Twitter
Advertisement

Walk into a 100-year-old village at Anand Melawa

Be prepared to turn back the clock by 100 years, as you walk into Ratnapuri village, near the foothills of the Sinhagad Fort, 25 km south west of Pune.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Be prepared to turn back the clock by 100 years, as you walk into Ratnapuri village, near the foothills of the Sinhagad Fort, 25 km south west of Pune.

At the entrance of the village you are greeted by the sound of the traditional Maharashtrian percussion instruments, the dhol and nagaras. This is your first feel of the Anand Melawa (festival of merriment) organised by the Sayajiraje Park, Akluj at
Ratnapuri village.

Anand Melawa, the brainchild of Jaisinha Mohite Patil and his daughter Swaruparani, gives you a feel of a typical rural village from the olden days.

After the traditional welcome, you are taken to the village temple and later to a ‘chavadi’, where important decisions were taken and disputes were resolved in the days gone by.

As you walk inside the village, you see potters, weavers, the village vaidya, goldsmith, carpenter, palmist, coppersmith and others busy with their work. You also meet the gondhali, one who performs the gondhal in praise of the goddess; vasudev and bharudi. These people have almost vanished from villages nowadays.

Women can be seen absorbed in household chores of that era such as thrashing the grain with a ‘musal’, weaving ghongdis, making bhakari and singing folk songs while working.
Visitors can also go shopping in the village and pick up items like ghongdi and utensils that are not available in the urban market
today.

It is an amazing experience to see how oil is extracted with the help of bullocks in a ‘ghana’ and how the villagers make jaggery. Visitors can also buy these products.

Ramleela and a play based on the life of Shivaji’s trusted general, Tanaji Malusure, after whom the Sinhagad Fort is named, are also worth watching.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement