Khidrapur!

It was a Saturday morning when I had just reached Kolhapur bus stand. I was tired and went out to sip tea. Next to the bus stand, I met Divekar Sahab (Sadanand Divekar), a rickshaw wala who dropped me to the guest house near Azad chowk. I had a brief conversation with Divekar Sahab regarding Khidrapur and he was astonished to see me asking about this tiny little place near the banks of river Krishna exactly near the Maharashtra- Karnataka border. I asked him if he could drop me at this place and he immediately agreed. He informed me that he would catch me up at my guesthouse at 11 am.

Divekar Sahab was very punctual and he gave me a call exactly at 11 am that morning. He informed me that he had visited this place 10 years ago with his wife and children. I thought that it would be a great re-visit for divekar sahab. We had brief conversations about each other's well being. Divekar Sahab went on to play a few songs from his MP3 player. I began to feel his enthusiasm for music. Somewhere in my mind, I started enjoying the trip amidst the hot and humid weather in Kolhapur.

       A view from Divekar sahab's Auto

The MP3 player had a collection of good old songs. Divekar Sahab was humming along Shailendra Singh's Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun and Kishore Kumar's Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay which lit my mood. It was the beginning of a beautiful journey. Passing through the sugarcane fields and banana plantations, I enjoyed the music and the serene beauty of the place. The birds chirping was a treat to watch. Divekar Sahab also explained to me about a few villages around, one of them was Sainik Takli or Takli Wadi. In this village, many families send one of their members to the Indian army. Finally, after a two-hour drive from Kolhapur, we reached Khidrapur.

        Passing through a sugarcane field

I was awestruck when i just saw this beautiful place. Khidrapur has a beautiful temple on the banks of river Krishna which is known as the Kopeshwar Mandir. It was built in the 12th century by a Shilahara king. The main deity in this temple is lord shiva or Shiv Ji as locals call it. This temple is very famous for its architecture and is accessible from nearby towns and cities like Sangli, Inchalkaranji and Kolhapur.

         The main entrance of the temple

      Swarga Mantap, Kopeshwar Temple

The important part of this temple is the Swarga Mantap, which consists of a circular opening to bring sunlight into the temple. It is surrounded by beautiful stone carvings which a camera cannot do justice.

                  Entrance to the temple

           A view of Kopeshwar Temple

                        Carved Pillars

                  Walls full of Carvings

After a great visual experience, we agreed to return to Kolhapur before Sunset. It took two long hours to reach Kolhapur. Divekar Sahab started to miss me when we're about to part. I promised him that I would come again to Kolhapur. I was happy to see a smile on his face and I waved goodbye.

Credits: I should give credits to Siddhartha Joshi (The Wanderer) whom I was inspired by his skilful explanation through a Youtube video and his blog about this place.