All too soon I had to turn off the highway and head towards busier, narrower streets leading to the charming little town of Panhala. We were informed of Jyotiba temple that falls on the way to Panhala and literally urged to go check it out, so we did – it was quite pink, literally. Just before you reach the temple, there’s a little stretch of hillside that’s just about accessible by car if the car you’re driving has any off-road credentials. Well, the GLA does, so off I went, kicking up some mud and manoeuvring around rocks. The GLA acquitted itself well with the dirt-track, and I had a blast goofing around, although the locals probably thought I was loco judging by the looks I got while I was at it. I was burning daylight, though, so I had to reluctantly get back on the road, finally reaching our destination: Panhala.
For those who aren’t familiar with Panhala, it’s 20-odd kilometres away from Kolhapur, and nestled in the foothills of the Sahyadri. It is also a town steeped in history, with the Panhala fort built over 800 years ago, in 1178. It has a bloody history, too, changing hands from the original founder, Emperor Bhoj of the Shilahar dynasty, after which the Devagiri Yadavs held it for a time, and then eventually came under the rule of Adil Shah I. In fact, the fort didn’t fall under the fiefdom of the legendary Maratha emperor, Chhatrapati Shivaji, until 1659. He lost it twice, too, and was even forced into a 50-day siege, and could only escape when a local barber who resembled him disguised himself as the famous emperor in order to distract Shah’s scion, Adil Shah II, and make good his getaway.
This lore has been immortalised by the statue of that brave barber, Shiva Kashid, at the entry-point to modern-day Panhala. Another historical landmark that we visited was the Parashar cave. A site that was supposedly the home of Maharishi Parashara, author of famed ancient Vedic Sanskrit written work, and was thought to have lived sometime between 3,100 and 1,500 BCE.
