Scribd
Upload
189 views13 pages

Pune Historical Monuments

Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 as the seat of the Maratha Peshwas and served as the central source of politics and culture during the Maratha rule. After losing power to the British East India Company in 1818, its importance diminished. An unexplained fire destroyed most of the fortress in 1828. The palace contained elaborate architecture like intricately carved doorways and ceilings, large glass chandeliers, and a beautiful fountain shaped like a lotus. Its military defenses, which included well-planned exits, spiked doors, and stone walls equipped with cannons, made it almost impenetrable.

Uploaded by

vaidehi vakil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
189 views13 pages

Pune Historical Monuments

Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 as the seat of the Maratha Peshwas and served as the central source of politics and culture during the Maratha rule. After losing power to the British East India Company in 1818, its importance diminished. An unexplained fire destroyed most of the fortress in 1828. The palace contained elaborate architecture like intricately carved doorways and ceilings, large glass chandeliers, and a beautiful fountain shaped like a lotus. Its military defenses, which included well-planned exits, spiked doors, and stone walls equipped with cannons, made it almost impenetrable.

Uploaded by

vaidehi vakil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

Testimonial to the glorious Marathi era

Built in 1732, Shaniwar Wada was a literal architectural


representation of the Peshwas. Throughout the glorious
Maratha rule, Shaniwar Wada remained as the central
source for politics and culture. After losing power to the
East India Company in 1818, Shaniwar Wada was
reduced to just a historical monument, to diminish the
Maharashtrian prowess throughout history and to break
the public spirit. An unexplained fire destroyed most of
the fortress

The palaces and fountains


 Shaniwar Wada is renowned for its elaborate and
elegant palaces. Referred to as ‘Thorlya Rayancha
Diwankhana’ (Court Hall of the eldest Royal), the
palace houses intricately carved doorways and
ceilings.
 prestigious and large glass chandeliers hung from
the ceiling. The floors were made of marble and
were decorated with rich Persian rugs. The walls
were painted with beautiful figurines from the
Ramayan and Mahabharat tales.

 The palace also comprised a gorgeous fountain,


known as ‘Hazari Karanje’ (Fountain of a
thousand jets); it’s shaped to look like a lotus, and
the 16 lotus petals comprising this fountain had
sixteen jets of water with an 80 foot arch!

 Since the buildings were destroyed in the fire


of 1828, only descriptions of the living areas of
the fort are available. All the state halls in the
buildings are said to have doorways with
exquisitely carved teak arches, with
ornamental teardrop teak pillars shaped
like Suru (cypress tree) trunks supporting the
ceilings, which were covered with beautiful
teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers.
Exquisite glass chandeliers hung from the
ceilings. The floors were made of highly
polished marble, arranged in a mosaic pattern
and adorned with rich Persian rugs.

Military dominance

The architecture of the fortress is a good reason why the


fort was so powerful; well-planned exits along with
spiked doors made it almost impenetrable. The high
stone walls were equipped with canons, giving the fort
an almost unfair advantage over the enemy down
below.
GATES
 Dilli Darwaza
 Mastani darwaza
 Khidki darwaza
 Ganesh darwaza
 Jambhul darwaza

OSHO TEERTH PARK


 Osho Teerth is a beautiful 12-acre park that
has been created out of a publicly-owned
former wasteland.
 This is a project that simultaneously addresses
issues related to water regeneration and use,
irrigation, health and social education, land
use, reforestation and beautification. This one
small seed is already fulfilling its potential to
flower into many similar community-based
projects. It can contribute immeasurably to the
livability of humanity's
habitat.
KARLA CAVES
 The Karla cave complex is built into a rocky
hillside around 60 kilometres (37 mi)
from Pune, with large windows cut into the
rock to light the cave interiors.[7] The caves are
among a large numbers of similar caves
excavated in the Sahyadri Hills in the early 1st
millennium CE. There are altogether 16 caves
in the group, with 3 of them
being Mahayana caves. Most of the caves
are lenas, with the major exception being the
Great Chaitya, Cave No. 8.[8]

Characteristics
The chaitya follows the usual pattern for the
period, but is unusually large. It is exceptional for
preserving original elements in wood: the
prominent lateral ribs and other roof timbers, and
the umbrella over the stupa. The chaitya hall only
survives in rock-cut examples, but these replicate
in stone the form of examples in wood and thatch.
In most rock-cut chaityas, the roof timbers are
replicated in stone, to considerable visual effect,
but in others actual timber was used, for purely
aesthetic rather than structural reasons. In most of
these cases the timber has long decayed away, as
for example in the chaitya at Cave 3, Kanheri
Caves. Here, although some were replaced
under Lord Curzon in the 19th century, most are
original.[13]

You might also like