Back in the day and I mean prior to the 60s all the way to the mid 80s,Belgaum was a hub of quality education. The schools that catered to this need included St.Paul's High school and St.Joseph's Convent.Students from these institutes stood among the best in the nation and indeed made their mark on the international front in areas of sports (Hockey), academics and any field possible.
The city itself was ultra cosompolitan, with students from Thailand, Singapore ,England,Russia,Nigeria,Kenya and just about from every continent admitting themselves either to the Medical,Engineering or Law institutes.
In addition to this scene was the Military base, a training ground for commandos.And you now have a constant cultural influx of the elite armed force members from all over India who used to inhabit this place and get their kids educated at the above mentioned schools in the process.
And so you have a variety of people from all over the world and from within the nation congregating to make this city one of a kind.
But now, its all gone to heck.The quality of education has deteriorated. Regionalism and dirty politics has, and will continue to, destroy the identity of this city.
History repeats itself and every great city eventually fades or falls. And now you can witness the fall of Belgaum.
first of all its not a town mate, its a city. well, i m sure everyone who is grown up in belgaum or visits belgaum will fall in love with it. i have travelled world quite a bit bit, india, asia and europe but when it comes to living conditions for a middle class man, nothing parellels it. I grew up in belgaum but live in UK at the moment. the best season in belgaum is 10 months of the year (except 2 months in summer ,that too since recently). even though it not an industrial hub it is as cosmopolitan as u can being an get educational centre its a very young city and somewhat romantic. i can go on writing about it for ages but i will say one thing. belgaum,s demographics have changed, now there is 65% kannada speaking population in the city. even then
i prefer it as plain Belgaum ( speacially the way its written on bus stand) that belagavi or belgao. cheers to belgaum!!!
RE:belgaum
by Suresh Sharma on Sep 17, 2007 01:24 AM
by Dr Suresh Sharma Raipur My hometown is near Belgaum & i have completed my medical education in belgaum .Its like heaven on the earth. Days spend in belgaum always become memorable.belgaum is a place created & maintained by people of belgaum. no dirty politics can destroy the city
i am from belgaum, it was so nice to read an article of my hometown. alas! its getting caught between the dirty politics and losing its charm. i appeal to the politicians and my fellow belgaumites to forget about merging with maharastra and collectively think about developing belgaum as a model town .i thank all those who contributed towards belgaum article.
I have stayed very near to Belgaum.I know its beautiful place and a great town.However it has been controversial since states were formed by Congress on linguistic basis.Congress kept Marathi majoriy Belgaum in Karnataka and there started its agony of backwardness.If you travel in nearing districts of Maharastra like Sangli,Kolhapur,you will see the difference. People in Belgaum have tried to vote their minds clearly toward merging it in Maharashtra due to various cultural,social and economic reasons however Karnataka government in interested more in politicizing it more than solving it.It has been forcing people in Belgaum to use Kannada although you see many not falling for that force.In fact Karnataka govt has tried to convert its name to Belgavi by force even when the matter is judicial and center has denied the change.On the other hand,Maharashtra govt seems to be little willing to take a stride and go hard about it...in between are poor people of Belgaum district who are facing the issues of underdevelopment.God only knows when this issue will be solved.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by manjunath gowdara on Sep 08, 2007 06:14 PM
Belagavi is still beautiful because it is still in Karnataka. Please note how much Maharastra government has neglected areas bordering Madhya pradesh & Andra pradesh
RE:RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 08, 2007 08:50 PM
Manjunath,Belgavi is called by dreamers in Bangalore..no one in Belgaum calls it Belgavi...I hope you have been to areas in Northern Karnataka and visited Bagalkot,Gulbarga districts...before commenting..Except Bangalore,Few costal districts,most of Karnataka districts are in problem and Karntaka govt is busy singing Bangalore song....Travel in Maharashtra and you will see-More than 75% of Maharashtra is developed and well maintained....its n times bigger than Karnataka......get your facts right.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 08, 2007 08:47 PM
Manjunath,Belgavi is called by dreamers in Bangalore..no one in Belgaum calls it Belgavi...I hope you have been to areas in Northern Karnataka and visited Bagalkot,Gulbarga districts...before commenting..Except Bangalore,Few costal districts,most of Karnataka districts are in problem and Karntaka govt is busy singing Bangalore song....Travel in Maharashtra and you will see-More than 75% of Maharashtra is developed and better than any other state....its n times bigger than Karnataka......get your facts right.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 08, 2007 08:44 PM
Manjunath,Belgavi is called by dreamers in Bangalore..no one in Belgaum calls it Belgavi...I hope you have been to areas in Northern Karnataka and visited Bagalkot,Gulbarga districts...before commenting..Except Bangalore,Few costal districts,most of Karnataka districts are in problem and Karntaka govt is busy singing Bangalore song....Travel in Maharashtra and you will see-More than 75% of Maharashtra is developed and well maintained....its n times bigger than Karnataka......get your facts right.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by manjunath gowdara on Sep 09, 2007 04:06 PM
Aatteuka, Belagavi is not called by dreamers, wait very soon it will be official.Please note that Belagavi is the second capital of Karnataka. Yes some borders areas of Karnataka with Maharastra is backward due to neighbours influence. Please visit Mysore, Hassan, Coorg, Chikamagalur before you vomit words. The main intention of MES & some politicians who have vested interests is to occupy Goa into Maharastra by claiming some of the territories of Karnataka.
