"Renowned anthropologist and sociologist, Iravati Karve presented an insightful account of her pilgrimage to Pandharpur, “... |was getting to know my Maharashtra anew every day. I found a new definition of Maharashtra: the land whose people go to Pandharpur for pilgrimage. When the palanquin started from Pune, there were people from Pune, Junnar, Moglai, Satara, etc. Every day people were joining the pilgrimage from Khandesh, Sholapur, Nasik, and Berar. As we neared Pandharpur, the pilgrimage was becoming bigger and bigger. All were Marathi-speaking —- coming from different castes, but singing the same songs, the same verses of the Varkari cult, speaking to each other, helping each other, singing songs to each other. The only Maharashtrian area not represented was Konkan, the District of the Maharashtrian seacoast. When I enquired about this, I was told that the Ashadh month’s pilgrimage was for the plateau people; the month of Kartik would bring out the whole of Konkan. Ashadh was their time for work in the fields, so naturally, they could not leave... I witnessed how the language and culture of Maharashtrahad spread among all its social layers. The fine poetry of five centuries was recited daily. The poetry embodied a religion and a philosophy. People speaking many dialects sang the same verses and thus learnt a standard language. Their learning was achieved in a massive dose but without pain or compulsion ...”."