It was in January, 2004, that I made trip to Sholapur as part of my business tour. My task was over much before the scheduled time and as I was lazing at my hotel room I decided to explore the city. The hotel authorities arranged a cab for me and soon I was out on the run.

The day passed with my visits to the massive Muslim fort, dating back to the 14th century, and the Ekruk tank, the second largest irrigation work in the Deccan. In the evening I took a stroll down the municipal garden adorned with fine tanks and temples. I even had fun with a few kids playing cricket near the park.

Today, as I found, Sholapur is an important trade centre of the state. It has a number of cotton mills and plants producing carpets, chemicals, leather goods and metal products. The large bazaar there is quite interesting. It is divided into seven sections, one of which is used on each day of the week

I didn’t miss the opportunity to pick a few silk and cotton fabrics from Barsi, the main trading mart. To sum up, the Sholapur experience was good enough, at least for the one who came here for his business, but went back with memories of forts and gardens.