Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of

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 ...

. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is known as ''`Dakshin Kashi''' or Kashi of the South because of its spiritual history and the antiquity of its shrine Mahalaxmi, better known as

Ambabai Ambabai Temple (also known as Mahalaxmi Mandir) is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, who resides here as Supreme Mother Mahalakshmi and is worshipped by locals as Ambabai. Goddess Mahalakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu ...

. The region is known for the production of the famous hand-crafted and braided leather slippers called Kolhapuri chappal, which received the Geographical Indication designation in 2019. In Hindu mythology, the city is referred to as "''Karvir''." Before India became independent in 1947, Kolhapur was a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

under the Bhosale

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...

of the Maratha Empire. It is an important center for the Marathi film industry.

Etymology

Kolhapur is named after Kolhasur, a demon in

Hindu History The history of Hinduism covers a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. It overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its traditions ...

. According to History, the demon Kolhasur renounced asceticism after his sons were killed by God for harassing people, and prayed to Mahalakshmi that she would leave the area to him for a hundred years. He committed numerous crimes until the goddess returned after the hundred years were over and killed him for his sins. The dying wish of Kolhasur was to name the place after him, which was granted and the place was named Kolhapur. Kolha stands for Kolhasur and ''pur'', a Sanskrit word, means "city".

History

Medieval era

The

Shilahara The Shilahara Kingdom ( IAST: Śilāhāra; also Sinhara, Shailahara, Shrilara, and Silara) was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur) d ...

family founded a dynasty at Kolhapur about the time of the downfall of the Rashtrakuta Empire, that ruled over southern

including the modern districts of Satara, Kolhapur and Belagavi (Karnataka). Their family deity was the goddess

, whose blessing they claimed to have secured in their copperplate grants (''Mahalakshmi-labdha-vara-prasada''). Like their relatives of the northern branch of Konkan, the Shilaharas of Kolhapur claimed to be of the lineage of Vidyadhara Jimutavahana, a Jain scholar. Their banner featured a golden Garuda. One of the many titles used by the Shilaharas was ''Tagarapuravaradhisvara'', supreme sovereign ruler of Tagara. The first capital of the Shilaharas was probably at Karad during the reign of Jatiga II, as known from their copper plate grant of Miraj and 'Vikramankadevacharita' of Bilhana. Hence, they are referred to sometimes as the 'Shilaharas of Karad'. Later, although the capital was shifted to Kolhapur, some of their grants mention Valavada and the hill fort of Pranalaka or Padmanala (Panhala) as the places of royal residence. Karhad retained its significance during the Shilahara period. This branch rose to power in the latter part of the

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

rule and unlike the kings of the other two branches, this branch does not allude to the genealogy of the Rashtrakutas even in their early grants. They acknowledged the suzerainty of the later

Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

for some time. They had used Kannada as an official language as can be seen from their inscriptions. The branch held southern Maharashtra from circa 940 to 1220. From 940 to 1212 CE, Kolhapur was the centre of power of the

dynasty. An inscription at

Terdal Terdal is a Municipal town in Bagalkot district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Geography Teradala is located at . It has an average elevation of 536 metres (1758 feet). Terdal Shree Allam Prabhu Devaru Brahanmath is famous and hi ...

states that the king Gonka (1020 - 1050 CE) was bitten by a snake then healed by a Jain monk. Gonka then built a temple to Lord Neminath, the twenty-second Jain tirthankara (enlightened being). From this era, Jain temples in and around Kolhapur are called ''Gonka-Jinalaya''. Around 1055 CE, during the reign of

Bhoja I Bhoja I was a medieval Shilahara king of Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur) on the west coast of India. On the death of Guhala 11 in 1055 CE, Bhallala and Bhoja I must have ruled the kingdom. Achugi II, the Sinda ruler of Yelburga, is said to h ...

(Shilahara dynasty), a dynamic Acharya (spiritual guide) named Maghanandi (Kolapuriya) founded a religious institute at the Rupanarayana Jain temple ( basadi). Maghanandi is also known as ''Siddhanta-Chakravarti'', meaning ''the great master of the scriptures''. Kings and nobles of the Shilahara dynasty such as

Gandaraditya I Gandaraditya (1108 CE – 1138 CE): Bhoja I was succeeded by Gandaraditya. who claimed to be the undisputed king of Konkan. During the later period of his regime, his son Vijayaditya defeated Jayakesin II of Goa who had ousted the Shilahara rule ...

