Pune

Puṇe (IPA: [pʊɳe], Marathi: पुणे) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the capital of Pune District in which it is located. It is the 7th largest city in India with a population of 4.5 million, and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra. It is located roughly 120 kilometres east of Mumbai at an altitude of 560 metres above sea level. It is situated at the eastern edge of the Western ghats on the Deccan plateau.

Pune has a reputation for its several esteemed colleges and educational institutions, a reason why it is called 'Oxford of the East' (or 'Oxford of India'). It is also home to many software and IT companies. Pune is widely considered the cultural capital of Marathi-speaking Maharashtrians. Although Marathi is the main language of Pune, its cosmopolitan population speaks several other languages like English, Hindi, Kannada, Tulu and Gujarati.

Name

Pune derives its name from Punya Nagari, or the city of virtuous deeds. Pune started out as Punnaka — an agricultural settlement in the 8th century. By the 11th century, it was known as Kasbe Pune or Punavadi when under the Mughal rule. It was known alternatively as Poona by the British.

Pune was also bestowed with the epithet of "Oxford of the East" by Jawaharlal Nehru due to its stature as an educational hub.

History

The Delhi Gate of Shaniwar Wada (fort)

Medieval Times

Pune started out as Punnaka — an agricultural settlement in the 8th century. The earliest evidence (copper plates dating 758 AD and 768 AD) reveals that this region was ruled by the Rashtrakutas. It came under Mughal rule in the 11th century.

Until circa 1818, it continued to be ruled by various dynasties, especially the Mughals and the Marathas. During the mid 17th century, it became the temporary residence of Marathi King Shivaji. In 1749 A.D, it prominence as the capital of the Maratha kingdom under the Peshwa rule. It was during this period that the city expanded considerably.

Pune's medieval roots are also evident in number of temples. The oldest existing structure in the city is the rock-cut temple of Pataleshwar, from the 8th century AD. The cave-temple complex is also called Panchaleshvara cave. This cave, once situated outside limits of the old town, is now squarely in the middle of the city off the Jungli Maharaj road.

Maratha Empire

Pune is inextricably linked to the life of the great Maratha hero and king, Chhatrapati Shivaji. The era of Pune's fame began when Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji came to stay here with his mother Jijabai in 1635-36. They lived in a mansion known as "Lal Mahal," a replica of which still can be visited at its original location in the city. According to local lore, the Kasba Ganapati Mandir, regarded as the presiding deity of the city (gramadevata), was built by Jijabai.

In the early 18th century, prime minister of Chhatrapati Shahu, Peshwe Baji Rao I wanted to make Pune his home, which was agreed to by the king. He built his palace on a slightly raised ground near the Mutha river which is now known as Shaniwar Peth. The fortified palace that came up is known as Shaniwar Wada. Shaniwar Wada is considered by many to be the focal point of the old city of Pune.

A historical fort at Kharda commemorates the Battle of Kharda fought between the Maratha Confederacy under the Peshwa at Poona and the Nizam of Hyderabad, in 1795.

1817 saw a war breaking out between the Marathas and the British. A battle was fought in Kirkee (now "Khadki"), a town earlier outside the main Pune (though at present is considered to be well within the city limits). The Peshwas were defeated and the British forces took over the town. The British realized the importance of the city and built a large cantonment to the east of the city. Later, Pune was pronounced the Monsoon Capital of the Bombay Presidency. The city passed into British rule after the defeat of Marathas in the Battle of Ashti in 1818. Army bases established by the British on the outskirts of the city were later converted into cantonments of Pune and Khadki. The Pune Municipality was established in 1858. A number of esteemed educational institutes also came up here in the latter half of the 19th century, enhancing Pune's stature as an education hub.

Struggle for independence

During the struggle for Indian independence, Pune took its place as an important center for social and religious reform movements that were sweeping the country. The presence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar dominated the political scene for six decades during this period. It was the home to some reformers who were stalwarts of the national movement, like Mahadev Govind Ranade, R.G Bhandarkar, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule.

