1.
City
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A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, a big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas. Once a city expands far enough to another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. Damascus is arguably the oldest city in the world, in terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai. There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities, some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces. The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution, the Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunter-gatherers to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to settle near others who lived by agricultural production, the increased population density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. In his book, Cities and Economic Development, Paul Bairoch takes up position in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form. According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of raw materials to support trade and a relatively large population. To illustrate this point, Bairoch offers an example, Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, when the cost of transport is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometres. Bairoch noted that this is roughly the size of Great Britain, the urban theorist Jane Jacobs suggests that city formation preceded the birth of agriculture, but this view is not widely accepted. In his book City Economics, Brendan OFlaherty asserts Cities could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages, OFlaherty illustrates two similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are concepts usually associated with businesses. Their applications are seen in more basic economic systems as well, increasing returns to scale occurs when doubling all inputs more than doubles the output an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost. To offer an example of these concepts, OFlaherty makes use of one of the oldest reasons why cities were built, in this example, the inputs are anything that would be used for protection and the output is the area protected and everything of value contained in it. OFlaherty then asks that we suppose the protected area is square, the advantage is expressed as, O = s 2, where O is the output and s stands for the length of a side. This equation shows that output is proportional to the square of the length of a side, the inputs depend on the length of the perimeter, I =4 s, where I stands for the quantity of inputs. So there are increasing returns to scale, O = I2 /16 and this equation shows that with twice the inputs, you produce quadruple the output
2.
Khandoba
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He is the most popular Kuladaivat in Maharashtra. He is also the deity of some warrior, farming, herding and Brahmin castes, as well as several of the hunter/gatherer tribes that are native to the hills. The cult of Khandoba has linkages with Vaishnava and Jain traditions, Khandoba is sometimes identified with Mallanna of Telangana, MallikarjunaSwamy of Andhrapradesh and Mailara of Karnataka. The worship of Khandoba developed during the 9th and 10th centuries from a deity into a composite god possessing the attributes of Shiva, Bhairava. He is depicted either in the form of a Lingam, or as an image of a warrior riding on a bull or a horse, the foremost centre of Khandoba worship is Jejuri in Maharashtra. The legends of Khandoba, found in the text Malhari Mahatmya and also narrated in folk songs, revolve around his victory over demons Mani-malla, the name Khandoba comes from the words khadga, the weapon used by Khandoba to kill the demons, and ba. Another variant is Khanderao, where the suffix rao is used, in Sanskrit texts, Khandoba is known as Martanda Bhairava or Surya, a combination of the solar deity Martanda and Shivas fierce form Bhairava. The name Mallari or Malhari is split as Malla and ari, Malhari Mahatmya records Martanda Bhairava, pleased with the bravery of Malla, takes the name Mallari. Other variants include Malanna and Mailara, other names include Khandu Gavda, Mhalsa-kant and Jejurica Vani. In a popular representation of Khandoba, Mhalsa is seated in front of Khandoba on his white horse. Mhalsa is piercing a demons chest with a spear, while a dog is biting his thigh, the other demon is grabbing the reins of the horse and attacking Khandoba with a club as Khandoba is dismounting the horse and attacking the demon with his sword. In other representations, Khandoba is seen seated on a horse with the heads of demons trod under the horses hooves or their heads under Khandobas knees, in murtis, Khandoba or Malhara is depicted as having four arms, carrying a damaru, Trishula, Bhandara-patra and khadga. Khandobas images are dressed as a Maratha Sardar, or a Muslim pathan. Often, Khandoba is depicted as a warrior seated on horseback with one or both of his wives and accompanied with one or more dogs and he is also worshipped as the aniconic Lingam, the symbol of Shiva. Often in Khandoba temples, both representations of Khandoba — the aniconic lingam and the anthropomorphic horseback form, Legends of Khandoba generally tell about the battle between the deity and demons Malla and Mani. Dhere and Sontheimer suggests that the Sanskrit Mahatmya was composed around 1460-1510 AD, mostly by a Deshastha Brahmin, a version is also available in Marathi by Siddhapal Kesasri. Other sources include the texts of Jayadri Mahatmya and Martanda Vijaya by Gangadhara. The legend tell of the demon Malla and his younger brother Mani, Martanda Bhairava is described as shining like the gold and sun, covered in turmeric also known as Haridra, three-eyed, with a crescent moon on his forehead
3.