, who succeeded

, were disciples of Maghanandi. Kolhapur was the site of intense confrontation between the Western Chalukya Empire and Rajadhiraja Chola and his younger brother

Rajendra Chola II Rajendra Chola II (997 CE - 1064 CE) often referred to as Rajendradeva Chola was a Chola emperor who reigned from 1052 CE to 1064 CE. He was made Rajendra succeeded his brother Rajadhiraja I after his death at the Battle of Koppam.''The H ...

of the Chola empire. In 1052 CE, following the Battle of Koppam, the victor, Rajendra Chola II, marched on to Kolhapur and erected a ''jayastambha'' (victory pillar). Sastri K. A. N. "The CōĻas." 1935 p. 256–257 (University of Madras, 2000). Between 1109 and 1178 CE, the

Kopeshwar temple Kopeshwar Temple is at Khidrapur, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. It is at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is also accessible from Sangli as well. It was built in the 12th century by Shilahara king Gandaraditya between 1109 and 1178 C ...

to Lord Shiva was built by

kings,

, Vijayaditya, and Bhoja II in Khidrapur, Kolhapur.

Kolhapur State

The state of Kolhapur was established by Tarabai in 1707 in the midst of a succession dispute over the Maratha crown. The Maratha throne was then occupied by descendants of Tarabai. One of the prominent Kings was Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj ( Shahu of Kolhapur). In his reign, he promoted free education to people of all castes and fought against untouchability. The state was annexed by the British in the 19th century. After India's independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Kolhapur acceded to the Dominion of India on 14 August 1947 and merged with

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

on 1 March 1949. Kolhapur is sometimes found spelled as ''Colapore''. Often, Kolhapur is also referred as ''Dakshin Kashi'' or the

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

of the South, due to its rich religious history.

Scriptural references

Kolhapur is mentioned in the ''Devi Gita'', the final chapter of the '' Devi-Bhagavata Purana'', a text of Shaktism. Kolhapur is noted as a place of ''Kollamma'' worship. In the text,

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

says, :"O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something out of My affection to My

Bhakta ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

s. Hear. There is a great place of pilgrimage named ''Kollapura'' in the southern country. Here the Devi Ambabai always dwells."

Geography

Kolhapur is an inland city located in south-west

state, south of Mumbai and south of Pune, north-west of

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, west of Hyderabad and west of Sangli city. Within Maharashtra, Kolhapur's nearest cities and towns are Ichalkaranji ,

Jaysingpur Jaysingpur is a city and municipal council in the Kolhapur district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city derives its name from Raja Jaysing, the father of Shrimant Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, who planned and developed the a ...

, Kodoli ,

Peth Vadgaon Peth Vadgaon is a city and education hub in Kolhapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is governed by a municipal council. Demographics India census, Vadgaon Kasba had a population of 22,754. Males constitute 52% of the populatio ...

Kagal Kagal is a town in Kolhapur district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. History During the rule of the Marathas and British raj, the town was the seat of a noble Ghatge Maratha family who were among the most important in princely state ...

, Kasaba Walva , Satara . It lies in the Sahayadri mountains in the Western Ghats at an elevation of . Tambraparni river dam near Umgaon village is close by, as also are Radhanagari and Kalambawadi dams. Panhala and

Jyotiba Temple Jyotiba Temple ( mr, ज्योतिबा) is a holy site of Hinduism near Wadi Ratnagiri in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra state in western India. The deity of the temple is known by the same name. An annual fair takes place on the full m ...

are in the vicinity of Kolhapur too.

