Maharashtra, entwined with its pristine splendour is the land, which stuns and captivates every traveller. With its sheer size and kissed with its utter magic, Maharashtra is the "never never land" of unswayed, untarnished and unlimited beauty. The medley of colorful culture, the collage of pulsating festival offers Maharashtra a distinct charm of its own. Dotted with proud forts, holy shrines, lonesome caves and blessed with the sunkisseed magnificence of the white beaches, and bejeweled Western Ghats, Maharashtra is the place to feel the pristine grandeur of nature. Maharashtra covers much of the Deccan plateau, containing the valleys of the Krishna, Bhima and Godavari rivers.

Ideally seated at the North Center of the Peninsular India, fringed with the mystic Arabian Sea, Maharashtra is indeed significant for its topographical homogeneousness. It lies on the Arabian sea and is bordered by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Geography of Maharashtra Covering an area of 308,000 sq. km, Maharashtra, the third largest state in India, is remarkable for its extraordinary physical homogeneity. Sahyadris are the physical backbone of the state. With an average range of 1000 m it gradually plunges into the Konkan, coastal lowland barely 50 km wide, with steep cliffs.

Economy of Maharashtra
Industry is the backbone of Maharashtra`s economy. The state alone accounts for 23% of country`s entire income. Bombay, the capital is the hub of the country`s textile mills. Other notable centers of weaving are Malegaon & Bhewandi.

Government of Maharashtra
Mahrashtra has separate state government with bicameral legislature & governor at its apex. Presently Maharashtra has been allocated 19 seats in Rajya Sabha and 48 in Lok Sabha. In the post independence era, Congress has mostly dominated the political history of Maharashtra. Presently Maharashtra has owed 19 seats in Rajya Sabha & 48 in the Lok Sabha. Y. B . Chavan was one of the outstanding Chief Minister, Maharashtra has ever experienced. Congress enjoyed uncontested dominance over the state until the Shiv Shena - BJP coalition sweeps them away in 1995 election. However this resulted a split in Congress and consequentially the former Chief minister Sharad Pawar forms separately the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which found an overwhelming success in 2004. However, according to a pre- poll agreement, Chief Minister would be from the Congress and Deputy CM from the NCP . Presently Vilasrao Deshmukh is the CM and R.R . Patil is the deputy CM.

Demography of Maharashtra
According to the 2001 census, Maharashtra exists as the second most populous state. It holds about 96,752,247 inhabitants with a density of 322.5 people per sq.mt, where the males constitute 50.3 million and the female 46.4 million. A vast majority of population in the state is from the urban areas, comprises nearly 42.4 million. The sex ratio of male to female as counted is 1000:922. The state witnesses literacy growth from 1991-2001, but not so significant (22.57%).

Though Marathi is the official language, the state also promotes the development of other languages like Hindi, Gujrati & English. Speaking dialects are also common. The people of northwest speak Ahirani,, a dialect of Konkani called Malvani is spokenin the Konkan coast mainly. In Vidarbha, Vardahi is spoken by most of the people.

Maharashtra is a multi-ethnic state and promotes the growth of different religions. With a majority of Hindu population (80.2%), the state has minorities of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Jains. The state consists of the largest portions of Jews, Jains and Zoroastrian people of India.

It should be considered that most of the Hindus here speak Marathi and the rest Hindi. Though the principal language of the Muslims is Urdu , a vast majority of the Muslims also speak Marathi. Almost the entire pack of Christians, Buddhist & Jain in Maharashtra speak Marathi. In totality, the Marathi speaking people figures to 62,481, 681 as per the 2001 census.

Divisions of Maharashtra
Thirty-five districts are grouped to form 6 major divisions in Maharashtra, which constitutes the official revenue union of the government: Aurangabad division, Amravati division, Konkan division, Nagpur division, Nasik division and Pune division. But Maharastra has five physical divisions, historically- Vidarbha or Berar (Nagpur and Amaravati division), Marathwada(Aurangabad division), Khandesh and Northern Maharashtra( Nasik division) Desh or Western Maharashtra( Pune Division) and Konkan ( Konkan Division).

Principal Cities of Maharashtra
The cosmopolitan state Maharashtra, which features a highly urban set up has only one metropolitan city Mumbai, the capital, a developing metro and other large and small towns like Nasik, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Amravati, Thane and Nagpur.

