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Karwar
Karwar
city
Map
Population
 (2001)
 • Total62,973

Karwar ( Kannada: ಕಾರವಾರ, Devanagari: कारवार) is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is a seaside town situated on the banks of the Kali river which is on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka-Goa border and 519 km north-west of Bangalore. 'Karwar' also refers to the encompassing Taluk which includes the surrounding villages.

Etymology

The name 'Karwar' is a misnomer. It is derived from a nearby village called Kadwad (the British, probably, had trouble pronouncing "d" and replaced it with "r"). The present Karwar town is entirely a new settlement. Karwar used to be written as "Carwar" earlier.[1]

History

The British made this place their district headquarters in 1862. Karwar was an ancient site of sea trade visited by the Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese, French and later the British. Ibn Battuta passed through this route during one or more of his journeys.

Significant and picturesque, the Sadashivgad fort of historical importance is now a popular tourist destination located by the Kali river bridge, which has been built at the confluence of the river and the Arabian Sea.

Renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated an entire chapter of his memoirs to this town.[2] The 22 year old Rabindranath Tagore stayed with his second brother, Satyendranath Tagore, who was the district judge in Karwar.

Karwar was a part of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, it became a part of the British territory. It was a part of the Bombay Presidency until 1950.

Karwar since the records of 1862, the time from which it fell under Bombay Presidency, was described as the first rate harbour between Bombay & Colombo.

Geography

Coconut palms on the beach, Karwar

Karwar is located at 14°48′N 74°08′E / 14.8°N 74.13°E / 14.8; 74.13[3]. It has an average elevation of 45 metres (147 ft). The town is sandwiched between the sea on one side and the Western Ghats on the other. It is rich in flora and fauna.

Kali river (Kalinadi) is a west flowing river which takes its birth at a height of 600 m in the Western Ghats of Bidi Village. Kali River which is a prime source of irrigation in Karnataka has a total length of 153 km. The Kali River flows through Karwar town and finally merges into the Arabian Sea.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census[4], Karwar had a population of 62,960. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Karwar has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 75%. In Karwar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Majority of the local population is Hindu. The prominent castes and subcastes include Konkan Maratha, [[Kshatriya Komarpanth]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kshatriya_Komarpant], Vaishyavani, Bhandari, Konkan Kharvi, Harikantra, Halakki Vokkaliga, Gouli, Kunbi, Padthi, Ram Kashtriya, Daivajna Brahmin, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin and Havyak Brahmin .In 17th Century ,Due to the forceful conversion of Portuguese 20% of goan had to migrate to karwar

Halakki Vokkaligas living in the foot of Western Ghats are known as the "Aboriginals of Uttara Kannada". They have an administrative system of their own and the headman is called "Gouda". Their way of living is still ancient; the women adorn themselves with beads and necklaces, heavy nose rings and distinct attire. Goulis are a nomadic tribes who migrated to Karwar from Maharashtra. They are mainly cow and goat rearers. They stay on the fringes of forest. Some have taken up agriculture. Kunabis are said to be the most backward of the tribals of Uttara Kannada District. They live in small groups deep inside forests in bamboo huts built in a row sharing common walls. Not having access to the medical facilities due to seclusion, mortality rate among them is very high.

Partly due to the presence of the British, who had a major presence in this town and by virtue of being next to the then Portuguese-controlled Goa state, Christianity has been in existence here since the 18th Century, a majority of the Christians here being converts who fled the Portuguese Inquisition, which demanded complete severance from the native rituals practiced by the converts.

Muslims, mainly forming a part of the trading community, came down from the Deccan (Bahamani) kingdoms to Karwar, and are known to be sea-farers. It is due to the Muslim influence that the Karwar port is known as "Baithkol" meaning the House of Safety, or Place of Safety ("Bait-e-kol" in Arabic).

Language

Konkani, Kannada and Marathi are the three most widely spoken languages in Karwar. Hindi and English are also used in social communication.

Famous Personalities

File:Major RR Rane.jpg
Major Rane

Industry

Karwar is rich in flora and fauna

A major industry in Karwar is fisheries.

Though the District is located in coastal area, it is not so famous for its marine products. But activities connected with Fisheries are carried out on large scales by the fishermen communities like Harikanth, Konkan Kharvis, Gabiths, Ambigas. The major population lives in rural area undertaking agriculture as their main occupation.

The main traditional occupations are Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Sericulture, Horticulture, Beekeeping and Leather Works etc.

Solaris Chemtech (erstwhile BILT - Ballarpur Industries Ltd.) at Binaga manufactures Caustic Soda, Chlorine, Hydrochloric acid and Phosphoric Acid. NPC's nuclear power plant at Kaiga is around 50 kilometres away from Karwar town.

Karwar is situated on the Konkan Railway route. The railway station is located at Shirwad, 6 km away from Karwar town.

As of late there are rumors that a major part of Karwar including the beach may be used by the government for naval purposes.

