Deolali
Devlali
देवळाली | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nickname: Deolali Camp | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Nashik |
| Elevation | 515 m (1,690 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 50,617 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Website | http://www.devlalicamp.com |
Devlali [d̪eːwɭaːli], or Deolali, is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district, Maharashtra. It has the residential Barnes School.
It is also a town with various health sanatoriums and temples, including the Muktidham temple at Nashik Road. The town is also famous for Buddhist caves, popularly known as Pandavleni Caves.[1] The town's neighboring village of Bhagur is famous for being the birthplace of nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a revolutionary leader and founder of Abhinav Bharat Society and the Free India Society. The golf course, inside the Deolali Cantonment, was one of the largest in India at the time of its development by the British.[2]
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[3] Devlali had a population of 50,617. Males constitute 55% of the population and females constitute 45%. Devlali has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83% and, female literacy is 70%. In Devlali, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Devlali now has a number of schools including three Kendriya Vidyalayas (CBSE Board), an Army School (CBSE Board), Barnes School (ICSE Board) and a few following the State board like St.Patrick Convent High School. Devlali railway station is very close to the cantonment where a large number of important trains halt. Located just 17 km from Nashik City soon there will be air connectivity as an Air Terminal has been constructed at Ozar airfield.
Nearby villages include Belatgavhan.
British Army
Deolali was a British Army camp 100 miles north-east of Mumbai (then called Bombay). It was the original location of the Army Staff College (now the Defence Services Staff College of India and the Command and Staff College of Pakistan).
It is also the source of the British slang noun doolally tap, loosely meaning "camp fever", and referring to the apparent madness of men waiting for ships back to Britain after finishing their tour of duty. By the 1940s this had been widely shortened to just "doolally", an adjective meaning "mad (insane)" or "eccentric". The town was the setting for the first four series of the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, set in 1945.
References
- ^ "Nashik district official site". Nashik.nic.in. 1948-01-30. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ "Nashik district Official Site - History". Nashik.nic.in. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.