Guide to loohgad, visaper fort bhaja caves, near lonawala

GUIDE TO LOHGAD, VISAPUR FORT, BHAJA CAVES WITH MAPS.......

Lohagad & Visapur Forts are 52 kms from Pune. Lohagad is at a height of 3450 feets and Visapur is at the height of 3550 feet....

The history of the place dates around 2000 to 2500 years back. At that time, Lohagad was one of the major forts of the Satwaahan dynasty. The fort owes its name to the sage Lomesh who was meditating on Lohagad. It was mainly built to keep Nana Maval , Andhra Maval and Korbaarse Maval in check. But after the collapse of the Bahamani kingdom , the fort Lohagad in Pune was captured by Nizamshahi in 1489. Thereafter, the fort passed into different hands. The seventh brother of the Nizam who ruled from1590 to 1594 was imprisoned here. In 1630, the fort was captured by Adilshah, and Shivaji Maharaj took it under his control in 1648. When Shivaji raided Surat all the wealth was brought to this fort under the supervision of Netaji Palkar. Shivaji used to keep a watch on Konkan and Bhor Ghat from these forts.



In the year 1665, the fort was successively attacked by Mirza Raja Jaysingh who invaded Purandhar and by Kutubuddin , who looted the villages surrounding the fort Lohagad in Pune. Shivaji Maharaj captured it again in 1670, Aurangzeb , in 1700 and Balaji Vishwanath in 1720. Bajirao II ruled the fort in 1802 until it went finally to the British hands under Colonel Prother in 1818.

Surprisingly, the fort is still intact till date. There are some inscriptions on the walls, which reveal vital information about its history. There are two go downs here. They are called the Narayan and the Hanuman Darwaaja . The Laxmi Kothi is the only place to rest in the fort. Besides, the tomb of Sheikh Umar , Vinchu Kata and the Ganesh Darwaaja are also worth visiting

There is village nearby to Lohagad from where are four doors to the fort they are 'Narayan Darwaja', 'Maha Darwaja', Ganesh Darwaja' and 'Hanuman Darwaja'. There are some ancient sculptures on the Maha Darwaja. Pawana dam can be viewed from this place.

Purandar, Sinhagad, Tung and Tikona can be viewed from Visapur. There is a 12 feet long Mortar on the fort







BHAJA CAVES

Located at a distance of 12 kms from the Lonavala Station , the Bhaja caves in Pune were built in 160 B.C. It should definitely be included in your scheduled Excursions near by Pune . The S.T. buses or a private car provides an easy transport to this place, as the journey is quite comfortable.

The entrance to the Bhaja caves in Pune leads you to the temple of the Goddess Ekvira . To the left of this temple is a lofty column, which supports three lions at its top. The caves were the dwelling place for the Buddhist monks. The architectural design of the caves was mainly based on woodwork. In fact, the caves depict the various stage of the life of the Buddha during the occupation of the caves by the Mahayana sect of the Buddhists.

This includes the lotus or elephant, which symbolizes his birth and the bodhi tree under which he attained salvation, better known as nirvana. Also, the wheel of law which he set in motion, a mound, better known as the stupa symbolizes his death and, a throne which symbolizes that he was once a prince, are fine creations of art that adorn the walls of the Bhaja caves in Pune.

The Great Chaitya or the cathedral is a magnificent piece of art. The other important features include columns or pillars, a vaulted roof and a majestic sun window. The roof reflects a close parallel to the Gothic architechture. There is also a funeral mound close by over which stands an umbrella. The umbrella is undoubtedly a symbol of royalty. There are a total of 18 Bhaja caves in Pune in Pune. The place looks beautiful because of the magnificence of the waterfalls situated close by.

Pictures:



Lohgad fort



 

vinchu kata

Ganesh Dwar

Story of Appreciation

Story of Appreciation




One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.



He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made

the last decision.



The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic

achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.



The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the

youth answered "none".



The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.



The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.



The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes

before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.



The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and

clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*



The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His

mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.



The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did

that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother

shivered when they were cleaned with water.



This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his

graduation, academic excellence and his future.



After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.



That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.



Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.



The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me

what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"



The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished

cleaning all the remaining clothes'



The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."



The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping

my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.



The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.

I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of

others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.



Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.



A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*



You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.