The name Maharashtra, denoting the western upland of the Deccan plateau.
Many dynasties from Hindu descends like Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Chalukyas and Yadavas makes major part of the historical past of the region.
The region was center of power domination between muslim rulers and a maratha warrior Shivaji.
Bombay became the center of settlement of the British Colonizers.
The Wada architectural style of housing and temple planning makes the heritage, culture, and traditions rich during the age of Marathas rulers.
Shaniwar Wada and Lal Mahal in Pune are exquisite combination of elements of Maratha architecture.
Some of the cherished fortresses in the state are Raigadi, Vijaydurgu, and Sinhagadi.
Empirical British made buildings on European architectural styles - Gothic, Victorian, Art-Decos, and Indo-Saracenic visible in Gateway of India and Shhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Maharashtra is known for its marvelously carved caves and rock cut architectures.
These cave and rock cut architecture are wider structures than the ones found in the rock cut areas of Egypt, Assyria, Persia and Greece.
The Buddhist monks used these caves and natural structures in search of serene and peaceful environment for meditation found on the hillsides.
The Great Architecture of Mumbai blends Gothic, Victorian, Art Deco, Indo-Saracenic & Contemporary architectural styles.
Many buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from the days of the British settlement era.
Mumbai, after Miami, has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world.
Traditional houses of Maharashtra are called 'Wadas'. With distinct features that hold great importance, the wadas stand amidst the high-rise buildings.
Several modern cities are lands of construction of high rise skyscrapers.
World renowned architect like Hafeez Contractor have given designer structure of concrete and bricks to add to the landscape of the city of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
Demographic Location
The State of Maharashtra is located in the Deccan Plateau of the sub continent.
The land is flanked by the magnificent Arabian Sea on the western banks thus forming the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats are marked with lofty hills, valleys and waterfalls amidst thick rain forest like jungles.
The marshy lands on the coastal areas stretch down south to much more green landscape that leads to the Konkan region.
Sea shores makes major harbors for commercial and military adventurous from the state of Maharashtra.
People, Rituals and Language
The native people of Maharashtra speak in Marathi language. Other populous language are English, Hindi and Gujarat.
There are several dialects developed from Marathi language :
Maharashtrian Konkani
Varhadi Marathi
Thanjavur Marathi
East Indian Marathi
Judeo-Marathi
Dangii
Marathi script is void of any real pronunciation thus making it more Phonetic (sound based)
Alphabet "I" is used in many actions and nouns in marathi language; Alphabet "Y" takes place of "I" in Varhadi Marathi language.
Native people of Maharashtra prefer to speak in Marathi which encourages other settlers to learn and speak in Marathi laguage.
Season and Climate
The climate of Maharashtra is marked with heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied with thick forest cover.
Climate of the state changes with the terrain. Even the Meteorological teams have identified 4 climatic sub division ".
Konkan
Madhya Maharashtra
Marathwada
Vidarbha
Summers are usually hot and humid with tropical and coastal wind type. Winters are chilly with the sea breeze and open land breeze making the air chilly.
The nights are showered with dew on the grasslands. the temperature is moderate due to proximity to the Arabian sea.
Increasing altitude decreases the temperature making the places on the hills much cooler. Mahabaleshwar is one such hill location.
Culture & Education
Maharashtra is famous for its attitude of "Forward Culture".
Traditionally men wear a dhoti, a long single garment wrapped around the waist and covers till the knees. Men wear cotton shirt (Kurta) with a cloth headgear (topi) and waistcoat.
Women prefer choli (blouse) on the top and a 9-arm lenght saree called 'nauwari saree'.
Women wear open sandals at home. However, modern generation prefer to wear comfortable and designer wear with vibrant color.
Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra. People of Maharashtra like to eat spicy and sweet food like Pav Bhaji and Srikhand.
The village folks of different regions of the state enjoy to celebrate with music and dances like Koli, Powada, Banjara Holi dance and Lavani dance.
