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PLACES OF INTEREST
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ACHARE
Achare (Malvan Taluka, 17° 05' N, 73° 55' E. p. 5,648), a village
and port on the small creek of the same name, lies on the north-west
boundary of Malvan taluka about ten miles north of Malvan. The
nearest railway station, Kolhapur, is 92 miles to the north-east.
Achare was, in 1555, the scene of a Portuguese victory over Bijapur troops. [De Coutto, VII. 169, in Nairne's Konkan, 43.] In 1819, the year after its capture by British forces, it was in every way unimportant. [Malvan Resident, 31st May 1819; Bom. Rev. Diaries 141 of 1819, 2311.] Its chief object of interest is the Rameshvara temple. The temple is still in a good condition. Repairs have been made from time to time. The principal building, enclosed by a stone wall and surrounded by a paved courtyard, measures sixty-three feet by thirty-eight, and besides the shrine, has a large rest-house for Hindus. A fair, held yearly on Ramnavami in Chaitra (March-April), is attended by about 4,000 people from the neighbouring villages. The village revenues, amounting yearly to Rs. 2,500 were by a grant of Shambhu Maharaj of Kolhapur, in 1742 set apart for the support of the temple. The whole village is now an inam given to the temple by the Government. Out of the total revenue collected from the village, 88 per cent, is used for the management of the temple and the remainder is taken over by Government. In the river near Achare sections of slate beds are exposed. These, not hitherto worked, are probably of some economic value. A china clay or kaolin capable of being used for pottery and sand useful in glass manufacture is also found in and about the village. The fine white sandstones freely exposed in the neighbourhood are locally used as whetstones.
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