|
|
|
|
Solapur
|
| |
|
| |
Solapur is a city and a municipal corporation in South Western Maharashtra, India near the Karnataka border and is the administrative headquarters of Solapur District. Solapur is one of the four districts that form the region of Western Maharashtra (the other three districts are Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli. It is the fourth largest district in Maharashtra in terms of land area (behind Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur) and seventh largest in terms of population. Solapur is a melting pot with a confluence of Kannada, Telugu and Marathi cultures.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Solapur' Start a new discussion about 'Solapur' Answer questions from other users |
Recent Posts
Encyclopedia
Solapur is a city and a municipal corporation in South Western Maharashtra, India near the Karnataka border and is the administrative headquarters of Solapur District. Solapur is one of the four districts that form the region of Western Maharashtra (the other three districts are Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli. It is the fourth largest district in Maharashtra in terms of land area (behind Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur) and seventh largest in terms of population. Solapur is a melting pot with a confluence of Kannada, Telugu and Marathi cultures. It is an important junction on the north-south railway line. Solapur is a city with an array of small and medium scale industries. It has been is a leading center for cotton mills and power looms, though recent times have seen these industries relocate elsewhere. Solapur bed-sheets ('chaddars') have earned fame and reputation for their novel designs and durability. The chief deity of the city is Shri Siddeshwar. The "Nandidhwaj" procession on Makar Sankranti fair is attended by millions of devotees.
Solapur is transport hub connecting Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and also Tamil Nadu. It is well connected by Road and Rail to major districts and cities. Akkalkot is the site of Akkalkot Swami Maharaj Math, visited yearly by huge number of people from Maharashtra and neighbouring Karnataka. Also an annual fair is held in the month of January wherein huge crowd comes from various parts of country, which is called as Gadda Fair in vernacular language.
Introduction
The Solapur District was ruled by various dynasties such as Andhrabhratyas, Chalukyas, Rashtrkutas, Yadavas and Bahamanis. 'Solapur' is believed to be derived from two words 'Sola' meaning sixteen and 'pur' meaning village. The present city of Solapur was considered to be spread over sixteen villages viz. Aadilpur, Ahmedpur, Chapaldev, Fatehpur, Jamdarwadi, Kalajapur, Khadarpur, Khandervkiwadi, Muhammadpur, Ranapur, Sandalpur, Shaikpur, Solapur, Sonalagi, Sonapur and Vaidakwadi.
Recent research work however shows that the name SOLAPUR is derived not from the congregation of sixteen villages.It is evident from the inscriptions of Shivayogi Shri. Siddheshwar of the time of the Kalachuristis of Kalyani, that the town was called Sonnalage which came to be pronounced as Sonnalagi. The town was known as Sonnalagi even up to the times of Yadavas. A Sanskrit inscription dated Shake 1238, after the downfall of the Yadavas found at Kamati in Mohol shows that the town was known as Sonalipur. One of the inscriptions found in Solapur fort shows that the town was called Sonalpur while another inscription on the well in the fort shows that it was known as Sandalpur.
The present Solapur district was previously part of Ahmednagar, Pune and Satara districts. In 1838 it became the Sub-district of Ahmednagar. It included Barshi, Mohol, Madha, Karmala, Indi, Hippargi and Muddebihal Sub-divisions. In 1864 this Sub-district was abolished. In 1871 this district was reformed joining the Sub-divisions viz. Solapur, Barshi, Mohol, Madha and Karmala and two Sub-divisions of Satara district viz. Pandharpur, Sangola and in 1875 Malshiras Sub-division was also attached. After the State reorganisation in 1956 Solapur was included in Mumbai State and it became a full fledged district of Maharashtra State in 1960.
The importance of Solapur is unique in the history of India in the sense that this district enjoyed the freedom even before independence. The citizens of Solapur enjoyed the independence for three days from 9th to 11 May 1930. The brief history runs like this. After the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi in May 1930, protests and demonstrations against British rule were held throughout the India. Large scale rallies and protests were done at Solapur also. Many citizens lost their lives in the police firings. Due to this the irate mob attacked the police stations. Out of fear the police and other officers ran out of Solapur. During this period the responsibility of law, order and security of citizens was on the shoulders of Congress Party leaders. Then city congress President Shri. Ramkrishna Jaju, with his other congressmen maintained the law and order for a period of three days from 9 to 11 May 1930.
