The Vitthal-Rukhmini Temple in Aundh area of Pune is located in a pristinely beautiful location on the Mutha riverside.
The temple surroundings are calm with birds chirping as the river flows nearby.
I visited here recently and invited Puneites for a meetup to assess the accessibility features of this 18th century temple.
As usual nobody came.
Here is the banner of the meetup anyways.
I checked the following.
- The accessibility of the main gate.
- The availability of handrails at the entrance.
- The accessibility of the parking space.
- The accessibility of the temple premises.
The access to the temple is both from inside the Aundh township and also the old Mumbai-Pune highway. The main entrance has a gate and a concrete pathway that is fully accessible for a wheelchair.
Here is the main doorway to the temple premises and in spite of being built in the medieval ages, has some modern steel handrails to enable the differently abled to enter, though plentiful helping hands are always available nearby.
I also noticed there are separate parking for 2-wheeler and 4-wheelers which are completely accessible for a wheelchair.
Inside the temple premises, the Parikrama Marg is leveled and covered with interlocking blocks to allow smooth passage for a wheelchair and for the blind.
This concludes the accessibility check for the Vitthal-Rukhmini temple in Aundh area of Pune.
Here are some more photos of the temple.
This backside view of the temple shows its Shikhara built in the classic Hindu style of main cusped dome surrounded by smaller domes that are interleaved with idols of various Hindu Gods.
Inside the temple is always dark with little light provided during the daytime when I visited. This is to facilitate meditation for the devotees.
the GarbhGruba or the innermost chamber of the temple too has a classic Hindu cusped arched entrance through which I could see the idols of Vitthal-Rukhmini carved in the shining black basalt rock commonly found in this region of India.
This is a view farther away from the entrance showing the duo of St. Dnyaneshwar and St. Tukaram on either side, the most popular saints in and around Pune.
Also seen in the photo are several musical instruments that are commonly found in Hindu temples and are played during Bhajan, Kirtan and musical recitals during various festivals throughout the year.
At the ground level is the Turtle representing the Kurma Avatar of Bhagawan Vishnu. And at the entrance is also the Swastik that represents good charm and prosperity.
There is also a donation box though they have not started using online payment apps like GPay or PayTM yet. The temple timings are also written but I found that the temple was open the whole day.
Next is the photo of the Sabha Mandap where people gather in large number during festivals and on the days of Bhajan and Kirtan.
Finally, a photo of one of the smaller temples built on relatively larger platforms having steps.
These smaller temples are also richly decorated with the Hindu cusped arches and domes on the top.
Conclusion
The Vitthal-Rukhmini temple in Aundh area of Pune is fully geared towards embracing the differently abled and though there were a few discontinuities, helpful people were always available nearby to ease the experience of the differently abled.
This meetup was conducted as part of the Accessibility for All movement.