Climate

Kolhapur's climate is a blend of coastal and inland elements common to Maharashtra. The temperature ranges between . Summer in Kolhapur is comparatively cooler, but much more humid, than neighbouring inland cities. Maximum temperatures rarely exceed and typically range between . Lows during this season are around . The city receives abundant rainfall from June to September due to its proximity to the Western Ghats. The heavy rains often lead to severe flooding during these months. 2005, 2006, 2019 and 2021 were years when floods occurred. Temperatures are low in the rainy season and range between . Kolhapur experiences winter from November to February. The winter temperatures are warmer than other cities in Maharashtra such as Pune and Nashik. Lows range from while highs are in the range of due to its high elevation and being adjacent to the Western Ghats. Humidity is low in this season making the weather pleasant. Kolhapur at night from Rankala

Hydrology

The Panchganga River originates in the Western Ghats. It has five tributaries which supply the city and surroundings - the Bhogavati, Tulsi, Kumbhi, Kasari and Dhamani rivers. Kolhapur has a number of lakes. The

Rankala Lake Rankala Lake is a freshwater lake located in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. History Before the eighth century, Rankala was a stone quarry. In the 9th century, an earthquake caused immense structural damage to the quarry, causing water to accumulat ...

was once a stone quarry. The Kalamba lake was built in 1873. These two lakes provide the city with domestic potable water.

Governance

Kolhapur is governed by the

Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Kolhapur municipality was established on 12 October 1954. Establishment of municipality initiated planning of modern Kolhapur city of Maharashtra state. Due to Maharashtra government anaunces the 15% growth in the municipal corporations seats ...

(KMC). The city is divided into five wards, named with the letters A to E. The corporation provides services such as

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

treatment and free cremation for residents and has made a number of improvements, for example, the Kolhapur Road Project,"Kolhapur Road Project."
Government of India website. Retrieved 12 September 2017. the Anti-Encroachment Drive to stop illegal building activity encroaching on the city's open spaces, and the ''Suvarna Jayanti Nagarotthan'' Project to improve roads and storm water management."Kolhapur Nagarothan Abhiya."
Kolhapur Municipal Corporation website. Retrieved 12 September 2017. The KMC faces problems like the civic limits of Kolhapur city which have not expanded since 1972, due to which the city cannot benefit from various government schemes. The Kolhapur Municipal and Regional Development Authority was established on 16 August 2017. This authority to manage Kolhapur city and 42 villages around it was formed for the balanced development of Kolhapur city and the neighbouring villages.

Demographics

As per the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, the population of Kolhapur city is 549,236 and that in 'Kolhapur Municipal and Regional Development Authority' is 561,837. Kolhapur has one of the highest Human Development Index ratings among Indian districts, at 0.770 in 2011.

Religion

* Hindu – 460,774 (83.89%) * Muslims – 59,760 (10.88%) * Jain – 18,420 (3.35%) * Christian – 5,251 (0.96%) * Buddhist – 2,929 (0.53%) * Not Stated – 1,289 (0.23%) * Sikh – 581 (0.11%) * Others – 232 (0.04%

Economy

Manufacturing industry

Kolhapur has a higher per capita domestic product than the state's average. It has auto-ancillary, foundry and casting industrial establishments which act as supporting units for industries in Pune and Bangalore. The city is the home of ''Kolhapuri chappal'', a hand-crafted buffalo leather slipper that is locally tanned using vegetable dyes. Kolhapuri slippers are sold on Mahadwar road. Other handicrafts include hand block printing of textiles, silver, bead and paste jewellery crafting, pottery, wood carving and lacquerware, brass sheet work and oxidised silver artwork, and lace and embroidery making. Kolhapur is also an industrial city with approximately 300 foundries generating exports with a value of 15 billion

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s per year. A manufacturing plant of Kirloskar Oil Engines OELis set up in the MIDC at Kagal near Kolhapur, as is the Raymond clothes plant. Kolhapur has two more industrial areas, Gokul-Shirgaon MIDC and Shiroli MIDC. Shivaji Udyamnagar is an industrial area in the city with a rich entrepreneurial tradition of more than 100 years and specializing in oil engines. Kolhapuri jewelry includes a type of necklace called

Kolhapuri saaj Kolhapuri saaj is necklace named after Kolhapur, a city in Maharashtra, India. Design and construction Traditionally the necklace is made of 21 leaves or pendants but contemporary wearers prefer 10 to 12. Customarily the necklace is handmade, ...

, patlya (two broad bangles), chinchpeti (choker), tanmani (short necklace), nath (nose ring), and bajuband (an amulet).

Tourism

The Bombay Gazetteer recorded almost 250 temples in the region of which 6 - Ambabai, Temblai, Vithoba, Mahakali, Phiranga and Yallamma temples - are considered the most prominent. Tourism is an important source of revenue with about three million annual visitors. Kolhapur's attractions include: *

Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur Ambabai Temple (also known as Mahalaxmi Mandir) is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, who resides here as Supreme Mother Mahalakshmi and is worshipped by locals as Ambabai. Goddess Mahalakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu a ...