Maharashtra
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Four Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India and is Indias second-most populous state and third-largest state by area. It is the wealthiest Indian state and it is also the worlds second-most populous sub-national entity. It has over 112 million inhabitants and its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million, Nagpur is Maharashtras second capital as well as its winter capital. Maharashtras business opportunities along with its potential to offer a standard of living attract migrants from all over India. Ancient and medieval Maharashtra included the empires of the Satavahana dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Mughals, the major rivers of the state are Godavari, and Krishna. The Narmada and Tapti Rivers flow near the border between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Maharashtra is the second most urbanised state in India. The state has several popular Hindu places of pilgrimage including Pandharpur, Dehu and Alandi, other places that attract pilgrims from other parts of India and beyond include Hazur Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Sai Baba shrine at Shirdi and Dikshabhumi at Nagpur. Maharashtra is the wealthiest and one of the most developed states in India, as of 2011, the state had a per capita income of ₹1.0035 lakh, more than the national average of ₹0.73 lakh. Its GDP per capita crossed the ₹1.20 lakh threshold for the first time in 2013, however, as of 2014, the GDP per capita reduced to ₹1.03 lakh Agriculture and industries are the largest parts of the states economy. Major industries include chemical products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, textiles, petroleum, Jai Maharashtra The modern Marathi language developed from the Maharashtri Prakrit, and the word Mahratta is found in the Jain Maharashtri literature. The terms Maharashtra, Maharashtri, Marathi and Maratha may have derived from the same root, however, their exact etymology is uncertain. But the Marathas as a people do not seem to be mentioned before the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the most widely accepted theory among the linguistic scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derived from a combination of Maha and rashtrika. The word rashtrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region. Another theory is that the term is derived from Maha and ratha / rathi, an alternative theory states that the term derives from the word Maha and Rashtra. However, this theory has not found acceptance among scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritised interpretation of later writers. Maharashtra was ruled by the Maurya Empire in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, around 230 BCE Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty for 400 years. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni, in 90 CE Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty, made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. The state was ruled by Western Satraps, Gupta Empire, Gurjara-Pratihara, Vakataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, and Western Chalukya before finally
4.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
5.
Pune district
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Pune is situated in Maharashtra state of India. Pune city is the district headquarters, in the most recent census on 2011, the total population of the district was 9,426,959, making it the fourth most populous district in India. Urban population comprises 58. 08% of the total population, the current population of Pune urban agglomerate is over 5 million. The territory was formed into a district or sarkar, with sub-divisions called paragana. From such records as are available it appears that the collection was mostly farmed amongst the important chieftains who were henchmen of the Nizamshahi. Ahmednagar king had to bear the brunt of a attack from the Mughal armies which converged on the capital in 1595. Amongst the chieftains so favoured was Maloji Bhosale, who was made a Rana in 1595, Maloji Bhosale was also given charge of the forts of Shivneri and Chakan, which have played a very important part in the early political history of the Pune territory. Even before his coming into the title of Raja, Maloji had several watans as patil for a number of villages, Maloji had married Dipabai, sister of Jagpalrao Naik Nimbalkar, the deshmukh of Phaltan. In the year 1600, Ahmednagar was captured by the Mughals, thus, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, the suzerainty over the possessions of the Ahmednagar kingdom, including the Pune territory, passed to the Mughals. Malik Ambar, the minister of Nizam Shah, raised Murtaza II to the Nizamshahi throne with its temporary headquarters at Junnar. By the time Malik Ambar died in 1626, the system of the Pune area had been put on a sound. He, therefore, in 1629 broke with Nizam Shah and retired to Pune. But with a view perhaps to securing his own jagirs which would be endangered, he offered his allegiance to the Mughals, who besides confirming his jagirs conferred on him the command of 5,000 horses. In fact, in 1632 Shahaji forsook the Mughals and accepted the friendship of the Adilshahi rulers of Bijapur, after this success of the Mughals, the Ahmednagar kingdom ceased to exist, its territory being divided between the Adil Shah of Bijapur and the Mughals. In this scheme of division Pune fell to Bijapur, Shahaji for some time refused to surrender Junnar, which was the very seat of the foundation of the Nizamshahi dynasty. But this he had ultimately to surrender, Shahaji, however, seems to have enjoyed sufficient importance with the hostile powers to be called upon even in defeat to play an important part in the administration of the new regime. It was in this connection that when Shahaji went on his Karnatak expeditions that he left had passed under the control of Bijapur, the Fasli year was also officially introduced at this time. In so far as Shivaji had any official residence in Pune this was the place which he inhabited, Dadaji died in 1647, and Shivaji almost naturally took charge of all the responsibility that devolved on him as deputy of his father
6.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
7.
