[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

Kolhapuri Chappals are famous handcrafted footwear made in Kolhapur. We bargained hard and bought about 6 pairs of Kolhapuri Chappals for the price of any decent Chappal we usually pay in Bangalore.

As per some of my friends, Kolhapuri chappals are not made in Kolhapur.
These chappals are mainly made at the town of Sankeshwar on Kolhapur-Belgaum nh4.
There is huge price difference between Sankeshwar and Kolhapur.
If anyone really want to buy those Kolhapuri chappals, better buy at Sankeshwar.

[goandude]

DD super captures with your panny. You have used the cam to its best capabilities. I liked the one of the emus head. brilliant exposure and DOF. I do this NH 4 quite regularly and it is beautiful esp in the monsoons. Did bangy mumbai in 17 hours in Aug. so didn't emjoy the scenery as much as you did. Kholapur was always a miss for me due to time factor. Thanks to you for showing us what it looks like.

Waiting for more..

[ampere]

Classic snaps there DD! Great and Neat. The long NH4 snap looks great!
The temple snap also shows amazing symmetry!

[sriswe]

DD,

Great snaps and good amount of info for future travelers . Waiting for more pics and information :-). So rains didn't effect this part of roads from Bangalore - Kolhapur ?

Thanks,
Srinivas.R

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by MX6

Again, excellent photos. But then that bugger looks like an emu and not an ostrich.

Can you post a photo showing the full bird? Then it will be confirmed whether it's an emu or an ostrich.

Did you stay at shalini palace next to Rankala?

MX6, this is the only picture I have of the full bird. I might be wrong. It actually might be an Emu. Not good at recognising birds.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

As per some of my friends, Kolhapuri chappals are not made in Kolhapur.
These chappals are mainly made at the town of Sankeshwar on Kolhapur-Belgaum nh4.
There is huge price difference between Sankeshwar and Kolhapur.
If anyone really want to buy those Kolhapuri chappals, better buy at Sankeshwar.

AP sir, even I have heard that these chappals are actually not made in Kolhapur. Thats good piece of info you have provided.

Originally Posted by goandude

DD super captures with your panny. You have used the cam to its best capabilities. I liked the one of the emus head. brilliant exposure and DOF. I do this NH 4 quite regularly and it is beautiful esp in the monsoons. Did bangy mumbai in 17 hours in Aug. so didn't emjoy the scenery as much as you did. Kholapur was always a miss for me due to time factor. Thanks to you for showing us what it looks like.

Waiting for more..

Thank you for the comments Goandude. The pictures did come out well. After lots of attempts, I managed to get a steady shot of the Emu's head as it kept moving its head from side to side every second. Did u get the CPL filter for your Panny? I picked up a Marumi UV filter off ebay.

Originally Posted by ampere

Classic snaps there DD! Great and Neat. The long NH4 snap looks great!
The temple snap also shows amazing symmetry!

Originally Posted by sriswe

DD,

Thank you ampere.

Great snaps and good amount of info for future travelers . Waiting for more pics and information :-). So rains didn't effect this part of roads from Bangalore - Kolhapur ?

Thanks,
Srinivas.R

Thanks Srinivas. Day 2 coming up in a short time. The NH4 between Bangalore- Kolhapur was unaffected by the rains.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

Thank you for the comments Goandude. The pictures did come out well. After lots of attempts, I managed to get a steady shot of the Emu's head as it kept moving its head from side to side every second. Did u get the CPL filter for your Panny? I picked up a Marumi UV filter off ebay.

yup i got it from here Inter Foto India Pvt. Ltd. for 1600/- waiting for the sun to come out of the clouds

[dreamdiesel]

Day 2 (04th September, 2010): Kolhapur – Jyotiba – Panhala – Malkapur – Ratnagiri – Ganapatipule – Ratnagiri

Trip Meter – 667kms to 910kms

We are up by 8:00AM, quickly get ready, pack our bags and check out of the hotel by 9:30AM. We also make sure to book the same room on our way back during the end of our road trip for our halt at Kolhapur again, before we head back to Bangalore.

