Pune Heritage Walk: Unveiling the Rich History of the Cultural Capital

Punavadi to Punyanagari

Pune has changed so much…. After assimilating many cultures : from Maratha to Mughals to The British, it is now one of the fastest growing cities of India. Once known as a sleepy town of the seniors is now bustling with life.

The Pune Heritage Walk is conducted by PMC and Janwani and they are doing a marvelous job. Ms Sharvari from Janwani coordinates the walk and it was guided under the expertise of Dr. Apte. For more details of the walk please check the following links:

http://www.puneheritagewalk.com/

http://janwani.org/site/

http://www.virasatpune.com/

There are two types of Heritage walks that they conduct: Regular and Signature.

I had been for the Regular walk. We covered around 15 places in our 3 hour walk which included: PMC building, Shivaji Bridge, Ghorpade Ghat, Shaniwar Wada, Mujumdar Wada, Fani Ali Talim, Kasba Ganpati Mandir, Lal Mahal, Nana Wada, Bhaurangari Ganpati, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Pune Nagar Wachan Mandir, Mahatma Phule Mandai, Burud Ali, Tulshi Baug Ram Mandir and concluded at Vishrambaug Wada.

I wanted to take up the Heritage walk in spite of being brought up in Pune, for we fail to notice small nuances in our busy lives. I finally took this Heritage walk and it did not disappoint me. There is something in the walk for everyone. Along with me and my husband, there were students from Germany and few others from other states on India. I learnt so many new and interesting things about my beloved city and was very happy about this initiative by Janwani and PMC. Some of the interesting stories\facts learnt during the walk were:

Shivaji Bridge was one of the most scenic picnic spots during that era. It is one of the kind bridge with circular areas to enjoy the view of the river.
The Delhi darwaja was known by this name as the Peshwe dreamed of capturing Delhi.
Lal Mahal was the place where Shivaji and Jijabai lived in Pune. After it was captured by the Mughals, Shivaji captured it back by leading a commando attack on Shaistekhan.
Bhide wada opposite Dagduseth Ganpati was the place where the first school for girls was started by Savitribai Phule.
Bhaurangari Wada has a door which opens from both sides(ie inside and outside). This was helpful during the freedom fight movement where the freedom fighters used for escaping from the police. There was also a underground tunnel here.
Before the establishment of the Pune Mandai, the vegetable market used to be at the outskirts of Shaniwar Wada.
When the British were constructing the Pune mandai, Jyothiba Phule strongly opposed the plan. Later after independence the market was named as Jyotibha Phule mandai. 🙂
There is also a statue of Lokmanya Tilak at mandai. The Ganpati processions start from here.

There are more such stories but you have to be a part of this walk to experience the fun as times flies back 40-100 years. 🙂

Here is the picture story of the walk: