SHIRGAON# & SATPATI#

On Sunday 22nd October, 2018 we took the Surat train from Borivali in the morning at about 7.10 am and reached Palghar at about 8.30 am. We were planning to see the Shirgaon beach and fort , Mahim beach and other places in Shirgaon.

After reaching Palghar, we decided to take an auto to Shirgaon beach, it is about 7 kms from Palghar and takes about 15-20 minutes to reach the beach. We reached Shirgaon beach at about 9 am. The beach was good, there was no crowd. It was low tide when we reached there and therefore lot of garbage was left by the sea, when the water pulled itself inside the Arabian sea. However, we managed to spend some time on the part of the beach which was quite clean.

How the reach Shirgaon from Mumbai

By Road

From Mumbai, Palghar is about 108 kms, by NH8. It takes about 2 1/2 hrs. to reach Palghar. From Palghar Shirgaon is 7 kms.

By Local Transport

You can take a Dahanu or Palghar train from Dadar or Borivali or Dahanu shuttles from Virar. Going to Virar and taking Dahanu shuttles is better option as the frequency is good.

You can also take a bus from Dadar which will take about 3.15 hrs to reach Palghar. From Palghar one can take a Bus or can take an auto to reach Shirgaon.

Shirgaon Fort

Shirgaon Beach

When we reached Shirgaon beach it was about 9 am. Shirgaon beach is quite big and has lots of Suruchi trees ( Casurina trees) near the beach. Suruchi trees help in saving the shore from high tides during monsoon and also help in controlling the speed of gusty winds reaching the shores. Suruchi trees are commonly used as bio-shields, and prevent beach erosion.

Shirgaon Beach

One can see that it was low tide during our visit.

Both Rasika and Me at Shirgoan beach. One can see a small trawler in the background.

Way to Shirgoan Fort from Shirgaon Beach

On our way from Shirgaon beach to Shirgaon fort ( it is just 1/2 km), we could see lot of greenery and we also saw lot of horses which were left loose to roam about on the green vacant land . This was something both Rasika and me had never seen before. Most of the horses were a beauty. A sight which we will never forget.

Rasika with two of the beauties(horses) behind her.

Shirgoan Fort

Shirgaon fort is located at one side of Shirgaon beach in Palghar taluka. The fort was used by great Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji as a place to keep a watch on enemies coming through Arabian Sea. The ancient fort is in ruins now. The Portuguese had dominance over this fort before Marathas.In 1818,the British captured this fort from the Marathas. The fort stands about 200 feet tall and spans more than 150 feet. The Portuguese renovated this fort and increased its area while keeping the original brick and red stone construction intact. The five feet cannon on the northwest of citadel marks the history of the battles that took place over here. The picturesque environs of the fort and cleanliness attract many historians apart from the regular tourists. The most exciting bit is the palm tree with six to seven branches, a rarity. Shirgaon fort is well fortified and the walls are in good condition. There are many hidden caves in the walls of the fort.

The window is supposed to keep a vigil on the enemy ships and launch attacks during war.

The five feet canon which marks the history of all battles

Rasika caught the rays of the Sun falling on the fort.

Satpati Village

We wanted to go to Mahim beach, but dropped the idea as it would be too hot on the beach and decided to visit Satpati village instead. Satpati (मराठी - सातपाटी) is a fishing village, it is about 3 kms from Shirgaon . The main occupation in Satpati is fishing , with large exports abroad. The majority of the population in the village are from the Koli community. Satpati village is a very rich village. It has a big fish cold storage factory for storing the fishes for exports abroad.

What we saw in Satpati will amuse you, the older men generally wear the traditional dress with T-shirt but are loaded with gold jewellery on their bodies. Loaded with gold jewellery i.e. ear rings, gold chains gold kadas they walk on the road and in the market. At least I have not come across any village in India where people display so much of gold jewellery while doing their day to day activity.

There is a Ram Mandir at the entrance of the village and after offering prayers there , we decided to take some rest and have something to eat. There was a small fish market near the village entrance , while I was resting, Rasika could not resist the temptation of going to the fish market to buy fish. Satpati is famous for bombils but she purchased some pomfrets I believe. My friend Rasika never misses the opportunity to buy fish whenever she can....she loves fish...yes a Pescatarian. After sometime we got a transport from the village to Palghar station.