We head out of the hotel for our breakfast. Kolhapur is famous for another dish called the Misal Pav (Spicy Curry + Bread). It’s a spicy curry usually eaten with bread. This dish is had in most of Maharashtra as breakfast. A month back while watching “Highway on My Plate” on NDTV Good Times the hosts visited a place to have Kolhapur’s famous Misal Pav. I had forgotten the name of the place serving this dish, but had this plan of having breakfast at this place on the back of my mind. The previous evening while returning back to the hotel, while shopping for drinking water, I enquired about this famous place serving Misal Pav and was directed to Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre in Udyam Nagar. We asked our way towards Udyam Nagar which was in the same direction where we had Ice Cream yesterday night. After a little help from the locals we found the place. It’s located in what looked like a small industrial area in Kolhapur. It’s a small shop with about 4 to 5 long benches and tables. But the entire place has posters on the walls about various recognitions it’s got from various TV channels, including “Highway on My Plate.” We settle down on one of the benches and had one of best breakfast at Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre. The Misal is spicy and tasty and goes very well with very fresh and soft bread. The breakfast is finished with a wonderful cup of tea just outside the Misal – Pav Centre. We now head out of Kolhapur towards Jyotiba by taking the NH204 a little after 10:00AM.


The very tasty Misal Pav at Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre, Kolhapur.


Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre, Kolhapur.

Leaving Kolhapur we take the right turn towards Jyotiba which is situated north of Kolhapur surrounded by green hills. In no time we are climbing the Ghats towards the temple. The entire surroundings towards the hills are green post monsoon and we stop at various places to take photographs. We pay the entrance fee and park the car. It’s about 10-15mins walk towards the temple climbing down about a hundred steps surrounded by many shops selling Pooja items.


Enroute Jyotiba temple from Kolhapur


Ghat road towards Jyotiba temple.


Swift D at Ghat road towards Jyotiba temple.


Beautiful landscape around.

Jyotiba temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. This is also called Kedarnath and Wadi Ratnagiri. It’s a very ancient temple and the surroundings at the temple are pink in color due to the scattering of “Gulal.” We quickly have a good darshan and a big tikka (holy mark) of Gulal is put on the forehead. We spend some time walking around the temple and just take photographs outside the temple. We start our climb back to the parking lot and as we are nearing the parking lot heavy rains start. We run and get into the cozy confines of the car while rains lash outside. The next destination is Panhala Fort which is about 10-12kms from Jyotiba.


Jyotiba temple, Kolhapur. You can notice how the temple surroundings has turned pink due to the scaterring of Gulal.


The temple spires at Jyotiba. Similar to the ones we saw at Mahalaxmi Temple at Kolhapur.


Jyotiba temple, Kolhapur.

Exactly 2kms from the parking place at Jyotiba we take the right turn towards Panhala Fort. We drive down the hill, briefly touch the Kolhapur – Ratnagiri road and start our climb towards Panhala Fort. Reach Panhala Fort around noon and a guide approaches us near the place to pay the entry fee. We agree for a price and we take the guide along with us as we drive inside the fort.

Continued....

[ampere]

The snaps of the trees have come out very well!

[MX6]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

Jyotiba temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. This is also called Kedarnath and Wadi Ratnagiri.

This is very contentious.

Reason?

Here's the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra.

saurAShTre somanAthaM cha shrIshaile mallikArjunam |
ujjayinyAM mahAkAlamo~NkAramamaleshwaram ||

paralyAM vaidyanAthaM cha DAkinyAM bhImasha~Nkaram |
setubandhe tu rAmeshaM nAgeshaM dArukAvane ||

vArANasyAM tu vishveshaM tryambakaM gautamItaTe |
himAlaye tu kedAraM ghushmeshaM cha shivAlaye ||

etAni jyotirli~NgAni sAyaM prAtaH paThennaraH |
saptajanmakR^itaM pApaM smaraNena vinashyati ||

Translates to below.

Somnath of Saurashtra, Mallikarjuna of Srisailam (Gujarat and AP).
Mahakaal from Ujjain and Amaleshwar from Omkar (omkareshwar) (Both MP)
Vajinath from Parli (contentious as some say it could be Baidnath from Jharkhand) and Bhimashankar from Dakini forest. Now Vaidhyanatham can be from MH or JH and the other is in MH.

