Saitavde, or Saitawada, is a small village on the Jaigad creek in

Ratnagiri district Ratnagiri district (Marathi pronunciation: �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The administrative headquarter of the district is located in the town of Ratnagiri. The district is 11.34% urban. The district ...

. It is about 390 km southwest of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and about 58 km to the north of Ratnagiri city.

Geography

Saitavda is located at . The entire northern part of the village overlooks the Shastri River, while the southern portion is surrounded by hills; therefore, giving it a scenic valley-look.

History

Although the exact history of Saitavda is not known, the earliest mention is found in the Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency printed in 1880. In the report Saitavda is termed as a "petty division of Ratnagiri" during the Land Surveys conducted in 1827, 1853 and 1867–68.

Demographics

Saitavda is spread over 5.44 km². The total population is around 3067, with about 692 households. It is divided into: Borsai Mohalla, Khatib Mohalla, Gumbad Mohalla, Peth Mohalla, Shirkewadi, Boudhwadi and Chinchbandar. * Language: Kokani,

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

* Food: Staple diet consists of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

* STD code: 02357 * PIN code: 415613

Climate

The climate is

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

with 3 main seasons: * Summers (March to May) are hot with maximum temperature nearly touching 38 °C. * Monsoons (June to September) are accompanied by regular rainfalls and looks attractive during this season. * Winters (December to February) are pleasant with moderate day temperature and cool nights (15 °C). Saitavda receives an annual rainfall of 3500 mm approx. Overall, the climate was healthy and pure since there were no industries/factories nearby. But with JSW coal fired powr generation plant Chowgule port JSW port slowly pollution has started taking place.

Agriculture

The terrain is very hilly, providing little scope for agriculture. Nevertheless, it is densely shaded by

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

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

nut,

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

and various other trees. Being in the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

region, Saitavda is home to the world-famous Alphonso (Hapoos) mango. Another equally delicious variety that can be found here is the Payri mango. It is the second largest commercial variety of mango in the Konkan region, and can sometimes be more expensive than the Hapoos.

Festivals

As the population is predominantly

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, the two main festivals celebrated here are

Eid al Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the en ...

and

Eid al Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to th ...

. Other festivals like

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

Ganapati Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hi ...

, etc. are celebrated amongst the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Getting there

* By Train: Regular, daily express trains between Mumbai and Ratnagiri are operated by Konkan Railways. From Ratnagiri station, take one of the many private vehicles (popularly known as trax or seaters) that ply between Ratnagiri and Saitavda. * By Bus: State-owned and private buses operate regular services from Mumbai to Ratnagiri. From Ratnagiri, take one of the many private vehicles (popularly known as trax or seaters) that ply between Ratnagiri and Saitavda.

References

* http://maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/RATNAGIRI/places_Saitavade.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20090410104719/http://ratnagiri.nic.in/Gazetter/BombayPresidency/ratnagiri/land1_surveys27.html#1 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090410104746/http://ratnagiri.nic.in/Gazetter/BombayPresidency/ratnagiri/land1_surveys51.html#1 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090410103148/http://ratnagiri.nic.in/Gazetter/GOM/directory23.html * http://ddws.nic.in/

External links

Payari mangoes
{dead link, date=May 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Villages in Ratnagiri district