Western India
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Western India consists of the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union territory of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli of India. The region is highly industrialized, with an urban population. Roughly, Western India is bounded by the Thar Desert in the northwest, the Vindhya Range in the north, a major portion of Western India shares the Deccan Plateau with South India. Before the partition of India, the territories of Sindh. Parts of Gujarat were the site of Indus Valley Civilization, places have been uncovered in Gujarat at Lothal, Surkotada, and around Ghaggar river in Rajasthan. The Western Indian region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta Empire, the Maurya Kingdom, Gurjars, Rajputs, Satavahanas, Western Satraps, Indo Greeks, during the medieval age, the region came under Persian influence and also under Mughal rule. Later, the Maratha Empire which arose in western Maharashtra came to dominate a major portion of the Indian sub-continent, however its defeat by the British in the Anglo-Maratha wars left most of India under colonial rule. The region then experienced great upheavals during the struggle for Indian Independence, gandhis Dandi March took place in Gujarat. The region became part of independent India in 1947, and the present state boundaries were based on linguistic considerations in 1956. The region consists of the arid to semi-arid region of Saurashtra. The region South of that of Cambay and Southern Gujarat makes the northern arid region. The Western Ghats and Konkan lie along the coast of Maharashtra, the Deccan plains of the Vidarbha, Marathwada in central and eastern Maharashtra define the rest of the region. The vegetation varies from tropical rainforests along the Konkan coast to thorny bushes, the rivers in this region are the Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Zuari, Mandovi, Krishna, Ghaggar, Chambal and many other smaller tributaries of other rivers. The climate varies between tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, and semi arid, the coastal regions experience little seasonal variations although the temperatures range between 20 °C to 38 °C. Mumbai and northern Konkan regions experience cooler winters with temperatures hovering around 12 °C. Interior Maharashtra experiences hot summers with temperatures averaging 40 °C. Pune, a city in the region experiences temperatures around 40-42 °C in summers. Gujarat also has a climate with hot summers and cool winters
8.