After Indian independence (1947), Pune's reputation as an educational and research node grew with the establishment of the University of Pune, the National Defence Academy (NDA), National Chemical Laboratory and other such premier institutes. However, certain schools and colleges, such as the College of Engineering, Pune and Fergusson College have exceeded the reputation of the city's far-known educational status from the late 1800s.

Geography

View from the "Pune Darwaja" of Sinhagad

Pune is located at 18° 31' 22.45" North 73° 52' 32.69" East (See satellite view), near the western margin of the Deccan Plateau.

Zero Milestone Outside Pune's General Post Office (GPO), next to a large Banyan tree in front lies Pune's "Zero" Milestone. The GPO itself (constructed 1873-74) is a two-storeyed building -- Pune's only building in the Palladian architectural style.

Pune lies on the leeward side of the Sahyadri ranges and Western Ghats, 560 m (1837 ft) above the sea level, at the confluence of Mula and Mutha rivers, which are tributaries of the Bhima. Two more rivers, Pavana and Indrayani traverse the Northwestern outskirts of the urban area. The Sinhagad-Katraj-Dive Ghats range is the Southern Boundary of the urban area. The highest point in the city is Vetal Hill (800 m or 2625 ft above sea level) whereas the highest point just outside the urban area is the Sinhagad Fort (1300 m or 4265 ft above sea level).

Pune lies in the seismically active zone of Koyna Region, which is about 100 km south of Pune. Pune has recently been upgraded to lie in the zone IV, which is the second most dangerous seismic zone in India. Pune has experienced some moderate-intensity and many low-intensity earthquakes. Although earthquakes were not known to have originated in Pune itself, an earthquake of a very slight intensity took place in Pune that had its epicentre in Dehu, about 13 km from the main city. Seismologists were unable to explain the occurrence of this earthquake.

Climate

Pune experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from 35 to 39°C (95 to 102°F). Contrary to most of the Deccan Plateau where May is the warmest month, the warmest month in Pune is April. The city often receives locally developed heavy thundershowers with sharp downpours in May. Though the temperatures plunge in this month, the summer heat accompanied by high humidity can be occasionally quite oppressive. Nevertheless, the nights in Pune are significantly cooler compared to most other parts in this region owing to its high altitude.

Monsoon winds blowing from the Arabian sea are a welcome relief in June, bringing with them heavy showers. Pune receives moderate rainfall. The city receives an annual rainfall of 722 mm, mainly between June and September as the result of southwest monsoon. [1] July is the wettest month of the year. Though the rainfall is comparatively lower than in the adjoining Western ghats, steady spells of heavy rain frequently disrupt normal life in the city. The spells of continuous rainfall may stretch to many days or even a few weeks. Pune has, on record, received rainfall for 29 consecutive days (Days when rainfall is greater than 2.5 mm). However, the weather is very pleasant in the city with temperature ranging from 20 to 28°C (68 to 82°F).

As the monsoon winds recede, the day temperatures rise again in October with cooler nights signalling the onset of winter. Pune experiences winter from November to February. This is the best season to visit Pune. Pleasant windy days, clear skies and cool nights make it the most enjoyable time of the year. The day temperature hovers around 29°C (84°F) while night temperature is below 10°C (50°F) for most of December and January, often dropping to 5 or 6°C (42°F). On particularly cold days, wind may appear to be very chilly due to the dryness of air. Rain is very rare in this season.

Temperature records: The highest temperature recorded was 110°F (43.3°C) on 30 April 1987 and 7 May 1889. The lowest temperature recorded during 1881–1940 was 35°F (1.7°C) in 17 January 1935. More recently, Pune recorded a lowest temperature of 2.8°C on January 1991.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity of a city depends largely on its geographical position. Pune city is situated in the transition zone between the Deccan plateau and moist mountains, the Western Ghats. `Pune Urban Area’ measuring about 700 sq. km , has radius of about 25 km from the city post office. It consists of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations besides cantonments at Pune, Khadki and Dehuroad. It also includes adjoining semi-urban area. Biodiversity in Pune is characterised by:

