Prada’s chappal controversy leads us to Kolhapur’s real sole sites

When Prada unveiled Toe Ring Sandals at their Men’s Spring/Summer 2026 fashion show in Milan recently, they had an uncanny resemblance to traditional Kolhapuri chappals. The brand was trolled online for not giving credit to the centuries-old slipper or its craftsmen. The backlash forced them to acknowledge the sandals and their cultural significance. What better reason to explore Kolhapur and do some sole searching? Our knowledge of the city beyond the footwear was limited to ’80s actress Padmini Kolhapure.

Wrestling, royals, and sacred shrines: The spirit of Kolhapur

Before touchdown at Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport, the landscape looked green and the muddy Panchaganga river was in spate. At Panchaganga Ghat, the town’s oldest part, shrines and deepastambhas (stone lamp pillars) were partially submerged in high water. Kolhapur’s alluvial plains are ideal for sugarcane cultivation and famed for its reddish brown jaggery. Apparently, the old British bridge across the Panchaganga bears a unique fish sculpture that predicts floods. If the water level touched the machhindri (fish eye), a deluge was certain. Luckily, the rain was sporadic.

At Sayaji Kolhapur, the city’s only 5-star hotel, we were welcomed with traditional panchrangi phetas (five-coloured turban). With Sarvesh and Chaitanya, our companions from Sayaji, we headed to Kolhapur’s Chappal Line near Shivaji Chowk to discover what made these leather chappals special. Endless shops sold them in various designs and colours. Vaibhav, Shop No.100, was marked by a giant Kolhapuri chappal. Funnily, nobody in Kolhapur calls it chappal; it’s paytan! A single piece is made of three different parts—buffalo hide is used for the base, goatskin for the upper sole and buffalo tail for the strap. It has a big toe loop for grip (sometimes, for the little toe as well) and braided or embellished with golden cords, holes or floral patterns. Originally straw-hued, it is dyed in vegetable colours. It takes about six weeks to craft a pair.

The 800-year-old tradition goes back to the 12th century reign of Bijjala, a viceroy of the Kalyani Chalukyas, who overthrew them to establish the Kalachuri dynasty. Along with his prime minister Basavanna the Lingayat social reformer, Bijjala encouraged this craft to support local shoemakers. The leather sandals were created for specific communities to suit the wearer’s life and work—farmers wore sturdy, heavy-soled ones; nobles sported lighter, ornate versions. The leather slippers regulated body heat, protected the feet and its distinct crunching sound warded off creatures in the bush. In early 18th century, Shivaji’s grandson Shahu I of Kolhapur and his successor Rajaram II encouraged the industry and 29 tanning centres were opened.

The spartan slippers saw a renaissance in the ’70s when hippies made them popular. In July 2019, Kolhapuri chappals received a GI tag. Today, the craft is practised in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Solapur in Maharashtra, besides Bagalkot, Belgaum, Dharwad and Bijapur in Karnataka. The various styles are named after the villages where they’re made —Kachkadi, Bakkalnali, Pukri, etc, with prices ranging from `500 to `5000. The ornate Shahu Maharaj, promoted in the movie Bajirao Mastani, makes a typically noisy crackle due to the seeds of the vinchu or Devil’s Claw (Martynia annua) embedded in the soles. Despite the salesman imploring, “Yahi chappal Prada mein dedh lakh mein bikega!” (The same slipper will be sold at Prada for 1.5 lakh), we opted for simpler designs like Kapshi and Kurundavadi. When a food blogger asked a local what’s there to eat in Kolhapur, in true wry Maratha wit, he replied: “Khane ko to Kolhapuri Paytan bhi hai. Aap ke upar hai...” Literally, ‘You can get Kolhapuri chappals also (meaning ‘slippered’), depends on your behaviour!’

Locals joke that Kolhapuris don’t have RBC and WBC in their blood; they have Tambda rassa and Pandhra rassa flowing through their veins! Tambda rassa is a spicy red mutton gravy while the milder ‘pandhra’ rassa or ‘white’ version blends mutton stock and coconut milk. In local eateries like Krishna Hotel, patrons devour thalis of loni mutton (ghee mutton) or mutton fry, with chapati, egg curry, khuska (masala rice), solkadhi, dahi kanda (curd onion) and frequent refills of tambda-pandhra. The more elaborate Kolhapuri thali at Moon Tree Café at Sayaji featured chicken lonche, kharada chicken and Mutton Kolhapuri.