Secondly, the Solapur Municipal Council was the first Municipal Council of India to host the national flag on the Municipal Council building (Now Municipal Corporation) Solapur in 1930. The brief history runs like this. Taking the spirit of Dandi March from Mahatma Gandhi, the freedom fighters of Solapur decided to host the national flag on the Solapur Municipal Council. Accordingly, senior freedom fighter from Pune Shri. Annasaheb Bhopatkar hoisted the National Flag on 6 April 1930 on Municipal Council. This was the first and the unique incidence of such kind throughout the country. The British rulers, due to irritation declared martial law at Solapur and arrested many leaders and innocent citizens on false charges. The freedom fighters Shri. Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shri. Kurban Hussain, Shri. Jagnnath Shinde and Shri. Kisan Sarda were arrested on charges of killing two policemen of Mangalwar police station. The lower court sentenced the punishment of hanging till death for these freedom fighters. The High Court also confirmed the same decision and these four freedom fighters were hanged till death on 12 January 1931. As a mark of respect to these freedom fighters, the statues of these freedom fighters have been installed in the heart of the city and the location has been named as Hutatma Chowk.
Solapur is one of the biggest cities in Maharashtra, situated near the borders with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is an ancient historical and religious place with Shri Siddharameshwar as its "Gramadaiwata". Shri Siddharameshwar was a historical figure of the 12th century whose "Karmayoga" on his own native land-Solapur, turned him into a God-figure over the course of time.There was a great saint Shri.Siddarama,who preached the teachings of Shri.Basaweshwara. A young girl, inspired by the teachings of this saint wished to marry the saint. Shri.Siddaram being a brahamachari denied to marry her and gave permission to marry with his Yogadanda. The same marriage function is celebrated every year on the Makar Sankranti for three days on Bhogi, Sankrant and Kinkrant. The Nandi Dhwajas are presumed as Bride and Groom for the marriage. This festival falls around 14th Jan every year. A fare popularly known as Gadda Jatra is arranged for fifteen days during this period
Siddharama was a great conributor to Lingayata(veershaivism) religion and he is considered as one of the five prophets of Lingayat(veershaivism) religion. He had gained the "Siddhi". As Solapur was a drought prone area, Shri Siddharameshwar dug a lake with the help of 4000 "Sharanas" to solve the problem of potable water. He entombed himself alive (Shivyogsamadhi) at Solapur.
Solapur has been famous for its Textile Industries, Solapur Chaddars and Towels are famous not only in India but also in other countries.
During the Indian independence movement, the people of Solapur enjoyed full freedom on 9th, 10th and 11 May 1930. However, this resulted in the executions of Shri Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shri Kurban Hussein, Shri Jagannath Shinde and Shri Kisan Sarda who were hanged on 12 January 1931, in the prison at Pune. This resulted in the city becoming recognized as "The City of Hutatmas".
Nanaj 18 km from Solapur is the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard, locally called Maldhok. The GIB was discovered by Shri B.S.Kulkarni in 1978, and Nanaj is now an international eco destination. Mr Kulkarni has taken immense efforts for the conservation of the great Indian bustard and the lakes in and around solapur. The world bustard population is just in hundreds a nanaj hosts arounnd 23 bustards.
Pandharpur, one of the holiest places in Maharashtra for Hindus, with its Vitthal-Rakhumai temple on the banks of the Chandrabhaga river, is only 70 km from Solapur. Akkalkot, just 38 km from Solapur is a holy place due to the shrine of Akkalkot Swami. Across the border in Gulbarga District of Karnataka, is Ganagapur, another place of pilgrimage. The city of Bijapur in Karnataka, 109 km from Solapur, is widely known for its 'Gol-Gumbaj', a highly regarded piece of architecture.
Geography and Climate
Solapur is located at . It has an average elevation of 458 metres (1502 feet). It is bordered by Ahmednagar district on the North, Osmanabad district on the North and Northeast; Gulbarga district (Karnataka state) on the Southeast and South; Sangli district on the South and Southwest; Satara district on the West and Pune district on the Northwest. It is situated at a distance of 410 km from the Maharashtra State Capital of Mumbai by road and train. Solapur is at a distance of 245 km from Pune and 305 km from Hyderabad.
Solapur falls under the category of Dry (arid and Semiarid) Climate according to the Köppen climate classification. The city experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from 30 to 40 °C (85 to 100 °F). The warmest months in Solapur are April and May when it is not uncommon to see the daytime temperatures as high as 40 °C. Although summer doesn't end until May, the city often receives locally developed heavy thundershowers in May (although humidity remains high). The monsoon lasts from June to end of September, with moderate rainfall. The city of Solapur receives an average rainfall of 545 mm per year. Winter begins in November and last until the end of February with the temperatures occasionally dropping below 10 °C.