• Higher habitat diversity within a relatively smaller area.
• Steep habitat gradient - Habitats change rapidly within short distance in towns and cities. Pune urban area has seven habitats within a distance of 25 Km from the centre of the city. These habitats are: built-up area, rivers and lakes, well wooded compounds, hilltops and hill slopes’ parks and gardens, open places – grounds and shoulders of the roads and urban agriculture.
• Rapid changes in habitat and land use - new residential colonies are getting built on the agricultural land or grassland and scrubland. Old wadas (mansions) are rapidly getting replaced with tall residential – cum – commercial complexes, water bodies are reclaimed, filled to create land for construction. New water pools come up in city parks and gardens. All these changes have taken place within a very short period of time.
• Abundant food supply - Large garbage dumping grounds and local garbage dumps in urban areas provide a diversity of food to scavenger animals such as smaller cats, dogs, hyena, etc. Scavenger birds such as crow, myna, kite, etc. also abound such dumps.
• Higher proportion of exotic flora - City parks, gardens and compounds are always planted with ornamental plants and trees of exotic nature. In many city gardens more than half of the trees are exotic. May hedge plants in urban areas are not native. For many decades a variety of exotic trees such as Eucalyptus, Glyricidia, and Australian acacia has been widely used for plantation. Many plants in terrace gardens are also exotic. Urban flora therefore is a mixture of native and exotic species

Trees

A total of 380 tree species have till date been recorded from the Pune Urban Area, two third of them being cultivated, mostly exotics and one third wild, native. Commonest species include Amba (Mangifera indica), Jambhul (Syzygium cumini), Vad (Ficus benghalensis), Umbar (Ficus glomerata), Karanj (Pongamia pinnata) and Bahava (Cassia fistula) that inhabit most habitat types and localities. Dominant forest species include Tectona grandis, Odina woodier, Terminalia bellerica, Buchanania lanzan, Gmelina arborea. Most popular plantation and habitation dwelling trees are exotic and include Rain tree (Samnea saman ), Copper pod ( Peltophorum ferruginum), Gulmohar (Delonix regia), Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta ), Bottle palm (Roystonea regia), Asoka (Polyalthia longifolia' var. pendula) Fountain tulip (Spathodea companulata) Sayami Cassia (Cassia siamea) Neelmohor (Jacaranda mimisaefolia) and Cork (Millingtonia hortensis). Trees dominating plantations particularly on forest department lands include Eucalyptus, Gliricidia, Leucaena and Dalbergia sissoo. The increase in populations of most of these exotic, ornamental trees has been at the cost of local, fruit tree species with decreasing populations over the last few decade. These include Neem (Azadiracha indica), Mango (Mangifera indica), Jackfruit (Artocarpus integra) Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Guava (Psidium guajava), Banyan (Ficus bengalensis), Peepal (F. religiosa) and Wild fig (F. glomerata). Some of them like the figs (Ficus spp.) were common as avenue and habitation trees earlier, but no more planted and in fact chopped down due to increasing congestion. Mango, Guava etc. were common in orchards along city fringes but now encroached by housing colonies. The famous Babul-van i.e. gallery thorn forest along river banks dominated by Acacia nilotica trees are all cut and encroached, which has also erased stretches of Wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris).

Herbs

The herb flora of Pune environs is estimated to consist of about 600 species. Some species like Brassica juncea, Linum usitatissium, Sesamum indicum etc. inhabit all localities in the city while those confined to wilderness localities like Katraj include Impatiens balsamina, Raphanus sativus. Prominent escapes from cultivation, now naturalised in wilderness zones include Cosmos bipinnatus. Many herbs have medicinal value and some are even highly harvested such as Asparagus racemosus, Curculigo orchidoided, Gloriosa superba and even weeds like Mimosa pudica