* Panhala Fort *Kaneri Math *New Palace *The world's first statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Bindu Chowk, inaugurated on 7 December 1950 *

Temblai Temblai Devi or Tryamboli (as known locally) is form of Renuka devi, an incarnation of Goddess Durga and the presiding deity of temple located on a hilltop in the eastern part of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. On account of the temple, the hillock ...

temple complex Bust of Dr

* Rankala Lake * The Tara Rani equestrian statue * An idol of the Lord Ganesh at the Chinmaya Mission (Top-Sambhapur). The Kolhapur Maybach car of the

chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...

s of Kolhapur is displayed to the public during the annual

Dusshera Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

procession.

Film industry

Kolhapur Memorial to Baburao Painter 2012 IMG 1601

On 1 December 1917, the Maharashtra Film Company was established in Kolhapur by Baburao Painter. The city has become the primary centre for the Marathi film industry. Kolhapur plays host to many film festivals, including the Kolhapur International Film Festival. The Kolhapur film city was renovated in 2017.

Cuisine

Kolhapur cuisine includes mutton dishes, Kolhapuri

misal ''Misal'' (Marathi: मिसळ isəɭ meaning "mixture"), is a very popular spicy dish in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish is mostly eaten for breakfast or as a midday snack or sometimes as a one-dish meal, often as part of ...

, and ethnic meat dishes The city also lends its name to certain types of food and ingredients, such as Kolhapuri lavangi ( chili peppers), Kolhapuri

jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...

(cane juice concentrate), Kolhapuri

masala Masala, Massala or MASALA may refer to: Spice * Masala (spice), any of the many spice mixes used in South Asian cuisine ** Masala chai, a flavoured tea beverage ** Masala incense, Indian incense using a spice mix ** Masala dosa, an Indian dish Pl ...

(spice mixture) and Kolhapuri chutney (onion garlic chutney) which is a staple in gravies and curries. Kolhapur cuisine also includes soup-like curries called ''Pandhara Rassa'' and ''Tambda Rassa'' which are served as a part of a Thali. ''Pandhara Rassa'', which can be loosely translated as white curry, is a soup-like dish made from mutton stock and coconut milk infused with spices like cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and garlic. It is served as an appetizer, and also as a part of the main course. ''Tambda Rassa'', red curry, is a spicier form of the dish made by substituting coconut milk with red chillies. Dummy 19 W

Media and telecommunication

Kolhapur's main newspaper is the '' Pudhari''. Other Marathi language newspapers include '' Sakal'', ''

Loksatta ''Loksatta'' (''Lōksattā'') is a Marathi daily newspaper in Maharashtra, India. It is published by The Indian Express Group and was launched on 14 January 1948. ''Loksatta'' is published out of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Palghar, Ahmednag ...

'', '' Lokmat'', '' Kesari'', ''

Saamna ''Saamana'' is a Marathi-language newspaper published in Maharashtra, India. The paper was launched on 23 January 1988 by Bal Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena, a local, regional and language driven; political party; in the Indian state o ...

'', '' Tarun Bharat'', and ''Punyanagari''. The English language dailies include '' The Times of India'' (Kolhapur edition), '' The Indian Express'', '' Business Standard'' and '' The Economic Times''. Kolhapur's FM radio services include Tomato FM (94.3 MHz), Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz), Radio City (95 MHz), Big FM(92.7 MHz) and All India Radio FM (102.7 MHz).

Sports

Wrestling (known as Kusti in Hindi/Marathi) and football are the sports most played in the city."Hanuman's Army: Kushti Wrestlers."
Reportage at Getty Images website. 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2017.

Wrestling

Kolhapur is known as wrestling capital of India. Kolhapur has a long history of kushti (wrestling) and has produced many wrestlers. The sport flourished during the reign of Shahu of Kolhapur (1894–1922). During this golden age, he built Akharas or Taleems (as they are colloquially called) all over Kolhapur and organized wrestling tournaments, inviting wrestlers from across the Indian sub-continent. Since then, Kolhapur's wrestling culture has been dominated by various Taleems like Gangavesh taleem, Shahupuri taleem, Motibag taleem, etc. More than 70 wrestlers undertake training in each of these. India's first individual Olympian Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, India's first Hind Kesari Shripati Khanchnale and Rustam-e-Hind Dadu Chougule belonged to Kolhapur.

