Roshan Shahare's Page

Arher Nawargaon. (My mother's Place of Birth)-
A village situated on the plain that lies between Bramhapuri and the Wainganga in the Bramhapuri tahsil. It is two miles from Bramhapuri and about one mile from the river bank. Some 50 years ago the village was purchased by the present malguzar Daji Raghav for Rs. 2000 (Nagpur coin). The people have the reputation of being very well off. 'Even the Mahars are moneylendersis said of the village. The population in 1901 was 2231. The villagers belong chiefly to the Kunbi and Mahar castes and are nearly all tenants, and the malguzar is a Brahman. The chief crops are juari and broadcast rice. There is a small school with some fifty pupils on the roll.
Monday is the weekly bazar day. Potable water is obtained from wells. A fair is held in honour of Rama in Ramanavami day and on the occasion the chariot of Rama is taken in procession.


SANGADI (Place Where I completed Primary & Secondary Education)
Sangadi, with in 1971 a population of 3,857, is a large village in Sakoli tahsil lying about nine miles from Sakoli and 34 miles south-east of Bhandara. The village contains the ruins of an old fort erected by the Divan family of Seoni, which held the two zamindari estates of Gewardha in Chanda and Rajoli in Bhandara. The fort was called Sahangad or the fort of Sahan, the word meaning the court or small enclosure at the back of a house. It is said that the village was so named because it lay right at the extremity of the pargana to the south-east. An old gun lying imbedded in the sand by the fort is worshipped by the people It is reported that a hand of Pendhari marauders who were raiding the village were scared away by a charge from this gun, and that its report was so loud that the men who fired it had to jump into a shallow pool of water in order to escape being deafened. There is a belief prevalent that whenever this gun is moved the government of the country will be changed. A Bhonsle Raja tried to remove it by harnessing 16 pairs of bullocks but only succeeded in dragging it a little way. Sangadi was formerly the headquarters of the tahsil which comprised the three parganas of Sangadi, Pratapgad and Pauni. It was removed to Sakoli in 1867. Sangadi has four rice mills of which one is organised on co-operative basis. A large number of Koshtis reside here most of whom are engaged in the weaving of cloth and saris on hand-looms. While educational institutions include a high school, a middle school, a primary school and a balaka mandir, the medical institutions comprise an Allopathic and an Ayurvedic dispensary, a maternity home and a veterinary dispensary. There are a post office and a rest house. Sangadi has some old Hindu temples dedicated to deities like Vitthal, Mahadeva, Lakshmi-Narayan and Hanuman, and two baolis or wells with steps. There is an old mosque and an Idgah too. A weekly cattle market is held on Fridays. Household utility goods including grains are also sold at this market. Building of the Sangadi tank was taken up in 1963 and completed in 1968. It irrigates 500 acres of agricultural land. The village suffers from inadequacy of drinking water-supply.

History of Vidarbha
Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra was also conquered by the Vakatakas (250 AD-525 AD), who were then the rulers of the state. Art and religion developed and technology flourished, during this period. By the 6th century, Maharashtra came under the reign of the Chalukyas. Later, in 753, Rashtrakutas ruled the region. This empire spread over most of the Indian peninsular. Rashtrakutas were then defeated in 973 by the Chalukayas, who ruled parts of Maharashtra until 1189, when they lost to Yadavas of Deogiri.