AHMEDNAGAR

 

Ahmednagar

नमस्कार Rotaractors! We, the team ‘Mahabloggers’ from Rotaract district 3131, Pune, India, welcome you aboard on this virtual tour, ‘ महाराष्ट्राची चंदेरी दुनिया’ around our glorious and magnificent state of Maharastra with 36 spectacular and eminent districts, each rich with its distinct culture, heritage, and history, yet rooted to the illustrious spirit of valor of this state, which is the जन्मभूमी of innumerous brave and historically significant personalities. So, fasten your seat belts as we take you around the resplendent districts of Maharashtra. Our third destination for this tour is Ahmednagar.

Introduction of Ahmednagar:-

Ahmednagar district is the largest district in Maharashtra. The historical Ahmednagar city serves as the headquarters for the district. This district is known for the towns of Shirdi associated with Sai Baba, Meherabad associated with Meher Baba, Shani Shinganapur with Shani Dev, and Devgad with Lord Dattatreya. Ahmednagar district is part of the Nashik Division. The ancient name of Ahmednagar was Ashmaka. The present name was derived from the name of Malik Ahmed, the founder of the Nizamshahi dynasty. The main language spoken is Marathi. A small ratio of people speaks some other languages like Hindi, Urdu, etc.

Culture and Tradition of Ahmednagar:-

Ahmednagar is home to people of diverse religions and the city’s cuisine mirrors this diversity. Diwali, Holi, EID, and even Christmas are celebrated with immense fervor. But the most popular festival here is Ganesh Chaturthi. Every year people of Ahmednagar wait for the Ganesh festival with bated breath. The early history of Ahmednagar starts from 240B.C. when the vicinity is mentioned in the reference to the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. The place had been ruled by many dynasties like the Chalukyas, the Andhrabrityas, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Deogiri Yadavs. After that in 1294, the Muslim rulers started to rule over here until 1759. Then in 1759 the Marathas came to power and ruled until 1817. And then the British rule started in the region. And during various reigns, the region has seen a lot of development. In 1759, the Peshwa of the Marathas obtained possession of the place from Nizam of Hyderabad and in 1795 it was ceded by the Peshwa to the Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia. Ahmednagar was besieged by a British force under Richard Wellesley and captured. It was afterward restored to the Marathas, but again came into the possession of the British in 1817, according to the terms of the Treaty of Poona, and was known as Ahmednuggur.

Tourism in Ahmednagar:-

• Ahmednagar Fort- One of the major attractions in Ahmednagar is the Ahmednagar Fort.The founder of the city of Ahmednagar, Ahmed Nizam Shah, built the Ahmednagar Fort sometime during the 15th and 16th Century. The fort has tall walls, 18 m high, which are supported by 22 bastions. It has 24 citadels, 30 m wide. It served as a prison to accommodate captured enemy soldiers. It was also used to imprison several leaders of the Indian National Congress during the Quit India Movement. The famous book authored by Jawaharlal Nehru — The Discovery of India — was written here. The Ahmednagar Fort underwent plenty of renovations under the Nizami King’s reign during the period of 1559 to 1562. It is presently under the maintenance of the Military Command of India.

• Temples-

1. Siddhatek Siddhivinayak, is a temple of God ganesh, which is one of the Ashtavinayaka dham of Maharashtra.

2. Shirdi also known as Sainagar is a city located here.Shirdi is famously known as the home of the late 19th century saint Shri Sai Baba. The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust located in Shirdi is one of the richest temple organisations.

3. Shree Kshetra Korthan Khandoba Devasthan is a temple situated at the height of 951 meters on the hills of Pimpalgaon Rotha, which is located 50 km from the city of Ahmednagar and 30 km from the city of Parner.

4. Shri Munjaba Temple, Ukkadgaon- In Shrigonda Taluka about 60 km from Ahmednagar main city it is very beautiful Temple with four big statue of ganapati, mahadev (shankar), vishnu and hanuman on Temple and thousands of devotees visit this place.

5. Avhane is a village of Shevgaon Taluka of Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Ahmednagar and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Aurangabad. Avhane Budruk is famous for the temple of “Nidrista Ganapati”, the Ganapati in the sleeping pose.

• The Cavalry Tank Museum is located in the vicinity of the Armoured Corps Centre and School in the city of Ahmednagar. This museum is the first of its kind in Asia. The Tank Museum is home to an enormous collection of tanks used by various rulers over the ages. It houses armoured cars and light tanks — close to about 40 of them from different nationalities like Pakistan, Germany and Japan.

• Salabat Khan’s Tomb- The Salabat Khan’s Tomb is a much sought after destination in Ahmednagar. Located at an altitude of 900 m above sea level on the top of a hill named Shah Dongar, the Tomb of Salabat Khan is popularly known as Chand Bibi’s Mahal. The dome of the tomb is magnificent and huge, and can be espied distinctly from a great distance. It is surrounded by a three-storeyed verandah. The tomb itself is constructed in an octagonal shape. It houses the remains of Salabat Khan, his two wives and sons buried near the tomb.

• Anand Dham- Anand Dham was built in the loving memory of Shri Anand Rishiji Maharaj who passed away in 1992.Shri Anand Maharaj set up a host of educational and religious institutions in the city of Ahmednagar with the purpose of uplifting the society. He was also a prolific writer and wrote for many Marathi and Hindi magazines.

• Shingnapur- A village containing a Shani (planet Saturn) temple and where all the houses are doorless — probably the only village in the world where locks are unnecessary.

FOOD OF AHEMADNAGAR:-

Chapati, Bhakri and Bhaji along with rice and dal/amti are pretty much the basic staple of most Ahmednagar people. Among Bhajis, all traditional Maharashtrian Bhajis like Batata ani flower cha Rassa, Batata chi Bhaji, Vaangi Chi Bhaji, chavalichi Bhaji, Bhindi chi Bhaji etc are cooked almost everyday in Ahmednagar households. The various non-veg cuisines include Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Chicken masala, kabab and many other non-veg dishes. All the popular Maharashtrian foods like Vdad Pav, Batata Bhaji, Kanda Bhaji, and Misal Pav are sold here by street vendors. However one can rarely find pani puri and bhel puri stall here. Kanda Poha and Upama are widely cooked breakfast items. Puran Poli and Sheera are popular sweet dishes here. Modak, basically cooked during Ganesh Chaturthi is also very famous here. Other sweet dishes like shrikhand and Gajar ka halwa.

This was all about the beautiful district of Ahmednagar from our side. If you hail from Ahmednagar and found this blog great, then please do let us know in our comment section below and share this with your other Ahmednagaris. Also let us know if we have missed out on any amazing spot from Ahmednagar. Like, share and do comment on our blogs so that they reach maximum rotaractors who wish to travel and know more about our Maharashtra.

Follow our amazing district’s ERYLA page for regular updates of ERYLA and do participate in our 3 days long ERYLA for 2020, full of enthralling and engaging activities with a great and insightful speaker line-up to make it like never before. Stay tuned to this space to take a virtual trip to the next amazing district of Maharashtra.