Malvan

Malvan Malvan Beach
town
Malvan Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 16°04′0.12″N 73°28′.1128″E / 16.0667000°N 73.466698000°E / 16.0667000; 73.466698000
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Sindhudurg
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Body	Malvan Municipal Council
• Mayor	Mahesh Kandalgaonkar
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	18,648
• Rank	1st in Sindhudurg
Demonym	Malvani
Languages
• Official	Marathi
• Local	Malvani
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	416606
Telephone code	91-2365
Vehicle registration	MH-07
Website	Malvan Beach

Malvan (also written as Malwan) pronunciation^ⓘ is a town and taluka in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra State, India. It is known for the 17th century sea fort, Sindhudurg Fort. Malvan taluka consists of villages such as Angane Wadi, Masure, Achra, Khalchi Devli, Jamdul, Juva, Pankhol, Talasheel, Bandiwade, Mogarne and Sarjekot. The main occupations are is fishing and agriculture. The staple diet of the local people is fish curry and rice. The town produces Alphonso mangoes and sweets such as Malvani Khaja made from gram flour and coated with jaggery , as well as Malvani Ladoos.

Dashavtar (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu), a drama-play based on mythological stories, is an important cultural element of the area.

Several apocryphal and some more credible stories related to the name Malvan exist. Salt producers use the term 'Mahalavan' to describe a region rich in salt, a compound word from "maha" meaning great, and "lavan" meaning plantation (or salt). Another possibility is a phonetic derivative of the compound of "Mad" and "Ban", Malvani for coconut trees and garden, respectively, relating to the many coconut trees in the region.

Malvan is a town situated on the coast of Western India. Beaches in the area include Tarkarli Beach, Mobar Point, Chivla Beach, and Tondavali Beach.^[2] Malvan is bound by three small creeks: Karli, Kolamb, and Kalavali.

The climate of Malvan is warm and moderately humid. Average temperatures range between 16 and 33 °C while relative humidity ranges from 69 to 98%. The annual average rainfall of Malvan is 2275 mm.

Malvan is accessed primarily by road, being 505 kilometres (314 mi) from Mumbai and 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Ratnagiri. National Highway NH-66 from Mumbai and Goa runs as far as Kasal, after which Malvan is a State Transport bus or rickshaw ride of approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) away.

The nearest railway station is at Kudal and Kankawali and the nearest airport is at Sindhudurg. Overnight trains depart daily from Mumbai for Kudal.

There are M.S.R.T.C bus services to Malvan, Kadamba Transport Corporation bus services from Goa. There are buses from Kasal.

Malvan is a Municipal Council city in the district of Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. Malvan City is divided into 17 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. As of 2011^[update] India census,^[3] the Malvan Municipal Council has a population of 18,648 of which 9,663 are males while 8,985 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.

The population of Children with age 0-6 is 1364 which is 7.31% of the total population of Malvan (M Cl). In Malvan Municipal Council, the female sex ratio is 930 against the state average of 929. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Malvan is around 876 compared to the Maharashtra state average of 894. The literacy rate of Malvan city is 93.00%, higher than the state average of 82.34%. In Malvan, male literacy is around 94.76% while the female literacy rate is 91.11%.

Malvan Municipal Council has total administration over 4,620 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Municipal Council limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.

This area of the Konkan is predominantly Hindu and the majority of these Hindus are Kshatriya Marathas, Bhandaris, Gabits and Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins, Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins. Anganewadi Jatra and 'Bramhan Dev Jatra' are the major fairs in the region. Several Malvani emigres return to their native place every year during August–September to attend Ganeshotsav, Ram Navami, and various other local festivals.

Much of the population, especially Bhandaris, Gabits, and Konkani people are found on the Konkan coast. Especially in Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar (Karnataka) & Goa, these people migrated from Malvan way back in the 17th century. They have their ancestral Kuldevatas at Malvan (Dev Rameshwar) etc.

The local dialect is the 'Malvani' dialect (A Konkani dialect or sometimes referred as a mix of Marathi and Konkani), which is spoken in the Sindhudurg district and in parts of Northern Goa.

Coconut, rice, and fish are prominent in Malvani cuisine. In the centre of town is a sacred fig tree. A fish-worker union has existed in Malvan since 1987, called Malvan Schramik Maachimar Sangh.

An art form popular in the broader Konkan region known as Dashavataar (In Devnagari: दशावतार) is practiced in Malvan. Dashavataar is a play that depicts the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu (as in Hindu mythology), proceeding into the early hours of the morning. In 1958, Malvan was the site of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature.

The Malvan Marine Wildlife Sanctuary was declared on 13 April 1987, with a core zone of 3.182 km² and buffer zone of 25.94 km² (total area being 29.122 km²). The core zone includes the Sindhudurg Fort, Padamged island and other submerged rocky structures. The northeastern border of the buffer zone is 50 m from the sea near Malvan port, while on the east it is a semi-circular sandy beach 500 m parallel to the shore of Malvan, in the south it is near Mandel rock, and in the west touches the Malvan rock.

Tourist attractions in and around Malvan include beaches, water sports, rock gardens and temples. Sindhudurg Fort is a sea fort accessible by boat, that was built in 1664 by the 17th century Maratha king, Shivaji on "Kurte" island. On the lower walls, coral grows, making it a site for scuba diving among tourists.^[4]

Beaches include Tarkarli, Malvan Beach, Chivala Beach, Jai Ganesh Mandir, Arse Mahal Beach, Tondavali Beach, Achara Beach, and Bhogwe Beach.

Chivla Beach

• 
  A view of Sindhudurg Fort
• 
  Malvan Beach
• 
  Another view of Malvan Beach
• 
  A view of Malvan Rock Garden
• 
  A view of tranquil Devbaug Backwaters
• 
  Tarkarli Beach from MTDC Resort
• 
  MTDC Houseboat at Tarkarli Creek -To be commissioned in 7 May
• 
  MTDC resort at Tarkarli
• 
  View from Sindhudurg Fort

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