Butterflies

104 butterfly species have been recorded so far from Pune. Over two third are found in denser forest habitats such as valleys of Sinhagad and Peacock Bay, 11 of which found nowhere else. Scrub appears to be most species rich habitat frequented by three fourth the species though only two of these were exclusive to it, seldom recorded elsewhere. Forest, on the other hand harboured lower diversity with only 68 species, but highest level of uniqueness, with nearly a dozen species exclusive to it. Plantations also harboured two unique species, though low species richness. Agriculture and grassland harbour high and lowest species richness respectively though without any species being exclusive to them. Together, wilderness areas i.e. forest, scrub and grasslands harbour three fourth of the species, about a fourth of them being exclusive to wilderness zone. The plantations clogging the township, along with the agriculture represent more human impacted zone which harbours about two third of the total species recorded from Pune, but some of them have their larval food plants located in the wilderness zone. The habitat specialists include predominantly forest dwellers like the Bushbrown, few species of Yellows and Flats; while the Tailed Jay is a habitation specialists. The habitat generalists include Common Rose, Lime Butterfly, species of Grass Blues etc. found in variety of habitat types.Some species occur throughout the year with a short population peak in a specific season, and some species occur only for a few months, such as the Spotless Grass Yellow and the Common Hedge Blue, respectively (at Sinhagad). A few species have a single, short flight period such as Lineblues (at Sinhagad) whereas some have two short peaks (e.g. Common Five-ring at Sinhagad). Yet others have just one, but fairly long flight period (e.g. Chocolate Pansy at Sinhagad). Although with little fluctuations, a few species (e.g. Common Evening Brown at Sinhagad) have similar abundance throughout the year. Most butterflies, in terms of number of individuals and number of species, fly in Pune during late monsoon and winter. The populations are low in spring and summer, probably due to fires at Peacock Bay and Pachgaon, and scarcity of water and ground flora at Malwadi and Sinhagad. Usually at all the sites, the populations start building from early monsoon and show the first peak in late monsoon, followed by a second peak in winter.

Birds

The richness of birds in Indian cities is mainly attributed to abundant food supply through garbage dumps etc., large number of planted trees that provide the nesting sites, shelter etc. and the traditional goodwill of Indians to all living beings (Burton, 1977). Many large cities in India support around 300 or more bird species with Delhi leading with 434 species, followed by Mumbai (350 species, Ali and Abdulali, 1941) and Bangalore (315 species, Karthikeyan, 1999), are some examples. Pune is no exception to this with its 332 species. The city and environs harbour six major habitat types that include Forest (F), Scrub (S), Grassland or ‘maals’ (G), Tree plantation (P) including garden, orchards and avenues, Houses (H), Agriculture (A) and Waterbodies (W). The first three habitat types (F,S,G) comprise the wilderness zones with low human impacts while the next three (P,H,A) comprise the impacted zone on land. Table 1 presents the number of species found across various habitat types. About a third of the species are waterbirds, primarily winter migratory. None of them are exclusive to impacted areas though a few such as Blackwinged stilt are most abundant in polluted water where hardly any other species survive. Even in terrestrial habitats, exclusive species are wanting though few species such as sparrow, crow and common myna are preferential of human habitations, being commensals of humans. Less than a tenth of the total species inhabit human habitations while only a third inhabit impacted zone, hardly any being exclusively so. On the contrary, over 90% of the total species inhabit the wilderness zone, over two thirds of them being exclusively so. This emphasises why hill forests, grasslands and waterbodies are essential to maintain over a third of the urban avifauna. As a matter of fact, due to the mosaic of habitats the city region supports more bird species than the surrounding countryside. Populationwise also, the city region supports more birds than surrounding countryside. According to a survey, the average bird density within the city was 2.75 birds per hectare against 0.8 birds per hectare beyond the city’s eastern outskirts. Four species viz. House Sparrow, Crows (both House and Jungle), Common Myna and Blue Rock Pigeon form almost 70% of total bird population in western suburbs (mainly Kothrud). Four habitat types viz. Hill forest and scrub, tree plantations and waterbodies together support most of the urban avifauna. Wellwooded compounds with large, tall trees are popular roosting sites for communal birds like Crows, Mynas, Herons and Egrets, Parakeets and Kites. The five most important roosting areas for the communal birds include Peshwe park-Sarus Baug complex, Vaikuntha crematorium, Police Parade ground-Agriculture college campus, Pune University campus (old garden) and the Bund garden-Koregaon park-Empress garden belt.

