Farmers at work... Binaga Karwar

"There seem to be but three ways for a nation to acquire wealth.
The first is by war, as the Romans did, in plundering their conquered neighbors. This is robbery.
The second by commerce, which is generally cheating.
The third by agriculture, the only honest way, wherein man receives a real increase of the seed thrown into the ground, in a kind of continual miracle, wrought by the hand of God in his favor, as a reward for his innocent life and his virtuous industry." - Benjamin Franklin.

#mobile_photography #karwar #monsoon #india_gram
#foodandfibre #agriculture #thankafarmerforyournextmeal #seasonalproduce #farming #farmer #ploughing #soil #plough #farm #workingclass #nammakarnataka #nammauttarakannada 

Flowers anyone ??

"Aaboli" Flowers for down to earth prices at Joida - Kumbharwada...

The Fort in Ruins at Mirjaan...

THE MIRJAN FORT

This fort is in the Mirjan village on NH-17, 10 km from Kumta in Uttara Kannada District.The Fort at Mirjan was constructed during A.D 1608-1640.

Excavation conducted at the site during the field season 2000-01 has unearthed a number of laterite structures of medieval period . The structural remains include a U shaped structure with a cloister all around.

Towards the west of the U shaped structures, a circular soakage pit constructed of dressed laterite stones and water tank connected with water carrier were exposed. Among the antiquities mention may be made of a unique gold coin issued in A.D. 1652 by the Portuguese Viceroy Conde De Sarzedas during the rule of JOAO IV. The other antiquities include canon balls, Chinese Porcelain, clay tablets with Islamic inscriptions. (Text Source - Yashaswipayana)

From the Deccan Herald -

The Mirjan Fort must have witnessed numerous battles, ghastly episodes of violence and the tears and joys of kings and their subjects. Today, this serene historical site reminds tourists of the glories of the past. The fort is situated on NH17, about 11 km from Kumta, on the way to the famous pilgrim and tourist centre of Gokarna. Situated in an area of over 10 acres, the laterite-stone-built Mirjan fort has broad steps that lead to the interiors of the fort, where the ruins make visitors ponder over the lost historical significance of the place. There is a reference to Mirjan in the records of foreign travellers like De Barros, Barbosa, Hamilton and Buchanan. Barros, in whose record Mirjan is referred to as Mergan, was under the rule of Vijayanagar kings. While in 1720 Hamilton referred to Mirjan as a small harbour famous for pepper, cussia and wild nutmeg, in 1801, Buchanan referred to it as Midijoy. The historical records that are available state that the place was under the governance of Gerusoppa rulers during Vijayanagara times. Soon after the fall of Gerusoppa rulers, Bijapur sultans are said to have conquered the place and Sharief-ul-mulk, the governor of Goa, is believed to have either built or renovated the fort here.Keladi queen Chennamma conquered the territories at a later stage.The number of wells (as many as nine) inside the fort, the routes connecting these wells to the outside of the fort and the canal works surrounding the fort make one infer that these waterways must have been used for ferrying. The fort also has traces of a secret outlet, entrance doors, an astounding darbar hall and a market place. The remains of some idols, believed to have been found in the fort, have now taken refuge under the shade of a big tree.

Seven dumb-bells, 50 iron bullets, coins and designed earth pots belonging to Sarpamallika dynasty were found during excavation at Mirjan fort in Kumata taluk, 120 km from Dharwad district of Karnataka. State archaeological department superintendent K Veerabhadrappa said here on Thursday that the dumb-bells, weighed 20 kg each, and the iron bullets were more than 500 years old. - Indian Express

From Aayirecipes.com :-

While growing up, Independence day and republic day of India were big occasions for all kids. There used to be preparations for the parade weeks before these days. On the big day, there used to be flag hoisting in our school early in the morning. Then our teachers would take us in a procession to a old fort in a nearby village called ‘Mirjan’. There, the kids of all neighboring schools would gather. The Chairman of the Mirjan gram(village) would hoist the flag and give a speech. They would distribute some sweets/candys to all the kids and we would come back to our respective schools. Ohh, I can’t explain how happy we used to be to get those sweets/candys, even though we used to eat like princes/princesses daily at home, those small pieces distributed on these days were a big treat for us. We also got to meet so many other school children, some of whom were very arrogant to talk and some were very friendly. I also remember, only 4+ standard(grade) children were taken to this fort because it was quite far and we had to walk all the way. More here...

More Links -
1. Archeological Survey of India - http://www.asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2005_karnataka.asp
2. http://golden-chariot.com/sites.html#13
3. Google Books - Shivaji and his times By Sir Jadunath Sarkar
4. http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/military/40679.htm
5. http://www.jstor.org/pss/1150031
6. http://karwar-ramdas.blogspot.com/

Karwar District Court Corridor

The District and Sessions Court of Karwar was established during the British Rule in 1856, and the Court continues in the same building. But now there is a new building coming up, and soon the Court will be shifted to the new building.
This Corridor is the witness to the Trials and Tribulations faced by the innumerable Litigants over a period of two centuries, including the one sitting in the picture.

A Tile Factory at Bhatkal

Popularly known as Mangalore Tiles by the name of the place where they originated, a German Missionary Plebot set up the first tile factory in 1865, after he found large deposits of clay by the banks Gurupur and Nethravathi Rivers. It was called Basel Mission Tile factory and located on the banks of the river Nethravathi.Several other tile factories came up in the years that followed. Abundant deposits of clay, plenty of firewood from the Western Ghats and cheap skilled labour helped the industry flourish. Since the tiles were made only in the city initially, they came to be called Mangalore tiles. Today, there are only five tile factories in the city as compared to forty-five in the Seventies. The first tile factory has also shut down. Reduction in clay deposits, labour problems and tile factories coming up in other places are said to be some of the reasons for the decline.