In 1708, Shahu Maharaj, grandson of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha leader, conquered Ajinkyatara, a fort built by Raja Bhoj in the 12th century. Ajinkyatara’s strategic location in Satara district of Maharashtra helped the sturdy Marathas keep watch over south Maharashtra. Climb up to the fort and you get a bird’s-eye view of Satara town and its surrounding hills.
Centuries later, another battle has started from this historic fort, a war of another kind — the war against drought.
The mantra of water conservation is spreading from here to parched villages in Maharashtra that. . .