RE:RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by Sukhbir Singh on Sep 08, 2007 07:29 PM
You seem to be clearly caught in regionalism, which totally has not only divided our nation but also leading many of us towards a wrong path.
Tell me what difference does it make if Belagaum belongs to Maharashtra or Karnataka? It now belongs to Karnataka, so be it. Be proud such a beautiful place is part of this greatest nation. You want regional fanatics to take over Belgaum? or you want opportunists to take over it? Any way, its the same. Its just politics all the way. Understand that first!
Get your concept right - Provinces or States are created only on 2 factors: 1. Based on people and 2. For ease of governance
Dont assume the first point and tell me there are more Maratis, and Belgaum should be in Maharashtra. Then, many places in India will have to be remapped. Instead, think constructively. How about both states pitching in for a beautiful place like Belgaum? Why cant that happen? Wouldnt the people of Belgaum benefit? Ofcourse, this wont happen until the opportunists and fanatics think about improvement and we stop supporting them.
Please, think constructively. Just renaming of places it so much a waste of time and money, think about moving a district from one state to another and will that bring anything fruitful? Certainly not.
Maharashtra is Maha-rashtra Karnataka is land of Kavi's (writers, which has given innumerable gems of writers).
RE:RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 08, 2007 08:38 PM
Sukhbir,its well known fact that states were formed on linguistic basis...and even if I take your 2 points for state formation into account,Belgaum can be better managed by Maharashtra than Karnataka on those aspects as well.Please note that most of the farmers in Belgaum district depend totally on Maharashtra for their daily chores and business...and to the point...thats precise reason why you see MES members get selected on corporation-mostof the times.
RE:RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 08, 2007 08:41 PM
Sukhbir,its well known fact that states were formed on linguistic basis...and even if I take your 2 points for state formation into account,Belgaum can be better managed by Maharashtra than Karnataka on those aspects as well.Please note that most of the farmers in Belgaum district depend totally on Maharashtra for their daily chores and business...and to the point...thats precise reason why you see MES members get selected on corporation-mostof the times.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by Sukhbir Singh on Sep 08, 2007 08:53 PM
You still dont seem to come out of your mental state of regionalism. I dont want to know who manages better or otherwise, we all just want every corner of India to be a developed and self-sufficient. Think constructively. Not renaming or remapping. Come out of this.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by aatyeuka on Sep 09, 2007 10:07 AM
Sukhbir,I am not for regionalism.I am from a land which preches global brotherhood.Would you give Kashmir to Pakistan for being generous?I don't...although I believe Pakistan as misguided brother of India.Please dont comment on something which you absolutely don't know.I myself know 7 Indian languages and have stayed in 4 states in India.
RE:No offence meant-please understand the issue.
by Abdul Salam on Sep 09, 2007 05:33 PM
Which land & what brotherhood you are talking about! Considering your ideology, would you give Kashmir to Pakistan just because majority of population is muslim. Extremists & Radicals are misguiding the muslim population in Kashmir & here in Belgaum MES is misguiding marathi speaking people who are least interested about merging with Maharastra. You are just talking about Belgaum & do you know the consequences of the country if remapped based on your ideology. Our neighbouring countries are jealous of our unity & people like you are trying to divide the country. I have been to Belgaum & also adjacent areas several times & my experience is that both Kannada & Marathi people are living in perfect harmony. As you said still 25% (I hope it should be more) of Maharastra is still backward why only interested in Belgaum & why not those backward areas. So what you know many languages & lived in many parts of India, your thinking is not broad.
My husband Dr. Anil had done his md in general medecine for 4 yrs at belgaum KLE hospital, i also had beeen there after our marriage where they had party for the completion & passing of MD, its very nice place and very cool at night. thanks jaya
Belgaon is a very beatiful place on earth,it is so nice and cool city. I like Belgaon because my parampujya Kalavati mataji is there. I never forget this city in my life
That is what Belgaum is for me. Even though it is not a famous big city, but the cosmopolitan nature of the town is what makes the first impact on you. Remember Arun Theater, which used to show Latest Hollywood releases, sometimes even before Bombay. My #4 years in Belgaum are not just a part of the beautiful memory but a refreshing period of my life, which played a big role in my personality development.
Tasnim, i am surpised, how did you not write about RPD Crossing and Chit-Chat !
hey fren, basically I too am from belgaum... but after three years of stay in Mumbai i had lost touch of my place.... in this bustling city i had forgotten the peace and love that my place offers.... and thanks for amking me remember that...
Hey gola well written...and ofcourse Belgaum is one of the most serene places to land up during vacations[:)] but vehicles n car parking problems do exist
