From Shivneri's first footprints to the values of their parents
This journey is not just about climbing forts. It is about the devotion to Shivaji Maharaj that runs in every drop of blood. At an age when toddlers can barely keep their balance after leaving their mother's lap, the father, Paresh, and mother, Reshma, carried their two daughters up Shivneri fort when they were just two and a half. The air of Shivaji's birthplace seemed to enchant the small children. That is where the girls' lives took an extraordinary turn. With boundless energy, the glow of the king's valour in their eyes and deep loyalty in their hearts, the two girls climbed 12 forts in their third year and found their names in the India Book of Records. But their goal was never to set a record. For them, every fort is a home shrine and every cliff is a living witness to history. Undeterred by sun, wind, rain or thorny paths that scratch the skin, the children recently scaled Dhodap, considered one of Maharashtra's toughest forts, and crossed the magical milestone of 200.
Not just soil from a fort, but holy earth!
“Our existence today, this breath and this land, exist only because of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his brave Mavle warriors,” the sisters say. The awareness has taken such deep root in their minds that anyone seeing it would have their eyes well up. They do not treat the soil of the Sahyadris, soaked in the blood of the Mavle warriors, as mere dust. They regard it as a sacred offering to be applied to the forehead. So from every fort where their small feet have touched, they have carefully preserved a handful of soil and a stone, the way one keeps an altar at home. After reaching the milestone of 175 forts, the children took that sacred soil to the Shivrajyabhishek ceremony at Raigad, the coronation of their beloved king. When a tilak made from the soil of that holy site touched the foreheads of thousands of Shiv devotees and dignitaries, goosebumps rose on every person present, and every heart swelled with pride.
Study, respect and affection in conversation
Before starting any climb, the sisters study the fort's history, its historical significance and its routes in depth. They talk to every fort lover and Shiv devotee they meet about history, with great warmth. With the strength of the Sahyadris in their legs and an innocent smile on their faces, they climb swiftly, and fort lovers instinctively fold their hands in respect as they watch these warrior girls. In today's modern age, when children easily become addicted to mobile phones, their parents raised their daughters on the richness of the Sahyadris and the nectar-like values of Shivaji's thought, keeping them away from phones. Their penance has now borne fruit. Maharashtra bows before the feat of Presha and Reshvi, and blessings are pouring in for these beloved daughters from every side.