Mammals

Pune urban area hosts 65 species, ranking highest amongst India metropolis. It is observed that forests constitute the richest habitat, sheltering over half the total species, grasslands and plantation being poorest, hosting a mere sixth while habitations harbour a fifth. Wilderness zone harbours over two third the species while impacted zone of habitation and cultivation hosts over a half. A third of the total species are confined to forests while a sixth nearly confined to agricultural landscape. Grasslands hardly host any species exclusively. Wilderness zone exclusively hosts a little less than half the total species while impacted zone nearly a third. The ten commonest mammal species for the area include House rat, House mouse, Bandicoot rat, Three-striped palm squirrels, Kelaort’s pipistrelle bat, Yellow house bat, the three fruit bat species, Grey musk shrew and Blacknaped hare. The seven rarest species include Blackbuck, Mouse deer, Leopard cat, Smooth-coated Otter and Painted bat, besides Tiger and Gaur that are locally extinct.

Economy

Pune is a major industrial centre, growing very fast every year. It is home to one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, — Bajaj Auto. The manufacturing plant of India's largest Passenger car and Commercial vehicle manufacturer, Tata Motors, is in Pimpri, a suburb of Pune. DaimlerChrysler also has an assembly line for its Mercedes-Benz brand in Pune. It is also home to Kinetic Engineering, Force Motors Ltd (previously known as Bajaj Tempo).

The world's second largest forging company Bharat Forge Ltd is also in Pune. Cummins Engines Co Ltd has a Research & Technology India center in Pune in addition to its manufacturing plant. Other Engineering companies include Alfa Laval, Sandvik Asia, Thyssen Krupp (formerly Backau Wolf), KSB Pumps, Finolex, Greaves India, Forbes Marshall, etc. Whirlpool as well as LG have appliance manufacturing plants near Pune. Frito Lay and Coca Cola also have their manufacturing plants in Pune. In addition, Pune is home to numerous small and medium-sized enterprises.

Pune has a burgeoning software industry. Many of India's major software players such as Infosys, Fluent, Xansa,TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Patni, Satyam, FuzzeLabs, KPIT Cummins, Aztecsoft (Disha) , Persistent Systems, Geometric Software Solutions Private Limited,Neilsoft and Kanbay Software have a major presence in Pune. Global majors like BMC Software, HSBC Global Technology, IBM, Red Hat, Siemens, EDS, I-Flex, Cognizant,Symantec, SunGard Data Systems ,Zensar Technologies and Magic Software Enterprises India Pvt have a major presence in Pune's various Software Technology Parks and other areas. Some of the prominent IT parks in the city are the Hinjewadi IT Park, Magarpatta Cybercity, MIDC Software Technology Park, talawada, Marisoft IT Park (Kalyaninagar) etc. Accenture has recently opened a new facility in Pune. IPdrum which is a new actor in the Voip business has also established a branch office in Pune.Recently T-Systems [ http://tsystems.com/ ] India has opened a software development centre at ICC Tech Park(Senapati Bapat Marg).

Pune also has largest number of Japan focused companies compared to other cities.

Pune is also emerging as a prominent city for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies. Companies like Convergys, WNS, Progeon, EXL and MphasiS have started their operations in Pune. Pune comes as a natural choice for the BPO companies due to the availability of skilled manpower.

Pune also houses the headquarters of the Bank Of Maharashtra.

To meet the demands of this explosive economic growth in Pune, the state is planning a 1,000 MW power plant exclusively for Pune{{fact}. MIDC is the lead agency for the Project. The International Convention Center, Largest convention centre in India was constructed at Senapati Bapat Road in 2005. It has been constructed by MCCIA. The international connectivity is going to help many volume produce growers in the surrounding districts to export their goods conveniently.

