Panhalgad - The History

This Diwali the family and me decided to take a break from the routine and visit the historic city of Kolhapur. Kolhapur is a beautiful city and like every city in Maharashtra has its own set of stories and history. One such place is Panhala. The taluka of Panhala houses the great Panhala Fort which had utmost importance in the Maratha history. 20 kilometers from the city of Kolhapur, Panhala literally means the "house of serpents". The fort of Panhala was built by the Shilhara ruler Raja Bhoj II between the years 1178 - 1209 BC. There is historical evidence which proves that Raja Bhoj held his court in Fort Panhala during the 1191-1192.

The Maratha history goes something like this. In 1659, after killing the Bijapuri General Afzal Khan, in Pratapgad, Shivaji fled from Pratapgad and captured Panhala from the Bijapur kingdom. Simultaneously Shivaji's General Netaji Palkar, attacked the Bijapur kingdom and started scraping it from the South. As a retaliation, the then Adil Shah II of Bijapur sent his army under the command of Siddhi Johar to lay siege on Panhala. Siddhi Johar brought with him an army of 40,000 men and lay siege to Panhala. The siege lasted for 5 months, wherein the provisions were exhausted. The Maratha army could not continue like this any further.

Under these circumstances, Shivaji Maharaj decided to escape and formulated a plan. His barber Shiva Kasheed, had very close physical resemblance to him. So it was decided that Shiva Kasheed would surrender to the Bijapur army in the front and Shivaji, and few of his trusted men would escape to Vishalgad. The distance to Vishalgad had to be made on foot as horses would make a lot of noise in the dark and taking them along would actually be a handicap. The distance between Panhalgad to Vishalgad was approximately 40 odd Kilometers and this had to be done in one night.

So as planned, on the night of 13th July 1660 Shiva Kasheed surrendered from the North gate and kept the Bijapuri army engaged. And Shivaji, his trusted general Baji Prabhu Deshpande and 900 Mavlas exited from the rear end, broke open the siege and began their journey. It was not very long, when Siddhi Johar and his men realized the mistake. They killed Shiva Kasheed and started following Shivaji to Vishalgad.

It was tough for Shivaji to loose trail of the large army following him. When Shvaji's batallion reached the foot hills of Vishalgad, they came across a narrow opening known as Ghodkhind in those days. Ghod stands for horse and Khind stands for narrow opening. It is said that only a couple of horses could pass through Ghodkhind then. At this stage Baji Prabhu Deshpande suggested that, he would wait near Ghodkhind and stall the Bijapuri army until Shivaji would reach Vishalgad. The sign that Shivaji had reached Vishalgad would be the firing of 4 Cannons. Though Shivaji did not agree to this idea, Baji Prabhu Deshpande convinced him and pushed him off to Vishalgad. So, with 300 armed infantry Baji Prabhu Deshpande fought ferociously with 2 swords in his hand and killing as many enemy as possible. It is said that he was injured very badly, but he kept fighting until the canons were heard, and only then he gave up his life. Shivaji later named Ghodkhind to Pavankhind in honor of the great warriors that lost their life. It is said that 3 sons of Siddhi Johar and approximately 20,000 odd men were killed by Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his men in the Battle of Pavankhind. Nevertheless, the enemy could not capture Vishalgad, but for the next 13 years or so, the Adil Shah II ruled the fort Panhala.

In 1673, Shivaji Maharaj refused to be coronated as the Chhatrapati of Swaraj in Raigad, unless Panhala fort was captured. Shivaji and his soldiers had made various attempts to recapture the fort but had failed miserably. During the coronation, Shivaji was mourning the death of his very close associate and General, Tanaji Malusare, who was killed by the Bijapuri General by ambush and sheer betrayal. Shivaji knew that Panhala needed to be under Swaraj as it opened up trade routes connecting main land with coast. So this time when Shivaji decided to re-capture the fort, Kondaji Farzand volunteered to lead the attack.

In the previous war around 1666, Shivaji had lost almost 1000 odd men while capturing the fort. Under the reign of Adil Shah around 1488-90, the fort was fortified extensively, making it practically impossible to conquer. Farzand picked 300 men instead of a large army. These 300 men docked in Ratnagiri and did very extensive research on the fort. Timings of gatekeepers, when the gates would open and close. It is said that a map was re-created with information of the most important buildings, densely guarded areas, poorly guarded areas and many such intricacies. One information they received was the South of the fort was poorly guarded as it opened up directly into a dense forest. So with only 60 men (and others left at base to fight with enemy soldiers who would retreat), Farzand and his team climbed the south wall. When they reached the tip (at midnight), they made a very large noise with which caused panic amongst the enemy soldiers. The 60 men took the most important buildings and cut down all supplies for the army. Kondaji Farzand defeated the chief of the Army in a one-on-one battle which caused the army to surrender.

In honor of this great warrior Shivaji had the Wagh Darwaza carved, which is one of Teen Darwaza at the rear exit of the fort. The Wagh Darwaza, depicts the Tiger overpowering the Elephant. The Marathas are depicted by the Tiger and the Mughals by the Elephant.

Such are 2 stories in history associated with the Maratha Empire and Panhalgad. Reading about the great warriors in history, always makes me proud. I always think, that if we were even 1% of what these Kings and Warriors were, Maharashtra would have been a very different place to live in. More developed, more advanced with great visionaries.