Rajarshi Shahu Stadium Chhatrapati Shahu Football Stadium is a historic association football, football stadium in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Name The stadium is named in honour of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, the Maharaja of the Indian princ ...

is a football stadium in Kolhapur.

Khasbag Wrestling Stadium Khasbag Stadium is a national wrestling stadium in Kolhapur city. This is a biggest Wrestling Stadium in India. The stadium was built in the time of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and is almost a hundred year old stadium. And this is heritage site also. ...

, India's largest wrestling stadium is situated in Kolhapur. B.B. Nimbalkar (former Ranji cricketer), Suhas Khamkar (Mr. Asia, Winner),

Virdhawal Khade Virdhawal Vikram Khade (born 29 August 1991) ( mr, विरधवल खाडे) is an Indian swimmer. He competed in the men's 50, 100, and 200 meters Freestyle swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting an Indian nat ...

(Indian Olympian in swimming), Jaysingrao Kusale (Indian shooter),

Tejaswini Sawant Tejaswini Sawant (born 12 September 1980) is an Indian shooter from the Maharashtrian city of Kolhapur. Her father Ravindra Sawant was an officer in the Indian Navy. Biography Tejaswini born to father Ravindra and mother Sunita in Kolhapur. S ...

(Arjuna awardee, world championship gold medalist shooter),

Rahi Sarnobat Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat (Marathi: राही सरनोबत) is a female athlete from India who competes in the 25 metre pistol shooting event. She won her first gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. She is the fi ...

(Arjuna awardee, Asian Gold medalist in shooting),

Rucha Pujari Rucha Pujari (born 2 July 1994) is an Indian chess player. She is currently a Woman International Master and was previously awarded the title of Woman FIDE Master in 2006. Born in Kolhapur, she picked up the game of chess at the age of six in ...

(chess - Woman International Master), Shahu Mane also belong to the city.

Aniket Jadhav Aniket Anil Jadhav (born 13 July 2000) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club East Bengal and the India national team. Career Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Jadhav was part of the AIFF Elite ...

who played the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 is from Kolhapur.

Transport

Railway

The

Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus (officially Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus) (station code: KOP) is the main railway terminus in the city of Kolhapur, India. It is the end point of the Miraj to Kolhapur railway line. It falls under ...

links Kolhapur via rail to India's major cities with express services to Sangli, Pune, Mumbai,

and New Delhi. A daily shuttle service connects Kolhapur with the main rail hub of Miraj on the Central Railway main line. A daily DEMU local train also runs from Kolhapur to

Sangli railway station Sangli railway station serves the city of Sangli in Maharashtra, India. It is a class A station under Pune railway division of Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways. It is located at 558 m above sea level and has three platforms. As of 2020, ...

. A new railway route from Miraj via Kolhapur until Vaibhavwadi has been confirmed, which will connect Kolhapur and many other towns with to the Western coastal region of India.

Road

Kolhapur is located on National Highway 4 and National Highway 204. Kolhapur is 55 km from Sangli and 200 km from Pune. The city has three state transport bus stands: Central Bus Stand (CBS), Rankala Bus Stand and Sambhajinagar Bus Stand. Kolhapur Municipal Transport (KMT) provides local bus services. The CBS of Kolhapur is the busiest bus stand in western Maharashtra with more than 50,000 commutators a day. National Highway-4 kolhapur

Airport

Kolhapur's domestic airport, also known as

Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport Kolhapur Airport , also known as Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport is a regional airport in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. It is situated at Ujlaiwadi, 9 km South-East from Kolhapur. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI ...

, is located south east of the city at Ujalaiwadi. Indigo operates daily flights to

Hyderabad Airport Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is an international airport that serves Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad, about south of Hyderabad and it was opened on 23 March 2008 to replace B ...

and Tirupati Airport as well as three times a week to

Ahmedabad Airport Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) is an international airport serving the twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The airport is located in Hansol, north of Ahmedabad. It is named after Sardar Vallabhb ...