Civic administration

The city is administered by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The executive power of the corporation is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer appointed by the state government. The corporation consists of directly elected corporators headed by a titular Mayor. The mayor has few executive powers. The PMC is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis. Pune is divided into forty-eight municipal wards, each overseen by an Assistant Municipal Commissioner for administrative purposes. The corporators of the administration are voted through a popular vote and almost all the state political parties field their candidates.

The city is inside the Haveli Taluka in Pune District, Maharashtra, and the district comes under the jurisdiction of the District Collector. The collectors are in charge of property records and revenue collection for the Central government. They also oversee the national elections held in the city.

Like other metropolises in India, the Pune Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, an IPS officer. The Pune Police comes under the state Home Ministry.

Transport

See also: Roads of Pune

Pune is extremely well-connected by road, rail, and air to most major cities in India such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai. Pune Airport previously had only domestic flights, but has become an international airport with flights thrice a week going to Singapore as well as Dubai. The city has two main railway stations, Pune Junction and Shivajinagar Station; most long-distance trains halt at Pune Junction. In addition, Pune local/suburban trains connect Pune Junction to the industrial towns of Khadki, Pimpri and Chinchwad. Road travel between Pune and Mumbai has improved significantly with the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and now only takes approximately three hours. Buses, both state owned and private ones, also connect Pune with cities throughout India. The Maharashtra state transport buses are most commonly used by people to travel to rural villages and are very affordable.

Within the city, auto rickshaw is a common mode of transport, and the buses of Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) are Pune's main public transport service. Like many quickly growing cities, local travel by car, scooter, or bicycle can be frustrating for most individuals because of traffic congestion and a general disregard to traffic rules. Finding parking for cars could be a serious problem, especially in city center.

Also, due to the city's rapid growth, there are major problems with Pune's public transportation system.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census provisional counts, the urban agglomeration around Pune has a population of 4,485,000 in 2005. This figure includes the population of the city of Pimpri-Chinchwad, which is the industrial twin of Pune. Of late, the city has witnessed a sizeable investment in the software and automobile sectors, resulting in an influx of skilled labor from all over India. Several suburbs are now completely cosmopolitan and real-estate prices have boomed since 2003.

Notably, even though Pune is the seventh largest city in India, it has the sixth largest metropolitan economy and the highest per capita income in India, with the least income disparity between the rich and poor. Pune currently has 3 sister cities, Tromsø in Norway, Bremen in Germany and San Jose in California, USA. One more city in Israel is soon expected to be added to this list.

Residents of Pune are referred to as Puneites, or as Punekars in the local language Marathi. Marathi is spoken extensively, while English is popular amidst the college-goers, white-collar professions and other cosmopolitan populace. Hindi and Gujarati are also spoken by many.

Culture

Pune is a vibrant cultural city and people from multiple religions and speaking different regional languages reside here. It also hosts various national festivals and cultural events throughout the year. People of Pune have wide interests in various Arts, Spiritualism and Food.

File:Dagdusheth.jpg

Dagdusheth Ganpati

Ganapati (Ganesha) Festival

It was in Pune in 1894 that Lokmanya Tilak initiated the concept of the "Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav" — the collective communal celebration of the festival of Lord Ganesha. During the month of August or September each year, the city celebrates the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Almost every neighborhood puts up a pandal with an idol of Lord Ganesha, often amidst a mythological setting, complete with decorative lights and festive music. The 10-day festival culminates in a carnival-like procession along the busy thoroughfares of the city, with every pandal leading the idol on a float to finally immerse (visarjan) it in the local rivers. This is one of the most important yearly events in the city.

During this time, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation organizes the month-long Pune Festival which hosts classical dance and music recitals, a film and drama festival, automobile rallies and some traditional sports.

Sawaai Gandharva Music Festival

In the month of December, Pune hosts the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival. It is dedicated to the classical forms of music — both Hindustani and Carnatic. Many renowned performers perform through 3 consecutive nights creating a hype unique to this city. It is one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in the city, and music lovers from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra and India view it as a great treat.

