#LocalGuides #PuneLocalGuides
Hello guys!
On the 26th of May, Sunday, I organized my first Heritage Meetup and it was amazing!
First to show up at Shaniwar Wada, the venue, was @rohitwadke . We introduced ourselves and started exploring Shaniwar Wada while waiting for others.
Soon we met up with @amageprashant and went on to review Warsaa- the Heritage Shop next to Shaniwarwada.
After reviewing this shop, we set forth to see the Sardar Shitolde Wada and the Narsimha Mandir- the Anglo-Indian architecture on the facade is beautiful but not well maintained. The Wada has been converted into a housing society now and houses almost 72 flats. The Narsimha Mandir inside the Wada, on the other hand, was renovated and functioned well.
One block ahead lies the Tambat Ali- the area famous for local coppersmith businesses. We went to one of the workshops and saw how copper vessels are heated, moulded and ready to be sold. It was amazing!
From there on we visited two temples- The Kedareshwar Mandir and the famous Kasba Ganpati Mandir
We had brunch at a local restaurant and set forth.
Unfortunately, Lal Mahal and Nana Wada were under repair.
I still wanted to see whether the Nana Haud (old water cistern) was still there or dilapidated. To my surprise, hidden behind a bus stop in a dingy shed, it was still there with clean water and everything! For those who don’t know, during the Peshwa reign, a channel was created from Katraj (high point) to the city area (lower level), and there were many Hauds (water cisterns) which were a source of clean water and thriving public spaces. Though the surrounding area was not as clean I was happy to see one remnant of the hydraulic marvel still intact.
One block away we stopped to view the Dagdusheth Temple, as it was a weekend, this famous temple was densely packed.
Opposite of this temple is the Bhide Wada where Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Krantiveer Savitribai Phule opened India’s first girls’ school. It saddened me to see such an important part of history lying in ruins and people walking past it completely oblivious of it’s past.
Our next stop was Belbaug Mandir- an old Vishnu temple with Maratha style architecture. As this was private property, photography wasn’t allowed.
Ram Mandir was our final destination. We walked around the temple complex and saw the surrounding shops selling small brass and copper vessels.
It was blazing hot so we decided to stop by Kaware Cold Drink House to have some dessert.
Finally on our way back we met up with @GeoThak who had followed our trail and covered almost all the locations! We decided to eat and have a chat at another food joint and snapped a few pictures.
This was a very productive Sunday! I made some new friends, learned a lot about Google Maps as I strolled through the heart of my city. I want to thank my fellow local guides @rohitwadke @amageprashant @GeoThak for making this meet-up successful! I am more excited than ever to host another meet-up and meet with more local guides from Pune!
Photo and Video credits: @rohitwadke @amageprashant @GeoThak
