Manerajuri is a village in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is, with a population of 14,204 according to the 2011 Census, largely an agricultural village in Tasgaon taluka situated on the

Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...

-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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s, both of which are about distant from it.

History

The following legend is told about the establishment of the village. Mani and Malli were two

Daitya The daityas () are a race of asuras in Hindu mythology, descended from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran the earth, and required three of Vishnu's a ...

s, both of whom were the devotees of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. They had an enemy by name

Khandoba Khandoba (IAST: Khaṇḍobā), also known as Martanda Bhairava and Malhari, is a Hindu deity worshiped generally as a manifestation of Shiva mainly in the Deccan Plateau of India, especially in the state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. He ...

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. The villages of Manerajuri and Arag were granted to Anubai, the younger daughter of the first Peshva

Balaji Vishwanath Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1 January 1662 – 12 April 1720) was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Confederacy and other Mughal vassals during the early 18th centur ...

, who was married to Naravanrao Ghorpade (formerly Joshi), regarded as the son of

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Ghorpade (Santaji Mhaloji Ghorpade, ; 1660–1696) was a Maratha (caste), Maratha general and statesman who served as the 7th Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chattrapati Rajaram I. He is widely regarded as one of the ...

. 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 (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

, capsicum, groundnut, jowar and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

. Plantains and

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 ...

es 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

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

s weaving plain cloth and

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

s on hand looms.

Tasgaon Tasgaon () is a city in Maharashtra and Taluka 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 Ballal Peshwa in 1774 ...

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 approximately 8,0 ...

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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, a

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

. 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 different dialects in ...

, 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 people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

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 Medal, 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 ...

from government of India, for his bravery in war against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. 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 regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the VIIT,

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. Bidesh Kulkarni was the governor of Pondicherry.

Places of worship

It has

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s dedicated to Maruti,

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

, Mahadev and a

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

Shaikh Shaikh usually refers to: * Sheikh, as an alternate Romanization; a term for elders, tribal leaders, and royalty in Arabic-influenced cultures It may also refer to: Communities * Shaikhs in South Asia, a social and ethnic grouping in South Asia ...

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. 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

es,

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

s and

custard apple Custard apple is a common name for several fruits and may refer to Annonaceae, the custard apple family, which includes the following species referred to as custard apples: *''Annona cherimola'', a tree and fruit also called cherimoya *''Annona ...

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

Distances from Major Cities

References

{{reflist Villages in Sangli district