At Sethu - God of Rama (rameshwaram), Nagesh from Daruka (which is again contentious as it could be Nageshwar from Dwarka, Gujarat or Aundha Naganath from Maharashtra in Hingoli district. But widely it is accepted as Nageshwar from Dwarka and I've been to that temple as well.
So one in TN and another in Gujarat.

Vishwanath from Varanasi (benaras) or Kasi and Triyambakeshwar near Gautami (godavari getting the name as she was brought down by Gautam rishi to atone his sins of accidentally killing a cow). One in UP and another in MH.

Kedarnath in Himalayas and Gushmeshwar Shivaalaya.

These 12 Jyotirlinga, oh mortal pray day and night.
Your sins of 7 lives will be washed away (destroyed) by praying to them.

Now we know Kedarnath. And Gushmeshwar Shivaalaya is lost as there's no reference to the geographical location as stated for 11 others.

Some say Ghushmeshwar is Grishneshwar (built by Ahilyabai holkar) near Ellora. I've been to this temple as well. Some say that Ghushmesham can't be considered as Grishneshwar and are still searching for the lost 12th Jyotirlinga.
Further there are supposed to be 5 - 6 various bhimashankars in India (with 2 of them in Maharashtra itself vying for the spot of bhimashankar).

There is Jageshwar in Uttarakhand that vies for a spot in 12.

Also there's a theory by a Pune based research scholar Mr. Oak that Taj Mahal is Tejomahalaya which can be the actuall 12th Jyotirlinga.

And with Kedarnath in Himalayas being referred to as Himalayantu Kedaram as a Jyotirlinga, I'm not sure how Jyotiba which is reflected as Kedarnath of MH can take a separate 12th spot of the Jyotirlinga.

And the finally, Jyotiba is Brahma, vishnu and shiva's jyoti together as the legend goes. And people do worship him as Dattatreya who is indeed Brahma, vishnu and shiva.

With the other 11 temples having dedicated shiva linga, I'm not sure of such a linga in Jyotiba (there's supposed to be hidden linga there).

So Jyotiba can't be a Jyotirlinga.

The final most probable list does look like
Somnath, Guj
Srisailam, AP
Ujjain, MP
Omkareshwar, MP
Vajinath, Parli, MH or Baidyanath, Deogarh, JH
Bhimashankar, MH
Rameshwaram, TN
Nageshwar, Dwarka, Gujarat
Vishwanath, Kashi (varanasi), UP
Tryambakeshwar, Near Nasik, MH
Kedarnath in Himalayas
Grishneshwar, MH near Ellora. (any other lost Shiva temple and if Mr. Oak was right, can be Taj Mahal. Don't want to dig up a controversy 4 days before the Ayodhya verdict )

Whew. Sorry about all the OT here DD. But felt it's worth sharing with like minded readers.

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

We head out of the hotel for our breakfast. Kolhapur is famous for another dish called the Misal Pav (Spicy Curry + Bread). It’s a spicy curry usually eaten with bread. This dish is had in most of Maharashtra as breakfast. A month back while watching “Highway on My Plate” on NDTV Good Times the hosts visited a place to have Kolhapur’s famous Misal Pav. I had forgotten the name of the place serving this dish, but had this plan of having breakfast at this place on the back of my mind. The previous evening while returning back to the hotel, while shopping for drinking water, I enquired about this famous place serving Misal Pav and was directed to Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre in Udyam Nagar. We asked our way towards Udyam Nagar which was in the same direction where we had Ice Cream yesterday night. After a little help from the locals we found the place. It’s located in what looked like a small industrial area in Kolhapur. It’s a small shop with about 4 to 5 long benches and tables. But the entire place has posters on the walls about various recognitions it’s got from various TV channels, including “Highway on My Plate.” We settle down on one of the benches and had one of best breakfast at Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre. The Misal is spicy and tasty and goes very well with very fresh and soft bread. The breakfast is finished with a wonderful cup of tea just outside the Misal – Pav Centre. We now head out of Kolhapur towards Jyotiba by taking the NH204 a little after 10:00AM.