Pune
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Pune is the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ninth most populous city in the country. In the 18th century, Pune was the centre of the Indian subcontinent. Considered to be the capital of Maharashtra, Pune is known as Oxford of the East due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions in the city. The city has emerged as an educational hub in recent decades. Since the 1950s and 1960s, Pune has had a traditional old-economic base as most of the old industries continue to grow, a few college in the Europe have also actively engaged in Student-exchange programs with several colleges in Pune. Pune is also one of the fastest growing cities in the Asia-Pacific region, the ‘Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings’ evaluated local living conditions in more than 440 cities around the world where Pune ranked at 145, second in India after Hyderabad. It also highlights Pune among evolving business centres and emerging nine cities around the world with citation Hosts IT, the oldest reference to the place is found inscribed on a Rashtrakuta Dynasty copper plate dated AD937, which refers to the town as Punya-Vishaya meaning Sacred News. By the 13th century, it had come to be known as Punawadi, copper plates dated 858 AD and 868 AD show that by the 8th century an agricultural settlement known as Punnaka existed where Pune is today. The plates indicate that this region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was built during this era. Pune was part of the territory ruled by Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri from the 9th century to 1327, in 1595, Maloji Raje Bhosale was granted the jagirdari of Pune by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Pune was ruled by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate until it was annexed by the Mughals in the 17th century, Pune was part of the Jagir granted to Maloji Bhosale in 1599 for his services to the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar. His grandson, Shivaji, the founder of Maratha Empire, was born in Shivneri fort not far from Pune, Shivaji was brought up by his mother in Pune. Pune changed hands several times between the Mughals and the Marathas in the period between 1660 and 1705 and he stabilised the revenue collection and administrative systems of areas around Pune and in neighbouring area of the Maval region. In addition, he developed methods to manage disputes and to enforce law. Construction on the Lal Mahal began in 1631 AD, the Lal Mahal was completed in 1640 AD. Jijabai is said to have commissioned the building of the Kasba Ganapati temple, the Ganesha idol consecrated at this temple has been regarded as the presiding deity of the city. Shivaji encouraged the development of dams in the Parvati and Kondhwa regions of Pune for agricultural purposes, Pune and its surrounding villages were the major recruitment areas for Shivajis army between 1645 AD and 1680 AD. Between 1660 AD and 1670 AD the town was captured by Mughal General Shahista Khan, Shivaji often used Pune as his transit base during his major campaigns such as Varhad-Karanja, AhemadaNagar District, Karnataka, and Jalna
9.
Sahyadri Express
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The other two daily trains on the Mumbai and Kolhapur run are 11029/30 Koyna Express & 17411/12 Mahalaxmi Express. It operates as train number 11023 from Mumbai CST to Kolhapur, the 11023/11024 Sahyadri Express presently has one AC2 tier, one AC3 tier, eight Sleeper class and five General unreserved coaches. As with most train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand, the 11023 Sahyadri Express covers the distance of 518 kilometres in 12 hours 15 mins &13 hours 05 mins as 11024 Sahyadri Express. As its average speed in both directions is below 55 km/hr as per Indian Railway rules, it not have a Superfast surcharge. Dual traction WCAM 2/2P or WCAM3 locos haul the train from Mumbai CST until Pune Junction after which a Pune or Gooty based WDM 3A takes over until Kolhapur. 11023 Sahyadri Express leaves Mumbai CST every day at 17,50 hrs IST,11024 Sahyadri Express leaves Kolhapur every day at 22,50 hrs IST and reaches Mumbai CST at 11,55 hrs IST the next day
10.
Mandapa
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Mandapa in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals. In the Hindu temple the mandapa is a structure through the. It is used for dancing and music and is part of the basic temple compound. The prayer hall was built in front of the temples sanctum sanctorum. A large temple would have many mandapas, if a temple has more than one mandapa, each one is allocated for a different function and given a name to reflect its use. For example, a dedicated to divine marriage is referred to as a kalyana mandapa. Often the hall was pillared and the pillars adorned with intricate carvings, in contemporary terms, it also represents a structure within which a Hindu wedding is performed. The Bride & Groom encircle a holy fire lit by the officiating priest in the center of the Mandapa, when a temple has more than one mandapa, they are given different names. It is used for conducting religious discourses, some times, the maha mandapa is also built along a transversal axis with a transept. At the exterior, the ends by a large window which brings light. Nandi Mandapam - In the Shiva temples, pavilion with a statue of the sacred bull Nandi, ranga Mandapa Meghanath Mandapa Namaskara Mandapa Open Mandapa In Indonesia, the mandap is known as a pendopo. Unusually, Indonesian pendopos are built mostly for Muslim communities, many mosques follow the pendopo design, with a layered roof to resemble Mount Meru. The Burmese term mandat, which has origins in Pali mandapa, is an open platform or pavilion from which people spray water to passers-by during the Buddhist festival Thingyan. A mandapa in Thai is a mondop and it features often in Thai temple art and architecture, either in the form of a Hor Trai or as an altar shrine such as the one in Wat Chiang Man in Chiang Mai. Pendopo Wedding mandap Zayat Photo of four-pillared Kakatiya mandapa Photo of relief in a mandapa Floor plan of North Indian temple with mandapa
11.
