October 2010 Archives

Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III built this palace in 1892 for the purpose of providing employment to the villagers impacted by the famine. Gandhi and his wife were brought here in 1942 and placed under house arrest. Their memorials can be found on the palace grounds and various rooms include his personal items on display.

About an hours drive southwest of Pune is an old fort atop a hill about 800 meters above the surrounding countryside called Sinhagad, which translates to Lion’s Den. Its history dates back to 1350 A.D. and is a site of an important battle. Getting there required driving up a narrow two lane road next to very steep slopes. The views from Sinhagad are quite amazing with green hills all around and views of the countryside below.

Parvati Temple is located on a hill overlooking the city of Pune. It is 103 stone steps to reach the top. The temple is one of the oldest historical sites in Pune and was built during the Peshwa dynasty in 1749. While hiking to the top, we encountered a number of stray dogs running up and down the steps. Perhaps they were doing their daily prayers.

While waiting at the Bengaluru airport, I ran into some colleagues from Vancouver. It was quite funny because we were on the same flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong to Bengaluru. It used to be known as Bangalore, but due to political reasons the name has changed. Same with Bombay: it is now known as Mumbai and Calcutta is now Kolkata. In fact Pune used to be called Poona. Some locals still refer to these cities by their old names.

There are many forts in Pune that are centuries old. Shaniwar Wada was a palace fort that was built by the Peshwas in 1736 who ruled the Maratha Empire until their surrender to the British in 1818. The entrance was designed to be large enough for elephants with canopies to enter. To prevent elephants from charging through the gate, the gates were fortified with 72 steel spikes at about the height of an elephant’s head.

One of the major modes of transport here in India is riding the auto rickshaw or “auto” for short. These are equipped with three wheels and are driven by men wearing brown uniforms. They have meters but are never used. Instead you must bargain the price with the driver before getting on. Some are honest but others will double the price if they see you’re a foreigner. It helps to ask the hotel what to expect to pay for the fare so you have some bargaining power.

On my first day in Pune, India, I walked through a local market that sold fruits, dried food, live chickens and fish. Anytime I took a photo, people would stop and smile. It’s not hard taking pictures of strangers in India. While waiting on a street corner, a street vendor gestured to me to take a photo of him and his wife. And while I was taking pictures of the street traffic, these three kids on a bike rode right up in front of the camera lens and stopped with their smiling faces.