Pune

STD code: 020

HISTORY

Shivaji, the great Maratha leader, was raised in Pune which was granted to his grandfather in 1599. Later it became the capital of the Peshwas but in 1817 went to the British, under whom it became the capital of the region during the monsoon. It has a rather more pleasant climate at that time than muggy Mumbai. Although Pune has a number of points of interest and can be conveniently visited if you're heading from Mumbai to Aurangabad (for Ajanta and Ellora) or to Goa, its major attraction to western visitors today is the Shree Rajneesh Ashram. The ashram has become so well known that it's even included on the city bus tour, where, in a superb reversal of roles, Indians flock to view westerners.

Satara Road

 

 

HOW TO GET THERE

■By Air: Well connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Goa

■By road: Mumbai is 160 km from Pune, and it is a three-hour drive on the spectacular Mumbai-Pune Expressway

INFORMATION AND ORIENTATION

There's a Tourist Information Counter at the railway station where tours can be booked and some information is available. The Regional Tourist Office is in Central Buildings but is not of any great use. The city is at the confluence of the Mutha and Mula Rivers. The railway and bus stations are side by side and there are a number of hotels and restaurants and the Indian Airlines office in this same central area.

WHERE TO STAY

■ Taj Blue Diamond: A relaxing getaway with elegant rooms; tel: 2402 5555
■ Le Meridien: Built in Rajasthani style blended with traditional European charm; tel: 2605 0505

WHERE TO EAT

■ ABC Farms: A melange of various restaurants in earthy, romantic settings. Includes the Swiss Cheese Garden, Jazz Garden (Continental food with live jazz), Sala Thai, Tampopo (Japanese) and Golconda (Hyderabadi); tel: 2687 6555/999
■ Vaishali (FC Road): Best loved for its South Indian dishes
■ Arthur's Theme: European and French cuisine; tel: 2613 2710
■ German Bakery: Popular for its desserts; tel: 2613 6532
■ Sanskruti: A four-acre restaurant serving delectable Maharashtrian and Gujarati thaalis amidst a rural ambience, complete with puppeteers, mehndi-wallas, palm readers and folk dancers; tel: 2815 156/58

WHAT TO SEE

■ Aga Khan Palace: Built in 1892 by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III and donated to India in 1969 by Aga Khan IV, it is today a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba

■ Vishrambaug Wada: Has a beautiful entrance and intricately carved wooden facade with beautiful Suru columns.

■ Shaniwar Wada: Known for its imposing walls and huge teak doors topped with elephant-proof spikes. The interiors have some well preserved murals showing Vishnu, Ganapati and scenes from the Ramayana.

■ Shindyanchi Chhatri: A memorial to mighty Peshwas from 1760-1780.

■ Pune University: A beautiful Italian-Gothic building in local grey tap rock, it houses a 30m-high square tower, swimming pool and well-manicured lawns.

■ Osho Ashram: A 'meditation resort', this lush contemporary 40-acre campus is a tropical oasis with white marble pathways, elegant black buildings, abundant foliage, library, Olympic-sized swimming pool, sauna, tennis and basketball courts, bistro, massage and beauty parlours, Buddha Meditation Hall and Osho's Samadhi

■ Saras Baug: A sunken garden at the foothills of Parvati Hill, this is a popular evening hangout

■ National Defence Academy: At Khadakswasla, it's the only academy in the world where all the three armed forces are trained together

■ Panshet Dam: A popular spot for water sports like kayaking and wind surfing. There are special facilities for speed boats and water scooters.

■ Sinhagad Fort: A12th century fort standing atop an almost perpendicular cliff in the Bhuleshwar Mountains, 40 km from Pune. There are sweeping views of the Panshet and Khadakwasla dams from the top.

