lourdes of the East” is a suitable title for this place. Annual festival has many rituals like  mass, novenas, flag-hoisting and carrying a ‘palkhi’ of Mary in a procession. Procession is the major event. Only women are allowed to pull the first car while the statue of Mery is in the last car of the procession. The car of the Mery is the most decorated one in the procession. People of other religions also take part in this procession. Many pilgrims shave their heads and perform ear-piercing. Both of these are Hindu traditions. Hence, this is a very significant site of pilgrimage displaying the meeting point of two major religions of the world – Christian and Hindu.

    At this point, the day 2 of our journey comes to the halt. Let’s just enjoy this white Gothic architecture and have a good night rest. Tomorrow is one more exciting day of this journey.

    I am participating in A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 2 challenge. “B is for the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, Velankanni”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Airavatesvara Temple: Magnificent legacy of Cholas

    Airavatesvara Temple: Magnificent legacy of Cholas

    Today, on the 1st of April, we embark on a journey together. It’s a virtual journey to exciting enticing places in our own country, the Incredible India! I have a dream to travel the world. However, I am fortunate to be an Indian. There are so many fascinating places in this country. Every place is attractive because of a unique feature. So, for this year’s April A to Z, I am taking an opportunity to make a sort of bucket list. A list of places to visit in India as soon as we are done with this COVID thing. As it starts with A, the first entry is “Airavatesvara Temple”.

    Airawateshwara temple is at Darasuram, in Thanjavur District of Karnataka. Built by Rajaraja Cholla II, this temple is one of the Great Living Chola Temples. Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjaur,  Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple at Gadngaikonda Cholapuram are the other two in the group. UNESCO has declared this group of Great Living Chola Temples as a world heritage site.

    Story time:

    Sage Durvasa has cursed Indra’s elephant Airavata to lose its color and beauty for disrespecting him. Upset with guilt and regret, Airavat prayed to Lord Shiva at this temple location. Lord asked him to take a dip in the temple tank. This dip in the temple tank magically restored the color of its skin. After this incident Shiva Lingam at Darasuram bears its present name – Airavatesvara.

    Architecture:

    Rajaraja Chola II built this current complex of Airavatesvara Temple in 12th century CE in a classic example of Dravidian architecture with all of its peculiarities. The whole theme or template follows the Karakkoil style of temples. In this style, the main temple complex is chariot fashioned.  24 m high ‘Vimana’, the towering structure over Garbha Griha, is the pinnacle of architecture of the temple complex. Whole complex is donned with carvings and sculptures of many Vedic and Puranic deities like Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Brahma, Surya, Vishnu, Saptamtrikas, Durga, Saraswati and many more. 

    • Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram, Photo by Supraja kannan, Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • The chariot-shaped agra-mandapam, Photo by MADHURANTHAKAN JAGADEESAN, Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Another view of Airavatesvara Temple, Photo by Shriram Swaminathan, Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Chola Carving in Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram Photo by Nithi Anand, Copyrights CC BY 2.0

    Special attraction:

    Additionally, there’s one more interesting thing about this temple. ‘Agra Mandapa’ (अग्र मंडप) has an ornate porch with steps going from east to west with intricately carved balustrades. When one walks on these steps, they produce musical notes. This is the reason for them to be called ‘Singing Steps’. Isn’t it interesting? I have heard about musical pillars in many temples. These singing steps are very fascinating. I am eager to listen to their music.

    So, this is our first stop in this journey. Hope you also find this enticing and plan to visit this architectural marvel soon. Tomorrow, we’ll go to a new place… Till then, sayonara.

    I am participating in A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 1 challenge. “A is for Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram, Thanjavur District”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.