Project Seabird

A bay near Binaga has a new naval base for the Indian Navy called INS Kadamba, as part of Project Seabird. Thus, its beautiful beaches like the Casurina Beach (at Binaga) - now christened as Kamat Bay by the navy - and the Arga Beach are now transformed with shore infrastructure built by the Indian Navy and are out of bounds for the common man. However, the navy opens its portals for one and all during the Navy Week in December and for educational institutions and groups visiting the base.

Karwar Port

Karwar port is located in Baithkol area of the Karwar town. Karwar port is one of the main port of Karnataka serving to the hinterland of Northern Parts of Karnataka, Goa & Southern parts of Maharastra, with a total length of 355 meters quay has two berths with a draft capacity of 9.25 meters each for berthing of Deep Ocean Going Ships. It is maintained & operated by Government of Karnataka with all matching facilities. The Government of Karnataka has proposal to develop Karwar port on Public Private Partnership (PPP) bases for 6 additional berths, develop a container port terminal, & a rail link has also been proposed from Karwar port to Shirwad railway station for transport of cargo by railway wagons. The port has been declared by Government of India for handling all types of commodities incluing "B" & "C" class of petroluem products.

At present magenese ore is the prime cargo handled by the port. The cargo lorries plying on the National Highway-17, to the port play havoc during arrival of ships to discharging cargo & dumping of cargo in & around the port area leads to regular protest & agitation by local residents & NGOs, The locals argue that the authorities are not taking enough measures for safe movoement of vehicles & dumping of cargo in & around the port area leads to pollution of the area & hazardous for the human habitation. Karwar Port also have arrangements for berthing of coastal vessel. A fishing jetty is attached to the port which is used to berth fishing boats. Karwar port plays a major role in the Sea trade, fishing & maritime services of the nation.

Oyster Rock Light House

The Oyster Rock lighthouse is approachable by a machine boat to be taken from Karwar port. The RT station at Karwar provides logistic support to the Oyster Rock Lighthouse. Which is situated on NH-17 near Custom Quarters Kajubag. The general public are not allowed to visit OYSTER ROCK LIGHT HOUSE. A prior permission from authorities is required to visit Oyster Rocks Ligh House because it is very close to the defence project INS KADAMBA.

Oyster Rocks are the group of islands and rocks- Devad gudda is the main summit on which the Lighthouse is situated. The hill has very good forest growth around lighthouse. The landing at Devad gudda island (Oyster Rock) is on the eastern side. The European Light House expert D. Alan Stevenson during his visit to the station in January 1927 described it as over staffed station.

The existing Lighthouse was built during 1860’s. The top of Tower ends in a dome through which there is entrance into lantern room. The first order optical equipment with four wick burners supplied by M/s. Chance Bros., Birmingham was installed and light was commissioned into service on 25 March 1864.The cupola of the Lighthouse lantern was painted white instead of orange or red for making the day mark more conspicuous. The first order optical equipment was removed and replaced by 2nd order optical equipment and 55 mm PV burner in the year 1933. The storm signal mast at Oyster Rock was shifted to Karwar port premises for logistic reasons

Under the modernization programme the PV light source was replaced by 230V 250W Metal halide lamp along with invertors, Batteries charged by SPV modules. The system was commissioned on 30 November 1999 and the light source was changed to 230 V, 3 X 70 W MH cluster lamps .

Tourism

Karwar Evening
Bridge on River Kali, Karwar
Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka

Prominent places of tourist interest in Karwar are:

  • Karwar Beach (Rabindranath Tagore Beach)
  • Devbagh Beach
  • Kurumgad Island
  • Kodasall
  • Binaga Beach
  • Tilmatti Beach
  • Majali Beach
  • Guddahalli Peak
  • Hyder Ghat Pass
  • Shirve Ghat
  • Devkar Falls
  • Anshi National Park
  • Durga Devi Temple
  • Naganath Temple
  • Shahkaramuddin Dargah, Sadashivgad (Tomb of a Sufi Saint)
  • Chaitanya Park
  • Jamba
  • Sadashivgad Maratha Fort
  • High Church
  • Maruti Temple
  • Kali Bridge
  • Chendia Falls - Nagarmadi Falls (a small waterfall which passes under a huge rock)
  • Habbu Mountain (opp. Venkateshwara Gas Agencies)
  • Shri Kshetra Gurumath, Baad
  • SHRI AYYAPPA TEMPLE, KEB Road

Karwar Resort

Karwar Cuisine

Kurle Ambat

Karwar is famous for the variety of seafood delicacies. Fish curry and rice is the staple diet of Karwaris themselves.