Demographics
India census, Solapur had a population of 873,037. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Solapur has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 58%. In Solapur, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Languages/Dialects
Marathi, Telugu, Kannada
Transportation
Public transport in Solapur is primarily provided by buses operated by Solapur Municipal Transport (SMT) and auto rickshaws.
Rail:
Solapur is one of the largest train junctions on the Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Hyderabad lines and is one of the five divisions of the Central Railway Zone of the Indian Railways. It is connected by direct trains to many important cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, etc. Solapur is also a terminal point of the Solapur-Bijapur line. A current for the Solapur Railway Station is available on the .
Road:
Solapur is well connected by road with major cities of Maharashtra as well as the adjoining State Capital of Hyderabad and important cities in Karnataka by three National Highways - NH-9 connecting Pune to Hyderabad, NH-13 connecting Solapur to Mangalore, Karnataka and NH-211 connecting Solapur to Dhule. There are also numerous state and country routes that pass through Solapur.
Airport:
Solapur city has an airport (IATA code: SSE) on the Southeast side of the city, and now has Kingfisher Red flights to Bombay 6 days a week.
Entertainment and leisure
Solapur recently saw the opening of an Adlabs Cinema in the heart of the city. Adlabs Bhagwat, Solapur has a seating capacity of 650 with Platinum, Gold and Silver classes. Solapur also has a range of other cinema halls which have been favorite with the local people. Food joints such as Sips n Bytes, Krishna Icecream Centre and Tajoddin are also very famous for their respective cuisine. Also well known are the Supraja Pavbhaji in Lucky Chowk, Kinara Hotel on Hotgi Road and Kamat Hotel near old employment chowk. There are dhabas on the outskirts of solapur city. One of them is Nisarg. Nasle bandhu's Peanut Chutney is very famous.Solapur has many movie theaters and parks.
Solapur in Computer Games
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 game has an airport in India map as Solapur airport and user can land or takeoff his airplane using solapur airport runway. This is the first instance of Solapur in any computer or video game, developed by big game company such as Microsoft.
Places of interest
- Markandeya Temple
- Balaji Temple
- Rupabhavani Temple
- Nagareshwar Temple
- Temple of Lord Siddharameshwar
- Hipparga Lake - a scenic nature area
- Kambar Lake, newly named as Sambhaji lake
- IndraBhavan - Solapur Corporation building
- Bhui-Kot Castle - castle of 15th century and under the Bahamani period
- Hutatma Garden
- Pandharpur Vithoba Temple (70 km away)
- Akkalkot - Swami Samarth (35 km away)
- HYDRA- saifan mulk chishti dargah (near about 20 km from Akkalkot)
- Nannaj- Bird Sanctaury (25 km away)]
- Tuljapur - Tuljabhavani Temple (45 km away)
- Naldurg Fort (approx. 45 km towards Hyderabad)
- Barshi "Bhagvant" Temple (approx. 70 km away)
- Mardi - Yamai Devi Temple (22 km north of Solapur city)
Educational institutions
=Schools=
- Hindustani covenant church English medium School, Solapur
- Padmashree Sumatibai English Mediun High School, Samrat Chowk, Budhwar peth, Solapur
- Solapur Social Association high school kidwai chowk, Solapur
- Jnana Prabodhini Balvikas Mandir Prashala, Solapur
- SHRI DIGAMBAR JAIN GURUKUL PRASHALA*
- Annappa Kadadi High School (Bhavani Peth)
- M.A. Pangal Anglo Urdu High School Solapur.(Siddheshwar Peth)
- Begum Kamrunnisa Karigar Girls High School Solapur (Siddheshwar Peth).
- Kuchan High School (Padmashali Education Society)
- D.R.English Medium School (Padmashali Education Society)
- Begum Karigar Girls Urdu High School, Sholapur.
- UES MAhila Mahila Mahavidhyalay.
- S.R. Girls' High School, Sevasadan, Sholapur.
- Maharashtra Technical High School is well known as North Court which was established by British Govt. in 1901.
- Modern High School, Gandhi Nagar, Solapur.
- Dr. Ambedkar High School & Night School,Mechanic Chowk,Solapur.
- Haribhai Deokaran High school (H.D.H.S)
- Nutan marathi vidyalaya (Nu.Ma.Vi.)
- B S Kulkarni High School, Tilak Chowk, Solapur.
