Sholapur Drum Beaters Dazzle Pilgrims at Tirumala as City Reflects on Kotnis Legacy and Communal Memory
A troupe of one hundred drum beaters from Sholapur's Param Veer Yoga Mandal enthralled pilgrims during the Brahmotsavam at Tirumala, bringing their city's folk percussion tradition to one of India's most revered pilgrimage sites. Separately, Sholapur carries historical associations that extend far beyond Maharashtra — from the wartime sacrifice of Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis, who was born in the city and died serving in China during World War II, to the painful legacy of communal violence that left nine people dead in 2002.
🪔 Sholapur Drum Troupe Electrifies Devotees During Simha Vahanam at Tirumala
The drum beaters of Sholapur delivered a stirring performance for tens of thousands of pilgrims at Tirumala's annual Brahmotsavam festival, filling the four Mada streets surrounding the Venkateswara temple with the resonant sounds of traditional Maharashtra percussion. The troupe — one hundred strong, drawn from the Param Veer Yoga Mandal — was led by Sri Ketkar Maharaj and had been invited to Tirumala by the Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad. Their performance during the Simha vahanam procession wove together vigorous drumming with expressive dance, the two arts combined in the style that characterises Sholapur's distinct folk percussion tradition. The ensemble was divided into three teams to cover both the morning and evening vahana seva processions, using an array of traditional instruments including drums, the legible, and the Tasha — a large kettledrum central to festival processions across Maharashtra. Particularly noteworthy was the participation of thirty girl students from various colleges in Sholapur, who performed alongside occupational drum beaters. Their involvement signalled the active transmission of this craft to the next generation, reflecting how the tradition remains a living cultural form rather than one kept alive only by specialists. Param Veer Yoga Mandal had previously performed at major temple festivals within Maharashtra, including at Sri Siddeswarlaya and the renowned Sri Pandaripur temple, before their appearance at Tirumala drew them before a national pilgrimage audience. [7]
China Marks 110th Birth Anniversary of Sholapur-Born Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis
China held commemorative events to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis, a physician from Sholapur in Maharashtra whose life and death became one of the most poignant stories of international solidarity during the Second World War. Dr Kotnis was one of five doctors selected by the Indian National Congress in 1938 and dispatched to China to provide medical assistance to Chinese forces resisting the Japanese invasion. The mission sent these doctors into an active war zone under severe conditions, and Kotnis stayed on in China even after the formal mission period concluded, continuing to organise medical care for soldiers of the Communist-led Eighth Route Army. His commitment went beyond professional duty: in 1942, Kotnis joined the Communist Party of China, an act that symbolised his complete identification with the Chinese resistance cause. He died the same year at the age of thirty-two, his body worn down by years of wartime medical work in punishing conditions. In China, Kotnis became a figure of lasting reverence, held up as a symbol of friendship between the Indian and Chinese peoples and of the common humanity that cuts across national boundaries in times of suffering. His birth city of Sholapur, which produced one of the twentieth century's most remarkable humanitarian figures, remained part of China's commemorative narrative, connecting the small Maharashtra city to one of modern history's grand stories of sacrifice. [8]
Eyewitness Recalls Sholapur Riot of 2002 That Left Nine Dead and Businesses Destroyed
An eyewitness account documented the outbreak of communal violence in Sholapur in October 2002 that resulted in nine deaths and the destruction of Muslim business establishments in the city. The unrest was preceded by a bandh called by local Muslim organisations — including Alshabban and Muslim Vikas Sangh — to protest remarks made by American televangelist Rev Jerry Falwell that were deemed blasphemous against the Prophet Muhammad. On the morning of October 11, the bandh was in effect across Sholapur: in Sakarpet, a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in the downtown area, notices had been posted in Marathi, Urdu, and English on boards outside the local mosque and at crossroads. Residents gathered in clusters, reading and discussing the situation, while all shops remained closed. Police had been deployed in the area, though in numbers that did not suggest the authorities were anticipating any serious breakdown of order. The main commercial zone of Sholapur, including the Saat Rasta area, appeared calm that morning. But the calm proved deceptive. The violence that followed killed nine people and, as the eyewitness account recorded, targeted Muslim business establishments. The account offered a ground-level perspective on how a tense but seemingly controlled urban situation can collapse into coordinated destruction, and it remained part of Sholapur's living communal memory as a reminder of the human cost of religious polarisation in a mixed-population city. [3]
Sources: [7] TTD News · [8] NDTV · [3] The Milli Gazette