Theatre

Pune is the cultural capital of Marathi people. The city has given birth to or attracted body of organization for the Marathi literati, also has its headquarters in Pune. Marathi Theatre (Drama नाटक — रंगभूमी ) is an integral part of Marathi culture. Both — Experimental (प्रायोगिक रंगभूमी) and Professional theatre — receive whole-hearted patronage from Marathi community. Tilak Smarak Mandir, Bala Gandharva rangmandir, Bharat Natya Mandir, Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagriha and Su-darshan Rangmanch continue to serve these art forms.

One of the main theatre activity centers is the Su-darshan Rangamanch run by Maharashtra Cultural Center, a leading public charitable trust active in cultural activities. The trust has its own mini theatre as well as an art gallery where many amateur theatre groups perform their plays, music and dance programmes.

Religion and spiritualism

File:OshoRajneesh.jpg

Osho Rajneesh

Pune is the birth place of Meher Baba as well as having been the home of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Rajneesh's Osho Ashram helps bring a very international flair to the city. Situated amidst thick, rather impenetrable flora, the centre boasts of a huge meditation center and two beautiful gardens, viz. Osho garden and Zen garden. These remain places of interest for many foreigners and people from elsewhere in the country.

Chaturshrungi goddess is the reigning deity of the city of Pune. Her temple is situated on the slopes of a mountain in the northwest part of the city of Pune. The temple is in the midst of nature's scenic beauty. This ninety feet high and one twenty five feet wide temple is looked after by Chatushringi Devasthan (Temple) trustees, with full dedication. In the month of September there is a huge procession for the Navaratris and people flock in to visit and have blessings of the Goddess.

Pune was also home to a considerable population of the Indian Jewish community, the Bene Israel. It is home to Asia's largest synagogue (outside Israel), The Ohel David Synagogue.

Close to Pune City are the villages Alandi and Dehu where Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram belong. Each year thousands of pilgrims from all over Maharashtra gather here and start 'Wari' which is procession carrying 'palkhi's of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram to Pandharpur. Pandharpur is the home to Lord Vitthal and is about 300 km from Pune. All pilgrims walk this distance to reach Pandharpur on the auspicious day of 'Aashadhi Ekadasshi' when the 'Wari' ends.

The backhills of Pune are becoming known for their immense spiritual value. People from other countries and other parts of India go to these schools to study the Vedas and other holy scriptures of Hinduism.

Food

The Puneite is known for being a food connoisseur. Among the plethora of food available are a large variety of sweets from Kaka Halwai, spicy fried rolls called Baakurvudy (बाकरवडी) from Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, thick milk-shakes with ice-cream scoops topped with chopped dried fruits called Mustaani (मस्तानी) from Kavre Cold Drinks, fresh potato chips called wafers from Budhani, a fried spicy snack called Laxminarayan Chiwda (चिवडा), a fried potato and bun sandwich called vada-paav. The Camp area - Main street/M.G. Road and East street, Jungli Maharaj Road, and Ferguson Road are some of the more popular hang-outs for food-lovers.

A unique feature of Pune is the hundreds of "Dining Halls" spread out across the city. These are modest but very comfortable sit-down eateries that serve fantastic all-you-can-eat meals at affordable prices. The stiff competition ensures that every place has something unique to offer, besides the standard mindboggling, seemingly endless menu. Pune's young professionals routinely eat at these places during work hours, while spending their free time hanging out at parks and cafes feasting on street food such as kacchi dabeli (a kind of sandwich), bhel (a spicy mix), panipuri (puffy little fried discs filled with watery soup) etc. Kalyan Bhel in Bibwewadi, and Cafe Blue Nile for biryani and meat lovers are very popular.

Also, one can taste the famous Kolhapuri cusine at restaurants in the Old city.

Media and communication

English dailies such as the Indian Express,Maharashtra Herald and The Times of India have editions based out of Pune, with additional local supplements. Marathi newspapers such as Sakal, Loksatta, Kesari and Pudhari, English Fortnightly VivaWest are equally, if not more, popular with Punekars. Many Punekars also maintain and contribute to personal and professional blogs (see list).

