Anybody who has ever seen a fort and not been awestruck by its sheer size and imposing structure? Think about children who have extremely impressionable minds. When children see a fort, they are fascinated by its various nuances.
No wonder then that children in the region of North Karnataka and Maharashtra indulge in the pursuit of constructing Mud Forts during the Diwali season. Check out the wonderfully laid Red Fort opposite the Ram Mandir in Acharya Galli, The majestic Rajgad at Kore Galli and many more in the bylanes. At various residential areas, one can come across these mud forts, replete with the scaled down citadels, bastions, ramparts and moats with tanks and soldiers guarding the precincts and every conceivable idea in place to safeguard the fort and upheld the reputation of this ‘kingdom’. These mud forts are on display right from Diwali to almost a month after that and have enthusiastic visitors appreciating the creation.
India, and especially the Deccan Plateau, has a fair share of majestic forts, those built by Shivaji being more popular. Shivaji’s regime saw the annexing or construction of myriad forts, from Salher- near Nashik to Gingee in Tamilnadu. They also appeal more to the common man who is astounded at the simple but intelligent designs that merge with the surrounding topography and the strength of the fortifications that they offer. The different types of forts are based on the topography on which they were built. Kautilya, in his famous Arthashastra, describes the importance, types, and details of building a fort. According to him, water and hills provide the best security. He also describes the different types of forts – the ones built on land ( Ex: The Belgaum or Banavasi forts), in water ( Called Jal durg: Ex. Sindhudurg, Murud Janzeera)), on hill tops ( Called Giri durg: Ex. Raigad, Purandar), in deserts amidst sandstone hills ( Called Maru durg, Ex. Mehrangadh in Rajasthan), in deep impenetrable jungles (Called Van durg, Ex. Kohoj fort), etc.
Anything that has action, drama and a thrilling story attached to it and you have children mesmerized. No wonder the forts, which offer all this and more, are so attractive to them. The period before and after Diwali is the time kids of all ages in the Maharashtra and Karnataka region spend hours together in building these forts in their homes or in any open space available – in mud! This is the time when they have time, the resources and also the weather that does not play spoilsport.
The culture of children recreating the structure of a fort is prevalent for many decades in this part of the country. It has not only taught multiple lessons but also attracted the attention of corporates who now routinely organize these workshops or competitions and the best structures are awarded.
The Mud-Fort building process: Diwali is steeped in myths, traditions, and stories associated with various Gods, Goddesses and Kings from different cultures. It is a wonderful amalgamation of joyous festivities, spread over almost a week. The children in this part have their October holidays during this season. Preparations for the Fort begin way ahead of time, with different photos of real forts being collected, compared and approved for building a miniature. A member of the group convinces his parents to use the garage or a corner of the garden to build this structure. Then begin a series of hectic parlays with the other members of the group and work is distributed. The common materials used include
Mud, Cement, Plastic paper, hay, black clay tiles, paints, discarded gunny bags, cardboard, and stones. This forms the basic structure.
Mud is filled in small bags and brought to the ‘site’. Then it is cleaned and sieved for any stones. The ‘fort’ premise is marked with chalk. Stones are laid to give shape to the hills and covered with gunny bag cloth. Mud mixed with water is applied on this to plaster it and give a surreal natural texture. Mustard seeds are then sown on this ‘hill’ to stand for trees which grow in an about 2 to 3 days. A pedestal is made in the specially carved sanctum for the King who is almost always ‘Shivaji’. The black roof tiles when erected vertically make for excellent bastions. The ramparts and roads are laid with bare hands using mud and strengthening with hay mixed in it. A tiny moat is also dug and lined with plastic to hold the water. The different parts of this fort include the hill, roads, ramparts, moat, gardens, a lake ( again lined with a plastic sheet), zoo, houses, buildings, etc. At times, a small bridge is also built with some tin sheet.
Various accessories required to complete the mud fort are available at the local markets in many towns in this area . In Belgaum, Ganpat Galli, Saraf Galli corner and the First Gate area stock these figurines. Coveted items include the colorful statue of Shivaji in various sizes, his soldiers, also called Mavalas, the popular warrior Dajiprabhu Deshpande, men-women, animals, bullock carts, etc. Ready-made fort bastions and the main structure is also available in many cities, but most kids prefer to make it themselves. Once ready, the entire structure gets a whitewash at requisite places. Roads are decorated with sawdust or sand and the ‘lakes’ get their share of the swans and the crocodiles. It is a queer sight sometimes when enthusiastic kids also lay snazzy cars and tanks lining the roads!
Now all this may seem a trivial playful pursuit, but it isn’t in the true sense. It is a worthwhile mission that provides key life lessons.
History: Children learn the structures of various forts as also the stories associated with them. What better way to teach history and ignite the pride of the rich heritage of our country? Elders play a key role in this while they guide and help the kids select the best design for their mud fort.
Team Work: Building a fort requires no less skill and manpower than an actual one. Chalking out key tasks and distributing them is a trait that they will learn at a young age. Every member of the group is equally accountable for the tasks and the completion of the mission. This develops team spirit. Kids learn to encourage others, find solutions for problems, think of alternatives in material and mode of execution.
Engineering: Building a fort requires an acute awareness of various architectural facets like the quality of mud, mixtures of materials, use of water, the strength of the bridge, angles of laying the roads, the stability of the bastion and the pedestal, etc. They also make use of fairy lights to line their roads and a wire is drawn from the main house to the site of the mud fort with the help of elders. Kids learn on their own through mistakes and trial and error.