The Shirgaon fort reminds you of how important it was in those days to keep a watch on the enemies coming from the sea route. The fort is a witness to the many battles fought by Indians with foreign invaders during those days. It also highlights the role of Shivaji Maharaj, who knew that unless we strengthen our naval bases, monitor the enemies movements from the forts, it would be difficult to prevent their attacks.

I would only like to say to people reading this blog that you should visit Shirgoan not only to see the fort but to see Satpati village of the Koli community. The village has more gold than what you saw in the movie Mackenna's Gold. I wonder whether Gregory Peck would have accepted the role if the movie was to be shot in Satpati wearing the traditional Koli attire......with gold jewellery .......jokes apart, one should visit the village ( believe me it does not smell of fish....but ....of gold.....and you will love it ), it is a modern village with good amenities and the kolis are quite educated.  The big  cold storage factory for storing the fishes for exports abroad is itself worth a visit.

This must be  the only Indian village or one of the few Indian villages which directly exports it's produces abroad!!!

Please provide your comments under leave a reply box . If you like the blog, please press the like button and subscribe. Also share the blog on facebook, whatsapp with your family and friends. For any queries or information regarding this blog you can reach me at sadhana8000@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GLORIOUS PAST OF #MUMBAI -AAREY# COLONY

Image
                    I believe all Mumbaikars are aware of Aarey Colony. Non-Mumbaikars may not have heard about the place except recently about 4-5 years back when it was continuously in the news, as residents and citizens of Mumbai fought together to save Aarey forest against all odds.  Aarey forests are known as the ‘lungs’ of Mumbai.  Aarey is known for its lush greenery, with tall trees, grasslands and rocky hills. Hence, cutting down these trees in Aarey only means depriving Mumbai of a vital organ that has been shielding it from increasing air pollution.  SGNP and Aarey are the only green cover in Mumbai shielding Mumbaikars from the wrath of pollution. Aarey Milk Colony came up in 1949 and the milk production started in 1951, by the Govt. Of India. Aarey was the only brand in Mumbai and Maharashtra. During 70’s School kids were often taken by their schools to visit Aarey milk colony to see how the milk was pasteuris...
Read more
Image
  GLORIOUS PAST OF #MUMBAI-#GILBERT HILL I had read about Gilbert Hill and was longing to visit the place specially after coming to know that the hill was  66 million years old   and only 3 monoliths from that era existed in the whole world and one of them was in Mumbai . But I did not know how to go there. Although Gilbert hill is not very far from my place but the exact location of Gilbert Hill was not known to me. I had never heard about anyone visiting the place. I inquired from people who stayed at Andheri and many of them had not been to Gilbert Hill nor knew how to go there. On 3rd December, 2017 ( Sunday)we decided to go and visit Gilbert Hill (GH). We ( Rasika & me) took the train early in the morning and reached Andheri Station at 7.30 am . We got down at Andheri East and started walking towards S. V. Road. We crossed the S. V. Road. On S.V. Road you have to turn right towards Allahabad Bank and thereafter you have to walk straight. It is about 15-20 min wal...
Read more
Image
 We wanted to go to Kalmandvi waterfall for the last 7-8 yrs, right from the time I heard that it was a perennial waterfall. When, we visited Jawhar in 2018 during monsoons, to see Dhabosa falls along with other places, I did not include Kalmandavi falls as I thought that we can always see these falls in any season. Our Jawhar trip in 2018 was quite adventurous, but somehow I have missed writing a blog on the same. Last year, we tried to visit Kalmandvi, however, we could not get proper transport on time and visited Vasai Fort instead. This time too, it was going to get cancelled, my mobile phone conked off on Thursday night ( i.e 27th Feb) and I was under a lot of tension. Luckily my mobile phone got repaired at 4 pm on Friday, as it required installing a new battery. I really had a sigh of relief. But, I was told not to charge the phone and let the battery drain out till it reached 10%-15% and then charge it. For that I had to stay awake in the night till 2.30 am. Next day , we h...
Read more