Kanitkar is a surname used by Konkanastha Chitapavan sub-caste of
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Kanitkars, like most other Konkanastha Chitpavan Brahmins, originate in the
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
strip on the western seacoast of India – about 300-500 kilometers south of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. Kanitkars (other names: Satkar) were from original five towns and 23 descendant families, spread to 110 towns by 1988. Kanitkars belong to Kaushik Gotra, and consider
Shree Vyadeshwar
Shree Dev Vyadeshwar temple is a temple dedicated to the God Shiva. It is located in Guhagar town from Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra State in India. The deity is considered as the Kuladevata (Clan-deity) of many Chitpavan families from t ...
at Guhaghar,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, India as their primary "family god"
ul Daivat
A large majority of Kanitkars still live in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, Maharashtra, India – with the rest in Mumbai,
Vadodara
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
and many other cities. Several Kanitkars have also migrated to foreign countries – United States, Australia and Singapore, to name a few.
Genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of Kanitkars is documented in "Kanitkar Kul Vrutanta", the latest (second) edition was published on 26 January 1988. At that time, there were around 780 Kanitkar males and 530 females living:
{, class="wikitable" border="1"
, -
! Gharane No.
! Gharane Name
! Total Males
! Living Males
! Living Females
! Popular Cities
! Contact
, -
, 1
, Basani – Ganeshwadi
, 283
, 124
, 70
, Mumbai, Pune
, Jayant Mahadeo
, -
, 2
, Basani – Sakharpe
, 128
, 43
, 30
, Mumbai
,
, -
, 3
, Basani – Dhom
, 77
, 27
, 34
, Pune, Mumbai
, Vasudeo Janardan
, -
, 4
, Basani – Vetoshi
, 43
, 16
, 10
, Pune, Kolhapur
,
, -
, 5
, Palshet – Adoor
, 191
, 65
, 38
, Mumbai, Pune
, Rajan Yashwant
, -
, 6
, Palshet – Junnar
, 202
, 101
, 66
, Mumbai, Pune
, Girish Sudhakar
, -
, 7
, Palshet – Bavdhan
, 237
, 110
, 78
, Pune, Vadodara
, Maheshwar Ramchandra
, -
, 8
, Palshet – Kothure
, 38
, 3
, 5
, Sangli
,
, -
, 9
, Palshet – LimbaGanesh
, 77
, 37
, 28
, Limbaganesh, Aurangabad, Pune, Mumbai, Thane
, Mandar Kanitkar
, -
, 10
, Palshet – Chandwad
, 34
, 5
, 4
, Mumbai
,
, -
, 11
, Palshet – Shirdhon
, 103
, 50
, 39
, Pune, Mumbai
,
, -
, 12
, Palshet – Padli
, 39
, 15
, 5
, Pune
,
, -
, 13
, Palshet – Bhadkambe
, 137
, 54
, 36
, Mumbai, Gwalior
, Guruprasad Dattatray
, -
, 14
, Palshet – Aachre
, 31
, 0
, 1
,
,
, -
, 15
, Palshet – Siddheshwar
, 46
, 18
, 14
, Mumbai
,
, -
, 16
, Palshet – Guttal
, 74
, 33
, 16
, Hubli
, Sharad Madhav
, -
, 17
, Palshet – Guhaghar
, 34
, 2
, 3
, Guhagar
, Sanjay Vinayak
,
, 18
, Palshet – Ambegaon
, 27
, 0
, 0
,
,
, -
, 19
, Palshet – Tarapur
, 34
, 5
, 5
, Tarapur
,
, -
, 20
, Palshet – Chinchner
, 21
, 6
, 2
, Pune, Satara
,
, -
, 21
, Bhatgaon – Aanjarle
, 43
, 21
, 17
, Mumbai, Mahad
,
, -
, 22
, Nandiwade – Vileparle
, 29
, 14
, 11
, Mumbai
, Mandar Chintamani
, -
, 23
, Weldoor – Bhiwandi
, 45
, 21
, 13
, Mumbai, Pune
,
These 1300+ Kanitkars live in 102 different cities/towns in 475 families. Most are in Greater Mumbai (129), Pune (106),
Sangli
Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks o ...
(19), Vadodara (39) and
Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is kn ...
(14).
Most popular Male names were Dattatray (15), Vinayak (12), Madhav, Milind, Vishwanath and Yashwant (11 each), and Gajanan, Gopal, Laxman and Prabhakar (10 each.) Popular female names were Usha (16), Jayashree (11), Anjali and Vijaya (10 each.)
Culture of Maharashtra