Saroj Gopal Kulkarni was born on Jan 25, 1931. Her life is a testimony
to overcoming an early childhood tragedy and turning her life into
a triumph of self education, love and service. But to start at the beginning
it’s important for the reader to understand some of the culture that Saroj
grew up in and also the geography.
Saroj’s birthplace is Shankeshwar Mahrati State. Her family
later moved to Chickodi
Sankeshwar is located in Hukkeri taluka, Belgaum District of Karnataka state. It is located on National Highway 4. It is 50 km from Belgaum on north direction. About the Transportation - Nearest Airport - Belgaum 50 km. Nearest Railway stations - Belgaum 50 km, Ghat prabha - 30 km River - Hiranyakesi, Factory - Hira Sugar Factory, Near by picknic spots - Gokak falls, Hidkal Dam, Gudachana malaki.
(Today Sankeshwar has good schools in different medium like Kannada, Urdu, Marathi and English.) It has Murarji Desai residential school. It has Arts, Commerce, Science, BBA, BBM and Homeopathy colleges. It has nearby Engineering and Diploma colleges in Nidasoshi.)
Geography (from Wikipedia)
Sankeshwar is located at 16°16′N 74°29′E / 16.27°N 74.48°E[1]. It has an average elevation of 638 metres (2093 feet).
As of 2001 India census[2], Sankeshwar had a population of 32,511. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Sankeshwar has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 59%. In Sankeshwar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Sankeshwar is well connected to Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra by National Highway No.4 by Road. Nearby Railway stations are Belgaum (50 km), Ghataprabha (32km) and Kolhapur (64 km), Nipani (22km),Gokak (48km). Belgaum has even airport which has flights from Bengaluru and Mumbai.
There is a temple in Sankeshwar
Location : Modhera, Gujarat.
Famous As : Jain Pilgrimage.
Houses:
Image of Parsvanath. Shankheshwar Temple is a well-known old Jain pilgrimage site where a newer temple dated 1811-1812 AD, now stands. The village where the temple stands was given on a rent - grant by Emperor Shah Jahan to the Nagarsheth of Ahmedabad, named Seth Shantidas. The temple ranks next only to Palitana in importance for the Jains. The image of the main Tirthankara Parshvanath belongs to Samvat 1666 while the inscriptions date back to 1656-1686 AD. The cells are built of brick, which have been molded and not cut to shape.
Time for Festivity
Fairs are held here in Hindu months of Chaitra and Kartik corresponding with the solar months of March/April and October/November respectively on the full moon days and Margashirsha Vad 10.
The Kulkarni family later moved to Chickodi—
population 30,000 because Chickodi
at that time had a courthouse and school.
More about Chickodi in the next blog!
