Kavathe is a village located in

Shirur Taluka Shirur taluka, is a taluka in Haveli subdivision of Pune district of state of Maharashtra in India. The town is situated on the bank of river Ghod and hence it was also known as Ghodnadi in 20th Century. The town is on the border of Pune & Ahme ...

of the

Pune district Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst I ...

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 ...

state. The village adds the name of local hindu goddess 'Yemai' for distinguishing from other villages in Maharashtra with similar name. Kavathe is known for it historical link with

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

and because of various folk art & artiste associated with

Tamasha Tamasha ( mr, तमाशा) is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ...

, drama, Jagaran-Gondhal and Bharud. Poet

Bashir Momin Kavathekar Bashir Kamruddin Momin (1 March 1947 – 12 November 2021), popularly known by his pen name, Momin Kavathekar, also known as 'Lokshahir B. K. Momin Kavathekar', was a popular Marathi language poet, writer who promoted sanitation, literacy, and so ...

and Dholak performer Shri Gangaram Bua are the two prominent folk artiste who had brought laurels with their notable contribution to the Maharashtra's performing art, culture and traditional art form Tamasha.

Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar (July 1935 – 15 January 2002) was an Indian dancer, singer and Tamasha artist. Early life and career Vithabai was born and grew up in a family of artists. She was born in the city of Pandharpur, Solapur distric ...

's grandfather Shri Narayan Khude who formed his own Tamasha Troupe was also from Kavathe Yamai.

History

The village was once located on the banks of the Ghod River (about away from its present location). The village later moved to its current location when Maratha General Anand Rao I Pawar, of the

Dhar State Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...

, built a walled city there. The village became politically important after the construction of a palace. Cultural and historical landmarks include the palace built by the Pawar dynasty in the 18th century, as well as various temples in

Hemadpanthi Hemadpanti Sculpture (also spelled as Hemadpanthi) is an architectural style, named after its founder, the prime minister Hemadpant (1259-1274 CE) of the court of Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. Architectural elements This building style was formed du ...

architectural style. The city was once walled, but the expansion of the village borders to allow for increased habitation has caused the surrounding walls, and huge gates to crumble. The village is famous for the Yemai Temple, Fatteshwar Temple, and Sayamba Temple. The temples' land and trust are owned by the Gore Patil family, who were Patil of the village for some time. They manage all economic affairs of the trust. Many followers visit the Kavathe seeking blessings, and to participate in the annual anniversary (

Yatra ( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated w ...

.) The Fatteshwar Temple has historical importance as it was built by Anand Rao Pawar after the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

defeated

Nizam Ul Mulk Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ali Tusi (April 10, 1018 – October 14, 1092), better known by his honorific title of Nizam al-Mulk ( fa, , , Order of the Realm) was a Persian scholar, jurist, political philosopher and Vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising fr ...

of Hyderabad. The word Fatte literally means "victory." It is situated on the confluence of a stream locally known as Khar Odha and the river Ghodnadi.

Geography and climate

Kavathe is surrounded by

Parner Taluka Parner taluka is a taluka in Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Area The following are area details: Population The table below shows the population of the taluka by sex. The data is taken from the 2001 ...

Khed Taluka Khed taluka is a taluka in the subdivision, near Pune, Pune city in Pune district of the state of Maharashtra in India. Rajgurunagar is the headquarter of the taluka. The taluka is known for being the birthplace of Santaji Jagnade.The name of city ...

Ambegaon Taluka Ambegaon taluka is a taluka in Talukas in Pune district#Haveli, Shirur subdivision of Pune district of state of Maharashtra in India. One of the twelve most revered Shiva temples or Jyotirlinga, the Bhimashankar, Bhimashankar Temple is in this khe ...

, and

Junnar Taluka Junnar taluka is a taluka (subdivision) of the Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is northernmost taluka of the District.The area is well known for two of the Ashtavinayak temples at Lenyadri and Ozar respectively. The taluka i ...

. The village is well connected with Manchar, Shirur, and Pune. The Taluka headquarter viz Shirur, is located away and District headquarter viz Pune is located approximately away. The village is located in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

area of the Sahyadris. It has an arid climate, irrigation from the river Ghod, and from wells serve most of the village. Crops include

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

, bajra, groundnuts and

pomegranates The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduc ...

Demography

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(90% of the population) is the largest religion, followed by other religions such as

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

. Sects/religions coexist in peaceful manner participating in each other's celebrations/ functions. Major castes are Dhangar and Marathas, both of whom share similar agriculturally-based livelihoods. Common family names include Mukhekar, Bhor, Ichake, Kandalkar, Wagdare, Pokale, Sandbhor, Ghode, Yede, Ughade.

Administration

Shri Ramchandra Sandbhor currently holds a position as sarpanch of village Panchayat. The village comes under Shirur constituency for Loksabha and under Ambegaon constituency for Vidhansabha.

Education

The village has a primary school (run by Zilla Parishad) established in 1866, Higher Secondary School & College (run by

Rayat Shikshan Sanstha Rayat Shikshan Sanstha is an educational society based in Satara, Maharashtra, India. It operates 34 colleges in Paschim Maharashtra. History In 1882, Jyotirao Phule made a demand for providing free education for all. The social reforms move ...

) and a few more recently founded English medium schools.

Culture

The beautifully constructed Hemadpanthi style temples include Vithhal Temple, Ganesh Temple, Mahadev Temple, Hanuman Temple. The Yamai temple, Saymaba Temple, Datta temple, and Fatteshwar temple are the most prominent. Yamai temple is located to the west of the village. This village takes its name from its Yamai goddess. Annual festivals/Yatra are organized by villages where many devote from all over Maharashtra participate.. The Kojagiri Pornima is celebrated with Palakhi procession followed by a Bhajan-Kirtan and a Drama for entertainment. The village has a beautiful temple of Bhagavan Mahavir (Jain Temple). There is a Mosque & four Peer Durgahs which are managed by local Muslim Community.

Performing arts

The people in the village are very supportive of the art/literature/theaters. Tamasha artist Mr Gangaram Bua was awarded a national prize for playing the

Dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

. He was awarded Vithabai Narayangaonkar Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar by the state government for his service to the field of

in 2016. Famous tamasha troupes like Narayan Khude (continued by Bhau Bapu Narayangaonkar & then

); Baburao Kavathekar and

Surekha Punekar Surekha Punekar is an Indian actress and folk artist known for her lavani performances. Punekar came from a financially poor family and worked as a maid to make ends meet. In her initial days as an artist, she performed in the various Tamasha ...

has their origins here. The amateur theatre groups from Kavathe has staged the play 'Bhangale Swapn Maharashtra' written by

all over Maharashtra & Goa during 1980s.Khanduraj Gaykwad
लेखणीतून ग्रामीण लोककला संपन्न करणारे- बशीर मोमीन कवठेकर!
“Navakal, 20-Jan-2011”

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/3772?mode=full * https://www.shirurtaluka.com/index.php?shr=from-town&thgid=2995 * https://lokpatra.in/index.php/archives/23160 Villages in Pune district