Shaniwar Wada
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Shaniwarwada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. Built in 1732, it was the seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire until 1818, following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian politics in the 18th century. The fort itself was destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire. The Shaniwar Wada was originally the seven storied building of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. Following this, a letter was written to the Peshwas stating that the remaining building had to be made of brick. The Wada was then completed and upon being attacked by the British Artillery 90 years later, all the top six stories collapsed leaving only the stone base, hence only the stone base of the Shaniwar Wada remains and can be seen even today in the older parts of Pune. By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort, in 1773, Narayanrao, who was the fifth and ruling Peshwa then, was murdered by guards on orders of his uncle Raghunathrao and aunt Anandibai. A popular rumour says that Narayanraos ghost still calls for help on full moon nights, various people, working around the area, have allegedly reported such cries. Sound ofKaka mala wachawa by Narayanrao Peshawe after his death, on February 27,1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex. The conflagration raged for seven days, only the heavy granite ramparts, strong teak gateways and deep foundations and ruins of the buildings within the fort survived. Peshwa Baji Rao I, prime minister to Chattrapati Shahu, laid the foundation of his own residence on Saturday. It was named Shaniwarwada from the Marathi words Shaniwar and Wada, teak was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was brought from the nearby quarries of Chinchwad, and Lime was brought from the lime-belts of Jejuri. Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs,16,110, a very large sum at the time. The opening ceremony was performed according to Hindu religious customs, on January 22,1732, later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification walls, with bastions and gates, court halls and other buildings, fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers. It is situated near the Mula-Mutha River, in Kasba Peth, Shaniwarwada has five gates, Dilli Darwaza The Dilli Darwaza is the main gate of the complex, and faces north towards Delhi. The strongly built Dilli Darwaza gatehouse has massive doors, large enough to admit elephants outfitted with howdahs, each pane was also fortified with steel cross members, and borders were bolted with steel bolts having sharpened cone heads. The bastions flanking the gatehouse has arrow-loops and machicolation chutes through which boiling oil could be poured onto offending raiders, the right pane has a small man-sized door for usual entries and exits, too small to allow an army to enter rapidly
12.
Korigad
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Korigad is a hill fort located about 20 km south of Lonavla in Pune district, Maharashtra, India. Its date of construction is not known but likely predates 1500 and it is about 923 m above sea level. The planned township of Aamby Valley is built over the southern and eastern foothills. The closest village is Peth Shahpur, about 1 km north of the fort and this fort was forcibly taken over into his kingdom by Chhatrapati Shivaji along with the forts of Lohagad, Visapur, Tung and Tikona in 1657. On March 11,1818, Colonel Prother tried to take over this fort, finally on 14 March, by igniting the stored ammunition by means of a loose cannonball he succeeded and this fort went to the British. The fort is located about 923 m above sea level, rising over 200 m higher than the neighboring valleys, to the east, there lie two artificial lakes part of the Aamby Valley project which later drain into the Mulshi reservoir. There are two lakes on the top of the fort, a temple to its patron goddess Koraidevi also exists along with several smaller temples to dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva. The former has been renovated and has a 3 foot high Deepmala. The interesting part of the fort is that its wall is completely intact and its massive gate is also intact. Several ruins of structures within the fort still exist. It has six cannons - the largest of which called the Laxmi Toph is located near the Korai Devi temple, to reach Korigad you should have your own vehicle as there are very few transportation options available from Lonavla. Take the Aamby Vally road from Lonavla, keep driving till Peth Shahpur village, parking is provided near the bus stop on the road. A 5-foot wide earthen road leads to the steps of the Korigad fort. It is a climb up to the fort. You can also hire cabs from Lonavala, the Aamby Vally buses from Lonavala bus station are also available. This fort can be visited in any time of the year, even a night trek during summer gives nice experience. There are lot of camping sites on the fort, there are three temples on the fort which provide ample cover. The Korai Devi temple can accommodate 25 persons
