Manerajuri (Marathi: मणेराजुरी , Kannada: ಮಣೇರಾಜುರಿ), with a population of 14,204 according to the 2011 Census, is largely an agricultural village in Tasgaon taluka situated on the

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 ...

-Atapadi road, 11.26 km (seven miles) to the east of Tasgaon.

Madhavnagar Madhavnagar is a small city in sangli and now Suburb of Sangli Urban; Sangli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Demographics India census, Madhavnagar had a population of 10,993. Males constitute 51% of the population and females ...

and Bhilavadi are the nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

s, both of which are about distant from it. The following story is told about the establishment of the village. Mani and Malli were two

Daitya According to ancient scriptures, the daityas (Sanskrit: दैत्य) are a race of asuras, descending from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran t ...

s, both of whom were the devotees of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. They had an enemy by name

Khandoba Khandoba (IAST: Khaṇḍobā), Martanda Bhairava, Malhari, or Malhar is a Hindu deity worshiped as a manifestation of Shiva mainly in the Deccan plateau of India, especially in the state of Maharashtra. He is the most popular Kuladevata (family ...

who was also a worshipper of Shiva. None could overcome each other. Khandoba then went to the south of Dandoba hill and established a township which is the present Khanderajuri. Mani established his kingdom to the east of the same hill and it came to be called Manerajuri.

History

The villages of Manerajuri and Arag were granted to Anubai, the younger daughter of the first Peshva Balaji Vishwanath, who was married to Naravanrao Ghorpade (formerly Joshi), regarded as the son of Santaji Ghorpade. Prior to this, the rights of these villages were held by the Garud family, who opposed Anubai taking possession of the villages. This brought Balaji Vishvanath on the scene who succeeded in taking over the villages and handing them over to Anubai. Narayanrav died without leaving any heir, and hence Anubai adopted one. It was at this time that two vadas were built, one each at Manerajuri and Arag. At the very same time, a kunda for the Rambling spring which is nearby the Maha-dev temple of the village was built. It is 1.85 m² (20 square feet) and can be approached by a flight of steps.

Crops

Manerajuri has two hamlets, viz., those of Yogevadi and Lugadevadi. The chief crops grown are Grapes.

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

, capsicum, groundnut, jowar and sugarcane.

Plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

s and mangoes are also produced and are generally sent to the Sangli market. Practically the entire crop of sugarcane is sold to the sugar factory near Madhavnagar. There is a small community of weavers weaving plain cloth and

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...

s on hand looms.

Tasgaon Tasgaon Tasgaon is a city in Maharashtra and a municipal council in Sangli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Tasgaon city is developing city in Maharashtra. Tasgaon was given as Jahagir to Parshuram Bhau Tasgaonkar by Narayanrao Ba ...

taluka, is one of the leading taluka in

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

producer in India; and Manerajuri is leading village in Tasgaon taluka in grape producing, bottom line is Manerajuri is leading grape producing village in India.

Education

The village among other things has a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

. Mary Angels English medium school started by Mr. Jamdade in 2008. Soon after it was established, the school has gained tremendous popularity and respect in Tasgaon taluka. Students from taluka places and nearby villages are joining the school. Now students from the village won't have to face

language barrier A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages, or even dialects in some ...

, when they go to bigger cities. Mr. and Mrs. Jamdade (Founder and Chairperson respectively) are doing a marvelous job at providing education and hence the much required backbone to the future generation. Mahavir Panduranga Salunkhe High school is an old

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

medium school. They also have arts and science college. Kanya Vidyalaya provides good quality secondary education for girls.

Famous people

Pandurang Salunkhe, born and brought up in Manerajuri , received a

Mahavir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

from government of India, for his bravery in war against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The high school has been named after him. Youth Foundation Krida Mandal founded in December 1979 and it has been arranging various activities for villagers on the occasion of death anniversary of Pandurang Salunkhe. Famous Marathi poet Vinayak Mahadev Kulkarni was born in Manerajuri. Mukund Ramkrishna Kulkarni, also born in Manerajuri in 1961, was a researcher and the HOD of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at the VIIT,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. Bidesh Kulkarni was the governor of Pondicherry.

Places of worship

It has

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

s dedicated to Maruti,

Vithoba Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is ...

, Mahadev and a

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

Shaikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Fardin. A fair in honour of Yallamma Devi (Kannada: ಶರಣೆ ಶ್ರೀ ಎಲ್ಲಮ್ಮ ದೇವಿ) is held on Pausa Vadya 7 and is attended by over 10,000 persons. Every single person in the village worships Shaikh Fardin

dargha A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

. On Thursdays lot of people visit the dargha which is situated on top of the hill. This is one of the best examples of the togetherness of Hindus and Muslims in India. Humanity is the only religion in Manerajuri. Kaldoh-vasti is a large area in Manerajuri and has two prominent temples one is vithal mandir and the other i
Datta mandir

Sangli Food Park

The park is being planned on a 305-acre (1.2 square kilometre) plot at Manerajuri. Cebeco (India) is the consultant for the project. The location is best suited for processing

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South ...

pomegranate 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 Basin, Mediterranean re ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

s and

custard apple Custard apple is a common name for a fruit and for the tree that bears it, '' Annona reticulata.'' The tree’s fruits vary in shape; they may be heart-shaped, spherical, oblong or irregular. Their size ranges from 7 to 12 cm (2.8 to 4.7 ...

. Common facilities planned are cold-storage, effluent treatment and social infrastructure.

Distances from Major Cities

{, class="wikitable" , + !Major City !Distance (km) , - , Mumbai , 390 , - , Pune , 220 , - , Bengaluru , 630 , - , Goa , 250 , - , Hydrabad , 480 , - , Kolhapur , 50 , - , Solapur , 211 , - , Ichalkaranji , 51 , - , Panvel , 342 , - , Umadi , 151 , - , Belagavi (ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ) , 148 , - , Sangli , 27 , - , Vijayapura (ವಿಜಯಪುರ) , 125

Transport

Manerajuri has National Highway 266, on which the statue of Mahavir Pandurang Salunkhe is situated. The buses of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (महाराष्ट्र राज्य मार्ग परिवहन महामंडळ), Northwest Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (ವಾಯವ್ಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ) & Northeast Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (ಈಶಾನ್ಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ) go through that main road. Villages in Sangli district