. Star Air operates flights three times in a week to

Mumbai Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

. Expansion of runway and construction of and airport terminal building is in progress. The nearest international airports to Kolhapur are Pune International Airport () and Goa International Airport ().

Education

Kolhapur has educational institutions for engineering, medicine, management studies, pharmaceutical sciences and agriculture. Shivaji University is located in Kolhapur city. There are international schools and a pre-IAS training centre. The pre-IAS training centre is in Rajaram college campus. The admissions to pre-IAS centre are allotted by merit through an entrance exam. The city attracts students form all over India and Africa.

Languages

The Marathi language spoken in Kolhapur has some distinctive adaptations. Women for example will use the masculine gender for verbs. Some syllables in names are uniquely shortened to utter them faster. For example, शंकर becomes शंक्रोबा. Some phrases are unique to the local dialect, and especially popular among the youth, such as 'काय भावा?', 'नाद नाही करायचा', 'काटा कीर्रर्र', 'खटक्यावर बोट, and 'जाग्यावर पल्टी'.

Notable people

* Shahu of Kolhapur - Maharaja and a social reformer. * Tarabai - Maratha queen and warrior. * Ramchandra Pant Amatya - One of the Ashta Pradhans of Shivaji. *

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Mahaloji Ghorpade,(1645–1696) popularly known as ‘Santajirao’ or ‘Santaji Ghorpade’, was the most celebrated Maratha warrior and the sixth Sarsenapati of the Maratha Empire during Rajaram's regime. His name became inseparable f ...

- Maratha warrior and Sarsenapati. * Bhalji Pendharkar - Award Winning director. *

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

- Film actress. *

Sudhir Phadke Sudhir Phadke (, 25 July 1919 – 29 July 2002) was an Indian singer-composer. He was regarded as an icon of the Marathi film industry and Marathi ''Sugam Sangeet'' (light music) for five decades. Apart from Marathi, Phadke sang and composed son ...

- Singer and composer. *

Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...

- Playback singer. * Jayant Narlikar - Indian astrophysicist. * V. Shantaram - Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. *

Shivaji Sawant Shivaji Sawant (31 August 1940 – 18 September 2002) was an Indian novelist in the Marathi language. He is known as Mrutyunjaykaar (meaning Author of ''Mrutyunjay'') for writing the famous Marathi novel - ''Mrutyunjay''. He was the first Marathi ...

- Indian novelist. * Ranjit Desai - Popular Marathi writer. * Master Vinayak - Indian actor and film director. *

Suniti Ashok Deshpande Suniti Ashok Deshpande (pronounced 'DESH-paan-day'), (8 November 1954 – 23 September 2015) was an Indian educator, writer, translator and interpreter, best known for her work on spreading the Russian language and Russian culture, culture in ...

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. *

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Dhananjay Mahadik Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik is an Indian politician from Kolhapur district in Maharashtra state. He is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Maharastra as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected to the 16-th Lok Sabha ( ...

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Ramesh Deo Ramesh Deo (30 January 1926 – 2 February 2022) was an Indian film and television actor who worked in more than 285 Hindi films, 190 Marathi films and 30 Marathi dramas with over 200 showings in his long career. He also produced feature films, ...

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Anant Mane Anant Mane (1915-1995) was a film director from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India who directed approximately 60 movies during the golden era of Marathi cinema. He was known for making films based on the folk art form Tamasha, and also directed a numbe ...

- Film director. * Satej Patil - Politician and Minister of State for home in the Maharashtra Government. * Padmini Kolhapure - Film actress. * Shruti Sadolikar - Indian classical singer of the khyal style in the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. * Sadashivrao Dadoba Mandlik - Former Member of Parliament and NCP leader. *

Sanjay Mandlik Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik is an Indian politician and a Shiv Sena leader from Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. He is member of 17th Lok Sabha from Kolhapur Constituency. He is son of Late Shri. Sadashivrao Mandlik Sadashivrao Dadoba Mand ...

- Member of Parliament and

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena ( IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bom ...

Leader. * Bhanu Athaiya - Indian costume designer and painter. *

Sangram Chougule Sangram Chougule (born 28 December 1979) is an Indian bodybuilder from Kolhapur, currently settled in Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most ...

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References

External links

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Kolhapur Municipal Corporation
{{Authority control Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011 All articles containing potentially dated statements Cities and towns in Kolhapur district Cities in Maharashtra