  • Kurle Ambat - Crab prepared in coconut, red chillies and tamarind paste.
  • Bangada Fry - Mackerel fried in masala and Semolina.
  • Gujjo - vegetable dish made of capsicum, carrot, cucumber and eggplant fried in batter.
  • Kalwa Sukka
  • Tisaryachi Ekshipi - Clams with one shell on.
  • Masli Kadi - Fish cooked in coconut gravy.
  • Miri Phanas Chi Bhaji - A type of Vegetable which closely resembles a raw jackfruit. It is cooked with scrapped coconut, spices & shellfish or shrimps can be added optionally.
  • Shagoti - Chicken or Meat cooked in coconut gravy & shagoti masala (spices).
  • Sukhe Masli - Dry & salted fish like Bangada (Mackerel), Bombil (Bombay Duck), Tarle (Sardines), Tisare (shelfish) etc.
  • Paez - Ukhde Tandul (Par Boiled Rice) cooked in water and salt and can be eaten with Ambat or masli Kadi

Karwar Taluk

Karwar Taluk/Tehsil comprises the following blocks/villages: Kathinkon, Kinner, Siddar, Halga, Ulga, Asnoti, Bhaire, Balni, Kharga, Kadra, Hankon, Baad, Kolage, Majali, Hosali, Bhaire, Gopashitta, Sunkeri, Amdalli, Arga, Chendia, Kerwadi, Karkal, Gotegali, Hotegali, Bore, Mallapur, WailBalni, Upper Makeri, Lower Makeri, Hapkarni, Kunnipet, Sanmudageri, Mudageri, Kaiga, Harwada, Hosalli, Devabag, Hotegali, Thoralebag,Sadashivgad, Angadi, Birtulbag, Hankon, Ambrai, Shejebag, Halebag, Sakalbalni, Kodibag, Nandangadda, Kajubag, Baitkol, Binaga, Nargeri (area around the Konkan Railway Station), Shejwad, Kadwad.

Festivals

Ganesha Chaturthi Festival is one of the major festival season of Karwar. It is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. Two to three months prior to Ganesh Chaturthi, life-like clay models of Lord Ganesha are made for sale by specially skilled artisans. They are beautifully decorated & depict Lord Ganesh in various poses. The size of these statues may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet.Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of these Ganesh statues in colorfully decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures mantapas (pandals) in every locality. The pandals are erected by the people or a specific society or locality or group by collecting monetary contributions. The mantapas are decorated specially for the festival, either by using decorative items like flower garlands, lights, etc or are theme based decorations, which depict religious themes or current events. The statues are worshiped with families and friends.

Diwali is also celeberated by Karwarians with lot of spirit. Diwali is celebrated as return of Rama, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after 14 years exile, and a war in which he killed Ravana. It is also called the Festival of Lights. All homes, shops, establishments & offices are decorated & special arrangements are made at night for lighting.

Muslims community of Karwar celeberates Id-ul-Fitar (Ramdan Id) on the completion of Ramdan month & Id-ul-Adha (Bakri-Id) in the rememberance of Prophet Abraham's sacrifice of his son Prohphet Ismail to the will of Almighty Allah & completion of Haj rituals at Mecca.

Christan community of Karwar celeberates Chritmas Day on 25 th December being birthday of Jesus Christ.

Every year, a festival called the "Karavali Utsav" is held on the Rabindranath Tagore Beach, lasting 3 to 4 days.It is organised by Uttar Kannada District Administration as a cultural-social festival of district level. Many shops & stalls are installed at the Tagore Beach Karwar, people from all parts of district & all over the state & Neighbouring Goa state participate in the festival. Many cultural events are held at evening time in which artist of Regional, National & internatioal level present their shows, they include Bollywod stars, Kannada Film stars, Goan artists & local artists.

Quote

"The sea beach of Karwar is certainly a fit place in which to realise that the beauty of Nature is not a mirage of the imagination, but reflects the joy of the Infinite and thus draws us to lose ourselves in it. Where the universe is expressing itself in the magic of its laws it may not be strange if we miss its infinitude; but where the heart gets into immediate touch with immensity in the beauty of the meanest of things, is any room left for argument?" - Rabindranath Tagore[2]

Rail Connectivity

Karwar Railway Station

Karwar is well connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Cochin and other important places through the Konkan Railway.The three railway stations falling under Karwar Taluka on Konkan Railway route are Asnoti, Karwar(Shirwad) & Harwada.

From other cities in India


News and Media

  • 1. "Karavali Munjav" is a Kannada daily published from Karwar. Which is the most popular local daily in the masses of Uttar Kannada district."Karavali Munjav" has circulations in all parts & corners of the district.
  • 2. Karwar eNews (http://www.karwarenews.com) is the major online local newspaper in the region.
  • 3. Karwar also have a District Press / Media Center (Zilla Varta Kendra) near DC Office, NH-17.
  • 4. There is a Government District Library Near District Court next to Mitra Samaj which attracts people from all ages & groups. Which is a favourite spot for reading in the city. which has a public reading room & collection of books on various subjects.

Schools in Karwar

Colleges in Karwar

See also

Karwar (KAWR)
Next 'Small' station towards Mumbai:
Asnoti 		Konkan Railway : Railway (India) Next 'Small' station from Mumbai:
Harwada
Distance from Mumbai(CST) = 0816 KM
Next 'Main' station towards Mumbai:
Madgaon 		Konkan Railway : Railway (India) Next 'Main' station from Mumbai:
Bhatkal

Others

References

  1. ^ History Of Gingee And Its Rulers
  2. ^ a b Karwar in Tagore's memoirs
  3. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Karwar
  4. ^ Template:GR
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