Eye for detail: It also develops a sense of aesthetics when the kids decorate their fort and its citadel with fairy lamps, colored sawdust, sow plants with mustard and coriander seeds and see them grow every day. It also teaches them about the ecosystems, a lake is necessary for the aquatic beings, a zoo provides space for the giraffes and the deer, trees are where the birds will perch and humans need homes to dwell. Many such ‘forts’ have special scenes recreated to depict planes flying, dams gushing or light effects to depict war. It requires a lot of technique and coordination to achieve that. Sowing seeds, watering them, seeing them grow and nurturing the plants teach them the importance of agriculture and water harvesting.
Safety measures: A fort’s main objective is safeguarding. It represents the kingdom’s strength. Many a kingdom in history has fallen to enemy hands with the seizure of its key forts. Children learn the rules of warfare and safety at a young age. They also learn a key lesson in safety – precaution is better than reaction. Just like the army who uses the sandbox to learn strategy, kids learn defense systems through this small structure.
In an age where everything is available ready- made and toys are getting smarter by the day, when kids have to be literally pushed out of their rooms to play outdoors and activities have come to mean computer games and surfing, this act of building a mud fort by hand definitely remains an excellent tool to engage children in meaningful pursuits. Institutes and various educational organizations must pursue and encourage this activity and use it as a tool to inculcate key life skills in children at a very young and impressionable age.
The post Children’s Diwali Forts – a learning lab of sorts appeared first on All About Belgaum.
Speaking on the occasion noted medical practitioner Dr Sameer Naik said that Ayurveda is the mother of all the medical streams and hence it has tremendous scope for the students in days to come. He also urged citizens to follow nature’s laws while following the lifestyle which would keep them healthy.
Gradually with time, the shop included alarm clocks and wall clocks in its store. Some of the popular brands then were HES, Favre Leuba, and Nayaks. 
This year of 2019, they are completing 72 years of being in business and keeping Belagavi on time, if we can say that.
Since 1947 the Four Generations of Hebbalkar’s have managed to stay with the times and also serve the community to be on time. 
Belagavi Smart City Limited (BSCL) is, therefore, facilitating the development of this MUFC cum commercial complex on 3.15 acres of land belonging to the City Corporation Belagavi (CCB) at Dharamnath Circle. The project will offer public amenities such as MUFC and Skill Development Centre in the built-up area and also provide space for other public amenities such as bus parking for 3-4 buses, auto stand, cycle stands and hawkers’ areas.
The preparations start with the making of faral. The faral is not a small affair, here the entire street has experts in different dishes, there is karanji, chiwda, laddoos and so on and so forth, moms who are beyond doubt the best HRs, know how to manage labor, they call their friends and return the favor going to their homes and in so doing the faral is ready in no time, the planning is perfect, there are days pre-decided for each house and all the women help each other, women who are good at cooking get to make the critical ingredients in the dishes, while others have to stick to frying and helping, as apprentice, these women to learn in the process, it is much like a cooking party, you cook, you sing, you gossip and the end result is dabbas full of goodies. Kids also join in and they are allowed to do jobs like folding karanjis or arranging the ready goodies, occasionally savoring a few in between, we kids loved this and we were the first ones to stake our claim on the sweets, kids from middle class know what hunger is and every dish tastes sweet. No doubt this may be the reason Belagavi produces so many foodies, we are raised to do so. 
The whole year the Malkin blames the maid but in Diwali, there is always a soft corner for her. There is this very essential bedsheet also, needed for the pooja which is on the list. Once this was done we move on to Burud Galli where shopping is done for the lanterns or Akash diva, Chinese diyas are never our first choice, we love our traditional bamboo ones and Burud Galli is the place to find it, it still is and every family has their own artisan, never buy from others and the artisan always keep their part of the deal for regular customers hidden from new ones, another bond developed beyond conventional ones, there are lighting stalls which are of use if you have extra money in your pockets, actually away from the shopping it’s the camaraderie which gives more joy than the lighting of the house.
Ganapat Galli, Samadevi corner and Bhave chouk are the last stops, usually for the flowers. Oh, and not forgetting the eight to ten slot, we buy firecrackers too for which we do have to go to Ganpat galli and the main market, you can take a turn at Nargundkar Bhave chowk and you will find the original diya makers of Belagavi. The shopping goes on all night and there is no place without a crowd.
Once this is done we start with the faral, there is a variety of sweets and you just can’t stop yourself from indulging, there is poha as an accompaniment and then tea, at the end of it all you are bloated like a Python after a hunt.
Once faral is done we move to Laxmi pooja. Laxmi is something nobody can refuse, the evening of laxmi pooja is a chance for all the social interaction, as kids, we would visit all the shops we knew and would get pedhas and batashas, we loved these small sweet goodies, we never had taste for kinder joys back then. The pundits of every shop are fixed for generations together and they are the busiest on that day if overburdened by numbers the pundits simply pushes the pooja to padwa and you can relax on Diwali day visiting poojas done by others. 
Diwali starts on the day of Vasubaras and ends on the day the Tulasi in your angan is married, but the entire fortnight keeps everyone busy, there are lights, there are firecrackers, there are sweets, there is music and there is shopping but what’s more important is the little relationships and bonds that form and exist, without language barriers, without caste or class barriers, these bonds are to be recognized, cherished and preserved forever.
The name “Ironman Triathlon” is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon which is now the Ironman World Championship. Held in Kailua-Kona, the world championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978 (with an additional race in 1982) and is preceded by a series of qualifying Ironman events.
For instance, if there is a traffic jam or slow movement of traffic the same would be displayed so the commuters can decide on the route to take. 
MoSR informed the media that Train No.17325/17326 Ashokapuram (Mysuru) – Hubballi – Ashokapuram (Mysuru) Vishwamanava Express service will be extended upto Belagavi Railway station with effect from 1st November, 2019.