Goddess Mahalakshmi Temple at Kolhapur: "Shakti Peeth"

A little less than two years ago, the new entrant in our family was named "Maitreyee", after the Divine Mother. The Almighty Mother seems to have blessed us as today we are publishing an entire book on a temple in Maharashtra, India, namely the widely popular faith-held Goddess Mahaiakshmi temple of Kolhapur. It can be confidently stated that this book is a pioneering effort of not only photographs capturing various aspects of the temple but is equally enriched with well-researched content. Until today Siddhishakti Publication has published several books like Goa – A View from Heavens, Mumbai- A View from Heavens, Portraits of India’s Lighthouses, Ancient Trade Routes – Maharashtra and Maharashtra -A View from Heavens. Most of these books aimed at visual documentation with emphasis on aerial photographs by Mr. Gopal Bodhe, a pioneer of aerial photography in India. As we realized the need to broaden our perspective, it was time to bring out a book that would be a combination of visual and written documentation. The current book is the first one in this category from Siddhishakti Publication. This book concentrates only on the Goddess Mahaiakshmi temple at Kolhapur by encompassing all the aspects of the sacred site. A temple is not only a place of worship but also a heritage site that needs to be conserved in the correct manner. By publishing this book, our publication aims at creating awareness among the people about this invaluable legacy and inspiring them to help preserve it.