Powada dance form of dance depicts achievements of Shivaji, the Maratha ruler.
Koli music and dance is seen amongst the fishermen community for sheer entertainment.
Lavani dancers showcase theme dance dominating romance, political events and social affairs. 'Lavani' is derived from the word "Lavanya" that means beauty.
The craftsmen and artisans of Maharashtra are famous for their precision and delicate work. The weavers make the finest fabrics from cotton and silk, Mashroo and Himroo.
Warli tribals people from the Thane region make wonderful paintings.
Literacy rate of Maharashtra is on a higher side. Education is given high importance in both urban and rural areas though the females rank lower than male in education.
Mumbai, Nagpur and Akola are education centers in Maharashtra.
Mumbai has Indian Institute of Technology making the city favorite spot for students and learners.
Maharashtra state has its own board of education spread throughout the deeper regions of the state.
Famous Spots
There are several places of religious and scenic importance.
Ajanta and Ellora caves in Aurangabad
Mahabaleshwar Hill Station
Lonawala on the Western Ghats
Panchgani Hill Station
Kamshet - Pavana Lake and Shinde Wadi Hills
Naneghat Hills, Kharghat Hills and Bramhagiri Hills
Tadoba National Park
Khandala in Sahyadri
There are several picturesque and scenic places that are still to be explored and deserve attention indeed.
Aqualife, Flora & Fauna
Maharashtra state has numerous forest reserves. Sanjay Gandhi National Park is home to 274 species of birds and 42 kinds of mammals and several plantation and dense tree cover.
Tadoba National Park is the oldest and the largest national park & tiger reserve in Maharashtra.
Jeep safari is popular in the Navegaon National Park, which is home to species like Mouse Deer, four horned Antelope, Indian Gaur, Sloth Bear, Tigers, and Leopards.
Melaghat Tiger Reserve is another natural habitat of tiger of sub continent in Maharashtra, which was the first nine tiger reserves under Project Tiger.
Numerous endangered species found in Rehekuri Blackbuck Sanctuary, is a deciduous shrub forest cover also home to blackbucks.
Radhanagari Sanctuary is a forest reserve where people love to walk on the pathways to enjoy the area's flora and fauna. This area is a breeding and nesting ground of Turtles.
Maharashtra is home to a large number of animals and bird species, including the tiger, Crocodile, Bison, Gawa, Neelgai, Wild Deer, Sambar and rare migratory birds.
Maharashtra State Tree is Amba.
In the highlands of Maharashtra, thorny savanna-like vegetation are found with less rainfall.
Subtropical vegetation is found on higher plateaus regions with heavy rain and milder temperatures. Bamboo, chestnut, and magnolia trees are common here.
The coastal belt has trees like the mango and the coconut and shrubs.
These forests have very high value because they yield teak, bamboo, myrobalan, with heavy annual rainfall. Thick evergreen deciduous forests cover 17% of the land of Maharashtra.
The headquarters of Maharashtra Forest Department is in Nagpur.
There are 11 territorial forest circles in Maharashtra -
More than 80% of Maharashtra is contains basalt rock. Maharashtra has a large stack of black soil formed from basalt rock.
Farmers in Maharashtra grow more of rice, jowar, bajara, wheat, tur, mung, urad, gram and other pulses.
The state is a major producer of oilseeds. Groundnut, sunflower, soybean are major oil seed crops. Important cash crops grown are cotton, sugarcane, turmeric and vegetables.
The talukas of Purandar, Haveli and Junnar are the more important centres of fruit cultivation.
Four pod vegetables are grown in Poona, namely, abai, bhendi, gavari and ghevada.
Lagerstroemia speciosa is the state tree which is native to tropical southern Asia. It is a deciduous tree with bright pink to light purple flowers.
The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel is the state animal of Maharashtra. It is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species that live in forests and woodlands of India.
Tandoori pomfret is popular in India's coastal regions of Maharashtra. Pomfret is typically known for its unique flavour and colour of the meat.