Jai Bhavani! Jai Shivaji! 

Kolhapuri Tambda and Pandhra Rassa

Disclaimer: For all the vegetarians, Sorry! this one is not for you. So please feel free to flip the page or move to the next post. Frankly, you do not know what you are missing. 

Whenever you think of Kolhapuri food, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Spices right? Spicy food is like the in thing for Kolhapur. Even a heavy spicy eater like me would ask a chef in Kolhapur to make food "less spicy" (mind you- not even medium spicy) food. My dad always used to say, that once you eat Kolhapuri food you may actually feel fire coming out of you.

But, nevertheless, if you are in Kolhapur, I am sure each and every one of us would like to taste some delight that you will feel, belongs to Kolhapur. I travel almost every second or third day for work. And once, someone had mentioned to me that I should try the "Tambda" and "Pandhra" Rassa. It is supposedly a Kolhapuri delicacy. In my previous trips I never had the opportunity to taste it. So this time, I made it a point to oblige my taste buds with this delicacy.

"Tambda" stands for "Red" and "Pandhara" stands for "White" and "Rassa" stands for "Curry" in Marathi. Actually, the color is associated with how the curry looks once it is cooked. But, traditionally, it is also associated with the meat with which it is cooked.

Tambda Rassa is a dish prepared using Mutton Stock. The red color that is brought to the curry is by adding chilli powder extensively. It is extremely aromatic and uses a lot of fresh spices in its cooking. It is very very spicy. Normally it is accompanied with rice, but one can also drink it like soup. I tried it both ways. Soup was a little spicy, but it tasted quite awesome with the rice.

Pandhra Rassa is also a dish prepared using Mutton Stock. The white color that is brought to the curry is by adding coconut or coconut milk extensively. This one is also very aromatic and has a very different kind of a taste. It is not as spicy as the Tambda Rassa. Again, this curry is also accompanied with rice, and can also drink it like soup. Again this one too I tried it both ways. The winner for me was drinking directly, rather than with rice.

There are many variants of the same in the Kolhapuri culinary circles. If you do not like mutton, the same is prepared in chicken as well. In fact the best way to have it is with crushed pieces of chicken or mutton, rather than having the one with large chunks of them. Any which ways you have it, it is an extremely tasty dish.

I recommend this dish strongly to every one. It is a must-taste for every non-vegetarian whether you like spicy or not! Happy eating!

The festival of Lights? colors? relationships?

Every festival has its own place in everyone's life. It must be because, it brings in a lot of happiness by getting together as a family. Or may be exchange of gifts make all of us happy. Or some specific traditions that each festival brings along with it, which kind of takes you off the routine. Overall, I believe a festival gives you the much needed break from the routine and reboots your self to create a fresh thought process and rejuvenate that energy you need to achieve the milestones in life. Of the many Indian festivals, Diwali has a very important place in every Indian's life; particularly because it is a subset of all the Indian festivals that exist during the course of the year.

My attraction towards the festival has always been the colors and the brightness that this festival brings in our life. The celebrations for Diwali start off well before the actual festival does. Every individual of any age group is always waiting for the "Great Indian Festival" so they can shop. Clothes, Electronics, Crackers, Shoes, Accessories and what not. Everyone wants something or the other. An average middle class Indian family, knows that Diwali means the highest of the discounts. I am sure the statement "Ah the TV seems to be giving some problem, lets exchange this during Diwali!" was almost like a proverb used in every Indian Middle Class household in the 90's. Today, this saying has reached almost every household, big or small. I am sure each and everyone of us has a separate story to tell when the History of Diwali comes into picture. Frankly, every geographical region in India has a story to tell.

But what is it that makes this festival special. The history? The shopping? The lights? The colors?

So this year I did a couple of things in Diwali. The Lights! I pulled out all these beautiful looking necklaces of flashy-blinking lights that I had and started conceptualizing how the balcony would look. In almost an 2 hours time I brought them all up and had made the necessary connections. The certification was when my 8-year old came running into the balcony and said "Pappa! The lights are looking really wonderful!".

Next, I moved towards the next target. My all-time favourite, Rangoli. I have never been a cracker person. The sound and the smoke actually scares me. So, from the time I was young, me and my sisters would take the time off and try to be creative with all the colors and mud that we had. The cramped passages in Mumbai, never turned us off. In-fact the challenge was to be as creative as possible in the smallest space available.

So, after 15 years or so, I decided to try my luck at freehand again. After about an hours work, I was fairly successful. The icing on the cake was when wifey decorated all the pieces with the diyas. Two of these diyas were painted by my 8-year old. I always tell my wifey, that whenever we do something together it always impresses the masses. So, this one did too.

However, this Diwali was even more special. Particularly, as Mummy and Pappa have shifted in to Pune and now stay very close. The last 4-5 months or so have been really enjoyable and less stressful in its own way. My parents and in-laws stay very close to us. My son, has the privilege to spend this Diwali with both the set of Grandparents. A privilege that I never had and always missed a lot.

So what did I learn? Coming back to our question... Why is Diwali an important festival?

Diwali I believe, brings your family a lot closer. As a son, brother, father, husband; I have the opportunity to spend more time with my closest ones. The shopping, the lights, the colors, the vacation; all that can be secondary. But the true reason is that via Diwali all of us can grow and preserve the bonds with our close relatives and friends. I believe, this is what rejuvenates each and every one of us.