Malvan

Malvan (also written as Malwan) pronunciation^ⓘ is a town and taluka in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra State, India, well known for the historically important Sindhudurg Fort. Malvan taluka consists of villages such as Angane Wadi, Masure, Achra, Khalchi Devli, Jamdul, Juva, Pankhol, Talasheel and Sarjekot. The main occupation here is fishing and agriculture. The staple diet of the local people is fish curry and rice. The town produces Alphonso mangoes and is also known for sweets such as Malvani Khaja made from gram-besan flour and coated jaggery as well as Malvani Ladoos. Other sweets that attract tourists are Konkani Meva, Aambawadi, Fanaspoli, Kajuwadi, and Naralachya Wadya.

Dashavtar (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu), a drama-play based on mythological stories, is an important cultural element of the area. Several apocryphal and some more credible stories related to the name Malvan exist. Salt producers use term 'Mahalavan' to describe a region rich in salt, a compound word from "maha" meaning great, and "lavan" meaning plantation (or salt). Another possibility is a phonetic derivative of the compound of "Mad" and "Ban", Malvani for coconut trees and garden, respectively, relating to the many coconut trees in the region. Malvani, a dialect of Konkani is the local language.