Transport of Maharashtra
The Indian Railways covers the principal areas of Maharashtra and is the preferred mode of transport. The region comes under the jurisdiction of Central Railways which has its headquarter in Mumbai. The State-Road Transport Corporation buses, quite popular as SRTC primarily connects the towns & villages. In addition to this, government also runs some luxury buses.

Mumbai has the biggest international airport, which harbors almost all the domestic & international flights. The international airport which has recently been developed in Navi Mumbai , has limited space with flights only to Dubai and Singapore. Domestic airports serve Nagpur & Aurangabad.

Ferry services are in function in the city of Mumbai, which connects it to the nearby coastal areas. Other mode of public transport gradually developing a wide network in the semi-urban areas is the seven-seater tempo. Recently Mumbai-Pune Expressway is built which has enlarged the highway network largely. There are three major ports in the city at Mumbai, Nava- Sheva & Ratnagiri which controls the export of mineral ores in Maharashtra hinterland.

Culture of Maharashtra
The great land Maharashtra is famous for its diversified culture, which is reflected from its caves, palaces, forts profuse with immense historical worth. The culture of Maharshtra is the blending of Hindu, Jain, Christian & Muslim Culture. The temples of the state bears the essence of the architecture of the north & south India.The temple of Vitthala at Pandharpur is the principal temple of the Vakari sect. Astavinayaka( eight temple sights of lord Ganesha) & Bhimasankar( 12 important Shiva temples ) are also the principal religious site which reflects the cultural tradition of Maharashtra. Ajanta & Ellora cave paintings, famous for their artistic worth fetch the maximum amount of tourist to the place. Aurangabad is famous for Bibi Ka Maqbara, built by Aurangazeb in memory of his wife is a superb image of Mughal architecture.

Maharashtra is furthermore well- known for its music. Its lively folk forms like povadas, lavnis, gondnals etc. reflects the cultural spirit of the society. " Sangatratnaka", a typical form of classical music has its origin in Maharashtra in the medieval times.

The festivals here are the heritage of its rich culture. Gokul Ashtami, ganesha festival, Diwali, Holi etc are the festivals where people from all walks of life participate. On the whole Maharashtra suggests a modern cosmopolitan culture.

Forts in Maharashtra
Forts in Maharashtra, numbering around 350 are the witness of the rise & fall of dynasties, from the pre medieval time to the struggle for independence against the British Raj in the past years. Built by the great warrior Shivaji, these forts stand as the heritage of the state. Bassein Fort, standing guard over the Arabian Sea, Murud Janjira( famous for architectural heritage),the island fort, Panhala & Raigad are some of the principal forts in Maharashtra. These forts are of immense historical value and still continue to be a famous tourist spot.

Entertainments in Maharashtra
Maharashtra has rich source of entertainments & amusements. In addition toBollywood, Marathi Film industry has made its place in Maharashtra. Marathi Theatre, alongside with the Regional Film has come up & gains popularity equally. Some of the regional television channels like Zee Marathi, Etv Marathi etc has gained enormous recognition among the common run of mass. Recently( 31st September, 2007) Zee telefilms, launched a new channel Zee Talkies, which telecast a wide range of Marathi Cinema.

In the movie theaters in Nashik, one can relish the Bollywood & Hollywood simultaneously with the regional movies.Anuradha, Ashok, Chitramandir, Circle, Cathey Talkies, Madhukar, Hemlata, Mamta Talkies etc. are the movie theaters in Nashik.

Pune offers a moderate nightlife. A number of bars, pubs, nightclubs etc vibrant with the youngsters and the DJs playing music till the late night provide an exciting source of entertainment but for the limited section coming from the affluent classes. Nightclubs often arrange some like events fashion shows, theme nights & rain dances, which even does not require for memberships. As the heart of cultural events, Pune always has some other programs of classical Indian Western music shows. Mumbai possesses a radiant nightlife. Nightclub, bars, discos, cinemas, casinos are the means of entertainment of the prosperous lifestyle of the city.

INOX , the national multiplex chain has been launched in Nagpur. It is a multistoried building having the facility of shopping complex & movie under the same roof. Shopping is one of the many delightful jobs for the people living in aristocratic areas. People can spend hours in shopping malls, stalls and bazaars.

Several amusement parks has been built & some are under construction for their growing preference. Mumbai also has blooming art scene. Exhibition, book readings, talks shows, seminars are held in Mumbai. On a whole the entertainments in Maharashtra represents the urbanized spirit of the state.