- Suyash Vidyalaya, Solapur
- NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE HIGH SCHOOL, MIDC SOLAPUR
- Indian Model School. The only No-Baggage system school in the city founded by Prof. A.D.Joshi, a well known professor in the city.
- St. joseph high school solapur one of the oldest school in solapur established in 1897
- Little Flower Convent High School, Sath Rastha Solapur
- S.R.Chandak English High School,Samrat chowk,Budhwar Peth.
- Surawase Highschool,Aasara,Solapur
- Siddheshwar High School extremely famous for Drawing Competitions all over INDIA.
- Vidhya Niketan High School (Bhavsar Education Society)
- Kendriya Vidyalaya Sholapur Near Modi Rly Gate, Modi Khana,Solapur. 413001
=Colleges=
- Gayatri School of Management & Technology,Geeta Nagar, Solapur.Ph.2651313
- Global Retail School (GRS), Solapur.Ph.2651313
- V.G. Shivdare College of Arts, Commerce and Science
- Walchand College of Arts and Science
- Sangameshwar College
- Government Polytechnic Solapur
- Solapur University
- College Of Pharmacy-One of the premier institute in Maharashtra offering Pharma education. R.Y.Patil M.Pharm(Pharmacology) is the principal of this prestigious institute.21 students out of 43 have been qualified in GATE-2007 from this college.
- Bharatratna Indira Gandhi College of Engineering
- Walchand Institute of Technology
- Dr. Vaishampayan Memorial Government Medical College
- Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Dental College
- College of Architecture
- Dayanand Institutions Founded in 1940. It is located on a campus of 65 acres (26 ha) of land with four colleges and one high school and a model school. The oldest college in Solapur University.
- Indira Gandhi Engineering College, Kegav, Solapur
- S.P.M.Polytechnic,kumathe
- Brahmdevdada Mane Institute of technology, Belati.
- S.E.S Polytechnic
- S.S.S M'S college of Architecture
- S.V.E.R.I's College of Engineering Pandharpur, prominent engineering college situated pandharpur
- A.R.Burla Mahila Mahavidylay(Girls College), Sakar Peth
- Abhinav Hi-Tech Enginnering College, Majarewadi Hotagi Road
- Abhijit Kadam Institute of Management
- Oyster by Cambridge University
- Seth Govindji Raoji Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Solapur
Famous personalities
- Kavirai Ram Joshi who penned the famous lavnis
- Shubrai Maharaj The artist guru whose paintings are a marvel
- Dwarkanath Kotnis
- Imtiaz Abdulgafoor Shaikh (one of the top pharmacists of Solapur)
- Prof. Shriram Pujari (eminent linguist and scholar)
- Khan Bahadur Haji Hazrat Khan
- Sir Abdul Latif Haji Hazrat Khan
- Marathi Natya Sangit - famous actor Faiyyaj
- Raja Salgar, Sarla Yewalekar are also the famous personalities in the Natya (drama) and film sectors
- Sushilkumar Shinde, Minister of Power (Delhi), former Chief Minister (Maharashtra)
- Shivaraj Patil, Home Minister, Govt. of India
- Indu (Classical movie actress)
- Walchand Hirachand Doshi
- Atul Kulkarniwell known actor
- T.V.Sardeshmukh author and acdemay award winner
- Samita Bangargi (lead actress, movie Ramji Londonwale)
- B.S.Kulkarni (Naturalist who discovered the Great Indian Bustard in 1978 at Nanaj]
- Achyut Godbole
- Polly Umrigar
- Sarla Yewlekar Living in Akluj teaching Lavani Nrutya have won Annabhau Sathe Award
- Dr Jabbar Patel the Movieman and famous director of movies like Dr. Babasheb Ambedkar and Ghashiram Kotwal
- Ms. Shashikala
- Professor Rana Shinde Dean of University of Seychelles, American Institute of Medicine .
- Chandrakant B Ohol Lyric writer
- Yalla and Dasi, Hording painters of cinema theatres are well known for their classic pictures of all well known actors like Raj Kapur,Amitabh Bacchan etc
Industry
Previously well known for its textile mills, Solapur is now home to one of the worlds largest camshaft manufacturers - [Precision Camshafts Limited]. Managing director Yatin Shah and his team have grown this world class company in solapur from 1992. Today it has esteemed customers like GM, Ford, Maruti, TATA's, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, etc. Precision Camshafts Limited has won several awards in the last two years as the best exporters of the country and excellence in quality.
External links
|
| |
|
|
