Anjarle

Anjarle
village
Fishing boats parked in the Anjarle creek
Anjarle Anjarle Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 17°51′N 73°05′E / 17.85°N 73.09°ECoordinates: 17°51′N 73°05′E / 17.85°N 73.09°E
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Ratnagiri
Talukas	Dapoli
Elevation	36 m (118 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,654
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	415714

Anjarle is a village in the Dapoli taluka of Ratnagiri district in the Maharashtra state of India. It is a small port located near the mouth of Jog river, about 4 miles south of Aade and 2 miles north of Suvarnadurga. The nearest railway station is Kolad, 110 miles to the south-east.^[1]

Apart from the nearby Ganpati temple, Anjarle is known for its unspoiled beach. Tourism facilities are limited.

Geography

Anjarle is located about 24 km from Dapoli. It has an average elevation of 10 metres (36 feet). As part of the Western Ghats, the forests are evergreen, consisting mainly of tropical forest. Alphonso mangoes and coconuts are grown commercially in this area.

Transport

Anjarle is connected to Dapoli, the closest town, by MSRTC buses, private taxis and autorickshaws.

Anjarle is situated around 18 km from Dapoli. State Transport buses run at an interval of 30–60 minutes. Buses start from Dapoli ST depot and drop passengers at Anjarle creek. In addition, private transport jeeps and rickshaws run between Dapoli and Anjarle.

Kadyawarcha Ganpati

Anjarle is known for the Kadyawarcha Ganpati temple (Marathi: Ganapati on a cliff). This temple was originally constructed using wooden pillars ca. 1150. It was renovated between 1768 and 1780. Until the recent construction of bridge across the Anjarle creek and the building of a road up to the temple, pilgrims had to cross Anjarle creek (Jog River) in a boat, before climbing the hill using steps which pass through Anjarle village.

The idol at this temple differs from most other representations of the elephant-headed god, in that its trunk curves right, rather than the usual left. This is known as a Ujwya Sondecha Ganpati (Marathi: right-trunked Ganpati). The idol is also said to be a jagrut daiwat (Marathi: live deity), who responds to the pleas of its supplicants (nawsala pavnara Ganpati). The temple has a stone staircase on the right to reach the top of the temple (the Kalas), which has a commanding view of the surrounding coconut and betel nut trees, the nearby Suvarnadurg Fort, the Arabian sea and surrounding hills. There is a pond in front of the temple where visitors can feed large fish and turtles. Beside the temple to Ganesh is a small temple to Lord Shiva.

Products

Ajarle is known for producing Alphanso mangoes and cashew nuts, which are available from April through May. Other products include watermelons, pickles, jackfruit chips and kokam sarbat from various places throughout the year.

Industries

The economy of the Anjarle village revolves around Agriculture, Travel and Tourism, Food processing (canning of mango pulp)

Festivals

During January - February, during Hindu month of 'Magh' a festival of Ganapati is celebrated at Kadyavaril Ganapati temple, in March, Ajarle holds the Holi festival, at which the game Kat-khel is played. Jatra is held at Durga temple in April and May. Ganpati is held in September. Ram Navami is also celebrated on a large scale.

References

1. Maharashtra Government - The Gazateers Department Archived January 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.