Attachment 426570
The very tasty Misal Pav at Phadtare’s Misal - Pav Centre, Kolhapur.

Surprised to see bread instead of Pav. Is this common in Kolhapur bcos where ever I had Misal-Pav, it was always pav and not bread.

[dreamdiesel]

Day 2 continued....

Panhala was built in the year 1112 by Raja Bhoj from Madhya Pradesh. The walls of this fort have a circumference of 8.5 kms. This is the only fort in Maharashtra where you can roam within its walls in your vehicle. The fort houses a small village with its own bus stop, post office and many shops. This fort is very big and it is advisable to have a good guide to enjoy history. The guide we hired (I just remember his first name; Mubarak) was very knowledgeable and is the 9th generation of family of official announcers of the fort. I do have a photo of him and would definitely recommend this guide.

At the entrance of the fort there is statue of Baji Prabhu Deshpande who was a commander of Shivaji Maharaj. He helped Shivaji escape from siege of Panhala to a nearby Fort of Vishalgad. He held back thousands of enemy soldiers for hours with only a handful of his warriors in Pavan Khind (a narrow pass in the mountain near Vishalgad) while Shivaji escaped. Baji Prabhu Deshpande died during the battle at Pavan Khind.


Statue of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Panhala Fort


Statue of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Panhala Fort


Statue of Baji Prabhu Deshpande at the entrace of Panhala Fort, Kolhapur.

After this we stopped at Andhar Bavadi (Hidden Well). It’s a three storey building which houses a hidden well so that there is enough drinking water at the fort even if the entire water source at the fort were poisoned by enemies. The other 2 storey houses the guard rooms. Water in this well is still available in plenty.


Can see the water in the well at Andhar Bavadi, Panhala


The 3 storey Andhar Bavadi, Panhala


The gaurd rooms at Andhar Bavadi, Panhala


The view from the top of Andhar Bavadi. You can see a plateau in the distance.


The fort walls at Panhala.


View of Teen Darwaja from the top of Andhar Bavadi.

After this we stopped at Teen Darwaja (three gates) which is very beautiful and secure entrance to the fort on the western side. The door is still intact and you see a small portion of the stone chipped off at the entrance after being hit by canon shells during the siege. The view from the top, of the fields below was awesome. With fog playing hide and seek I managed to take numerous photographs. The guide was very proficient in explaining various features of the gate and how enemies could be fooled with various trap doors.


The inner gate of Teen Darwaja (also called Konkan Gate)


The second/middle gate of Teen Darwaja


The outer gate of Teen Darwaja. Notice a part of the stone beam on top of the gate chipped off. This was caused by a cannon shell fired from a distance during the siege of 1660.


The beautiful carved flower motif which adore the Teen Darwaja.


Inside the Teen Darwaja.


The gaurd rooms at Andhar Bavadi, Panhala

After this we move towards The Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati Ambarkhana (Grain store) which is situated at the center of the fort. Stairs on both sides lead the top of the buildings. It has sixteen bays each with its own flat vault with a hole on top through which grain used to be passed.


Info about Ambarkhana.


Ambarkhana at Panhala Fort.


Inside Ambarkhana. Notice the hole on the top from where foodgrains were dropped.


Ambarkhana at Panhala Fort.


B/W picture of Ambarkhana at Panhala Fort.


B/W picture of Ambarkhana at Panhala Fort.


View of the plains below from Panhala Fort.


View of the plains below from Panhala Fort. Lush green fields at monsoons.

Nearby is also a place where Jakhubai, daughter -in-law of Gangu Teli agreed to sacrifice her life for the empire as the walls would keep collapsing once taken up to 6ft or so during construction. The priest suggested the sacrifice of a pregnant woman to solve the problem.


The place where Jakhubai sacrificed her life.

After this we visited various other Doors for the fort. We also visited the Sajja Kothi (Royal Prison) which is the highest point at Panhala Fort and Kalawant Mahal (The courtesan's palace) which is in ruins as the foundation of this building was made of wood as told by the guide. After spending about 2hrs at the fort we started to feel hungry and after enquiring about the best place to have Maharashtrian Thali we were directed to Hotel Om Ganesh near the bus stand by the guide. After bidding farewell to the guide we had a very tasty vegetarian Maharashtrian Thali. The food was freshly made and piping hot.