If Pune has its quirky Puneri paat (signboards), Kolhapur is not short of character, living by the credo ‘Jagat Bhari, Amhi Kolhapuri’ (We’re Kolhapuris, best in the world). The iconic New India restaurant serves bread with patal bhaji (potato curry). Confident that their curry is perfect, they don’t serve lemons with it. So customers bring their own, which are willingly cut and served!

Rajabhau Bhel, the best in the business since 1965, offers peculiar variants called Yuvraj bhel, Karan bhel, spicy Angar bhel, Rough n’ Tough bhel and Shake up bhel! The century-old Bawada Misal has served the who’s who of Bollywood, and flaunts their photographs on its walls while servers generously dole out unlimited portions of the spicy curry or ‘sample’. The best of Kolhapur’s street food is at Rankala Lake, once an ancient stone quarry, with the lofty Shalini Palace nearby.

The royal residence, New Palace near Kolhapur Zoo, houses the Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Museum displaying costumes, weapons and silver elephant saddles. The Durbar Hall’s stained glass arches depict scenes from Chhatrapati Shivaji’s life. The highlights are a panel on how to train cheetahs and the royal array of hunting trophies from Radhanagari Dam to Kenya, including a bizarre collection of zebra tail brooms and dusters, ashtrays made of tiger claws, antler side tables and walking sticks made of rhino bones! At Tulja Bhavani Temple inside Shahu Maharaj’s Rajmahal, we marvel at real turtles sunning themselves around a Turtle shrine. Thankfully, they escaped the Maharaja’s crosshairs! Few know that Kolhapur also got India its first individual Olympic medal. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (1894-1922), a progressive ruler who was fond of wrestling, set up many akharas in Kolhapur. Since wrestlers received taleem (training) here, the wrestling schools became known as talim. With royal patronage, KD Jadhav travelled to the London Olympics in 1948 and won a bronze at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. His statue stands at Bhavani Mandap; the pillar also mentions other sportsmen from Kolhapur, Swapnil Kusale, who bagged a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics in rifle shooting. At Motibagh Talim, we watched wrestlers of all ages from Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. In the dim-lit mud pit, mud-smeared youngsters practiced tackles, lunges and squats. Oddly, they all looked alike—wide-shouldered, short-haired with similar build. We learnt that the red mud they wrestle on is enriched with turmeric, ghee, oil, camphor and sandalwood powder!

The city’s paramount deity Mahalakshmi or Amba Bai’s 7th century temple boasts stunning Chalukyan architecture. According to legend, the goddess slew a demon named Kolasura here, after whom the place was called Kolhapur. A secret Shiva temple exists in the temple’s dome, representing the balance of Shiva-Shakti, but is closed to visitors. Since Mahalakshmi is Lord Venkateshwara or Balaji’s consort, a darshan at Tirupati is incomplete without Lakshmi’s blessings, which explains the special train and direct flight between Kolhapur and Tirupati! There’s a small Tirupati Balaji sub-shrine outside the main temple. Interestingly, the temple doorway faces west and during Uttarayana and Dakshinayana, when the sun travels northward and southward in the sky, the rays of the setting sun fall on the idol for three days.

Twenty-one days later, a similar phenomenon occurs at the hilltop Shiva shrine of Jyotiba. Devotees offer and fling gulal, turning the whole temple precinct pink, hence its popular name Pink Temple. We visited the historic Panhala Fort, from where Shivaji Maharaj made a dramatic escape by planting Shiva Kashid, a look-alike barber as a decoy. The fort ramparts near Teen Darwaza and Andhar Bavdi (Secret Stepwell) present stunning views and beautiful architecture. Kolhapur’s rulers also promoted textile traditions. At Chandraroop, a century-old shop, we picked up a few saris and ogled at their exclusive Paithanis. Back at the hotel, a delicious Malvani meal awaited us at Blue Lotus and we followed it up with a rooftop dinner at the OG BBQ icon, Barbecue Nation. The starters featured the favourites—Garlic prawns, Fish tikka, Tangdi kebab, Crispy corn and an extensive main course with iconic dishes like Shaam-savera, desserts and kulfis. Indeed there’s lots to eat in Kolhapur. Luckily for us well-behaved souls, it was not the paytan!

Where to stay: Sayaji Hotel: Old Pune-Bangalore Road; The Fern: Shahu Market Yard; Ramee Panchshil: Shivaji Park

Getting there: Fly direct to Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport, Kolhapur from Bangalore in 1 hr 5 min, besides Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Tirupati.

—Anurag Mallick and Priya Ganapathy

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