■ Mahabaleshwar: It's the highest point in the Western Ghats (1372m),

■ Raja Kelkar Museum: This interesting museum is one of Pune's real delights. The exhibits are the personal collection of Shri Dinkar Kelkar, a smiling old man in a white dhoti whom visitors will often see wandering around the building. There's actually far more to his zany collection than there is actually on show. The museum building is simply too small and exhibits have to be rotated. Amongst the items you might see are Peshwa and other miniatures, a coat of armour made of fish scales, a bizarre collection of musical instruments, carved doors and windows, hookah pipes, strange locks, oil lamps and a superb collection of betel nut cutters. The museum is housed in a quaint purple, red and green Rajasthani-style building.

■ Shanwarwada Palace: In a section of the town where narrow and winding streets form a maze stands the imposing fortress like Shanwarwada Palace. Built in 1736 the massive walls enclosed the palace of the Peshwa rulers—until it was burnt down in 1827. Inside today there is a pleasant garden and little signs proclaiming which rooms used to stand there. The palace is entered through sturdy doors studded with spikes in order to dissuade enemy elephants from leaning too heavily against the entrance! In a nearby street the Peshwa rulers used to execute offenders by trampling them with elephants.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

■ Ganesh Temple: The Empress Gardens, with fine tropical trees and a small zoo nearby, has a moated Ganesh temple in the middle. The Bund Gardens, on the banks of the river, are a popular place for an evening stroll. The bridge here crosses the river to Yeravda and the Aga Khan's Palace. The Parvati Temple is on the outskirts of the town on a hilltop. There's a good view from the top, and the last Peshwa ruler is said to have watched his troops defeated by the British at Kirkee from up here. The rock cut Panchaleshwar Temple, a small 8th century temple similar in style to the much grander rock temples of Ellora, is fairly central. The 150 metre long Wellesley Bridge crosses the Mutha River to Sangam, the promontory of land where the Mutha and Mula join. It dates from 1875. There's a fine equestrian statue of Shivaji near the Panchaleshwar Temple.

■ St Mary's Church: Consecrated by Bishop Heber in the 1930s.

■ Kasaba Ganapati: Established by Shivaji's mother Jijabai, this has been serving as the firstrmandal for the Ganapati procession since 1894

■ Pataleshwar Cave Temple: An 8th-century temple hewn from a massive rock, with huge pillars, a Shiva shrine and a Nandi bull

■ Dagdusheth Ganapati: The richest mandal in the city, known for its elaborate Ganesh festival celebrations

■ Parvati Temple: A 17th-century temple on a hilltop on the southern outskirts of the town

MUSEUMS

■ Raja Kelkar Museum: A one-man collection of rare exhibits and artefacts, it boasts almost 75,000 interesting objects d'art, including carved palace doors, pottery, 17th century miniatures, and other items from the Mughal and Maratha periods.
■ Tribal Museum: Boasts a treasure-trove of old photos, costumes, artefacts, masks and Warli paintings
■ Tilak Smarak Mandir: Dedicated to LokmanyaTilak

SHOPPING

■ Laxmi Road: Famous for a wide variety of Pune cotton-silk sarees
■ Bajirao Road and Tulsi Bagh: For garments and textiles, especially the traditional nine-yard saree and furniture
■ MG Road: Upmarket shops, mainly branded national and international chains
■ Hanuman Mandir: For silver clothing, toys, embroidery items and traditional sweet shops like Chitale Bandhu, known for pedas, barf is and amrakhanda as well as the spicy bhakar wadis

AROUND PUNE

Simhagad: This 'lion fort', is 25 km south-west of Pune and was the scene of another of Shivaji's daring exploits. The fortress stands on top of a sheer sided hill at 1270 metres altitude. In 1670 Shivaji's general Tanaji Malusre led a force of men who scaled the steep hillside in the dark and defeated the unprepared forces of Bijapur. Legends about this dramatic attack relate that the Maratha forces used trained lizards to carry ropes up the hillside. Tanaji died in the assault and there are monuments at the spot where he died and also at the place where he lost his left hand before his death. Purandar is another old fortress, it's 27 km southeast of Pune, further by road.