Mawal
Mawal is a tehsil in a subdivision of the same name, in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India.
Climate
Mawal’s climate is a local steppe climate. During the year there is little rainfall. According to Köppen and Geiger, this climate is classified as BSh. In Mawal, the average annual temperature is 19.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 458 mm.
History
The word Mawal is derived from a Marathi word Mawal, meaning the direction in which the sun sets. This region is towards the west of Pune area. It is hilly terrain and part of the Sahyadri range/western ghats. The Sahyadri range goes from north to south. On the western part of the range lies the Konkan area and on the eastern side ‘Mawal’. Many rivers originate from this region and travel from west to east. Broadly speaking Mawal is subdivided into 12 subregions. Each subregion is mostly identified by the name of a river. The names of the subregions are Nane Mawal, Andar Maval, Pawan Mawal, Gunjan Mawal, Karyat Mawal, Kanand Mawal, Hirdus Mawal, Mose Mawal, Velkhand Mawal, Korbarse Mawal etc. The highest point of this region is the Mahabaleshwar area, which is approximately 4500 feet above sea level. Mawal is one of the world’s highly biodiversified regions. It was the first abode of Shivaji, who formed an army of the local peasants called ‘Mawale’. Chhatrapati Shivaji united, motivated, empowered and trained the ‘Mawale’. Mawal region is a home to numerous forts of significant historical military importance. The whole of this region proudly carries the historical footprints of the Great Shivaji and his loyal ‘Mawale’.