Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Aronda

January 04, 2011 Aronda

Aronda is a picturesque village in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra state, India. Aronda is famous for cashew nuts, mangoes, jack fruit, Kokum, and rice. Aronda is a port on the boundary of Goa and Maharashtra. Aronda is next to Terekhol River, and has many ancient temples such as the Sateri Bhadrakali, Garudi temple, and Kulkar temple.

The original name of the village Aronda is Aravande. It is taught that the name Aravande is derived from Aravind, which means lotus. There is one lake between the Shri Sateri, Bhadrakali, and Ravalnath temples called Devtale. The myth goes that all Gods and Goddesses are taking bath in it. This lake is full of red lotuses, and as such, the name of village is Aravande. Another thinking is that the word Arvind is the other name of Sun. As sun rises first in this village and spreads across the state the village derived the name Arvind which got twisted into popular lingo as Aronda.

Aronda is situated at the south of Maharashtra on the Goa border. The Terekhol river (an inlet) is towards the south, which is famous for sea food, (especially lady fish, also known as Mudishi), and shell fish (Khube). Towards the north, there are small hills full of big greenaries and trees of various types including cashews, mangos, and jackfruits. Port Redi, a neighboring village, is famous for its iron ore mines and its Ganpati temple. Aronda was one of several minor ports of Maharashtra directly connected to the Arabian Sea in mid 20th century. This was an important port, and goods from Mumbai and south India were transported through this port. Even today, unused warehouses are the sign of the golden days of Aronda.

Every year on Margashish Suddha Chaturthi, there is Jatra Utsav of Santeri Bhadrakali in temple area. Original residents of Aronda come from all over India on this day for the blessing of Goddesses. Fireworks in this ustav is one of the well known event of this Jatrotsav.

Attractions :

Border of Maharashtra & Goa cut by Small Creek.

Devi Sateri Temple

Backwaters

Kamat’s Lotus Backwater Resort

Arambol Beach, Keri Beach (In Goa, around 7 Kms from Aronda)

Redi Ganpati & Beach (4 kms)

Aravali’s Vetoba Temple (8 kms)

Shiroda Beaches & Market (7 kms)

Vengurla Beaches (14 kms)

Village Market on Saturdays

Reaching Aronda :

By Air :

From Goa, nearest airport is in Panjim. One can hire a taxi or other private vehicle plying towards North Goa (Keri).

By Rail :

Direct trains from Mumbai, Goa and South India are available, one can aboard at Sawantwadi and hire a vehicle to reach Aronda. Which is around 20 kms away from railway station.

By Road :

Direct road available from Mumbai and lots of private vehicle & State Transport facilities available.