Sajja Kothi at Panhala.


View from the top of Sajja Kothi of the plains below.


View from the top of Sajja Kothi of the plains below.


Swift D at Kalawant Mahal.


Kalawant Mahal at Panhala is in ruins.


View of the plains below from Kalawant Mahal.

After a very satisfying meal we left Panhala Fort and drove down towards NH204. Joined NH204 and take left towards Ratnagiri.

Continued....

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

1] Kolhapur is famous for another dish called the Misal Pav (Spicy Curry + Bread).
Attachment 426570
Attachment 426571

2]Jyotiba temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

1] MISAL-pav
you made me hungry after having lunch just half hour back.


2] I never heard from anyone except your post about jyotiba as one of 12 jyotirlingas.

Originally Posted by MX6

So Jyotiba can't be a Jyotirlinga.

''itnisi baat kahaneke liye tune pura ramayan post kiya!!!''.

That is nice info about 12 jyotirlingas.
I will visit 4 of those 12 during coming Nov.

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by ampere

The snaps of the trees have come out very well!

Thank you ampere. More snaps coming up...

Originally Posted by MX6

This is very contentious.

So Jyotiba can't be a Jyotirlinga.

The final most probable list does look like
Somnath, Guj
Srisailam, AP
Ujjain, MP
Omkareshwar, MP
Vajinath, Parli, MH or Baidyanath, Deogarh, JH
Bhimashankar, MH
Rameshwaram, TN
Nageshwar, Dwarka, Gujarat
Vishwanath, Kashi (varanasi), UP
Tryambakeshwar, Near Nasik, MH
Kedarnath in Himalayas
Grishneshwar, MH near Ellora. (any other lost Shiva temple and if Mr. Oak was right, can be Taj Mahal. Don't want to dig up a controversy 4 days before the Ayodhya verdict )

Whew. Sorry about all the OT here DD. But felt it's worth sharing with like minded readers.

Thats very good info MX6. I might have been wrong. I was referring to ?????? (History) | ??????? ???? ???? ?????? where this was mentioned.

Originally Posted by f1fan

Surprised to see bread instead of Pav. Is this common in Kolhapur bcos where ever I had Misal-Pav, it was always pav and not bread.

Even I was surprised when I saw bread instead of Pav intially. But nevertheless it was very tasty. I guess bread is eaten with Misal as its easier to scoop up the spicy gravy. Even the Misal Pav I had at Ratnagiri was bread intead of Pav.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

Thats very good info MX6. I might have been wrong. I was referring to ?????? (History) | ??????? ???? ???? ?????? where this was mentioned.

Some one told me a quote of someone else (sorry forgot both the names) Google is not research. Anyway happy to add to your log about many things.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

1] MISAL-pav

2] I never heard from anyone except your post about jyotiba as one of 12 jyotirlingas.

''itnisi baat kahaneke liye tune pura ramayan post kiya!!!''.

That is nice info about 12 jyotirlingas.
I will visit 4 of those 12 during coming Nov.

AP. There's a belief amongst some people that Jyotiba is the 12th Jyotirlinga. Guess it's because Jyoti in Jyotiba makes it apt for Jyotirling.

Anyway, this is not Ramayan. This is shiv puran!

Ujjain/ Omkareshwar/ Nageshwar/ Somnath are the 4 I guess. Have a nice time.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by MX6

Anyway, this is not Ramayan. This is shiv puran!

Ujjain/ Omkareshwar/ Nageshwar/ Somnath are the 4 I guess. Have a nice time.

So you admitted that whatever you posted is Shiv puran.

You are right about those 4 Jyotirlingas.
Your Ujjain travelogue inspired me to add Ujjain and Omkareshwar to my trip.

@dreamdiesel,

waiting for next post, pics of Amba ghat.

EDIT;

OK, i am hungry now, will have misal-pav and post the pic here to take revenge on kolhapuri misal-pav.