Pune has few FM Radio services as well running for last few years. Though, Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz) tops the popularity rating, AIR FM (107 MHz) and Vidyavaani (Pune Universities' own FM Channel) are also present.

Broadband services are available in Pune, from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Golden Tiger Telecom Pvt Ltd, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Infocomm Limited, Hathway Limited, You Telecom (erstwhile iqara) and Sify.

Education

For the full article, see Education in Pune.

See also: List of Pune Colleges and Education in India

Pune was also called "The Oxford of the east"by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister; as Pune attracts students from all over the world. The temperate climate of the city is suitable for the green campuses of many colleges, and the prevalent academic mindset amongst Punekars helps nurture research and higher education.

Basic and special education

Schools in Pune are either run by the PMC, in which case they are called public schools, or privately by trusts and individuals. Private schools have been preferred by a majority of city residents because of better facilities and the use of English language as the medium of instruction. All private schools are affiliated either with the Maharashtra state SSC board or the all-India Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and CBSE boards.

Pune is the largest center for Japanese learning in India with the JLPT exams are held in Pune annually (December). The Japanese language training is provided by the University of Pune among others. Other languages like German (Max Muller Bhavan) and French (Alliance Francaise de Pune) are also popular amongst Punekars. Some high schools optionally train students in French, German and Russian from the 8th grade onwards.

University education

All professional colleges in Pune are affiliated to the University of Pune, one of the largest universities in the world in terms of matriculation. Some prominent colleges include the College of Engineering, Pune, Fergusson College and Sir Parshurambhau College. These and many other colleges educate students in the arts, sciences and engineering disciplines. Engineering colleges in Pune graduate up to 10,000 engineers in various disciplines every year, especially serving the burgeoning software and IT industry.

Established medical schools such as the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College (BJMC) train students from all over Maharashtra and India. The Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), [1]Pune University [PUMBA http://pumba.unipune.ernet.in] and Indsearch are some of the reputed management schools in the city, as is the ILS Law College of the Indian Law Society.

In addition to the statutory universities, Pune boasts of 5 Deemed Universities - Deccan College (Archaeology and Linguistics), Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (Sanskrit, Indology, Ayurveda and Social Sciences), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Bharati Vidyapeeth and Symbiosis (Management and Law).

Research Institutes

In addition to the University of Pune, Pune is home to diverse research institutions of national importance that supplement higher education. Located adjacent to the university is the National Chemical Laboratory, while the university campus houses the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics and the National Centre for Cell Science.

The Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the Agharkar Research Institute and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) are located in Pune and conduct fundamental research for the benefit of India's millions. The National AIDS Research Institute is also in Bhosari, a suburb of Pune.

Education institutes dedicated to the defence forces

Pune is host to several excellent educational institutes specifically dedicated to Defence forces. They include training institutes such as the well-known National Defence Academy (NDA), College of Military Engineering (CME) and Army Institute of Physical Training (AIPT). Medical students are trained at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) to serve the armed forces. The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Defence Institute of Armament Technology (DIAT) and Army Institute of Technology are also located in Pune.

Sport and Recreation

Cricket is the most popular sport in Pune, watched and played by many. Hockey, football, tennis as well as Indian games such as kabaddi and kho-kho are also very popular with schoolgoers and adults alike. Pune annually hosts the Pune International Marathon, which are often dominated by international athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia and Russia. Rowing enthusiasts, such as members of the Royal Connaught Boat Club take to the Mula-Mutha river.

The Nehru Stadium, home of the Maharashtra Cricket Association, has hosted several one-day international cricket matches, including one from the 1996 World Cup where minnows Kenya upset the West Indies. The Deccan Gymkhana is another sporting institution with facilities for cricket, several tennis courts, basketball and swimming, having hosted Davis Cup matches on several occasions. The Shiv Chattrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi hosted the National Games in 1994, and is slated to host the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008.

Prominent sportspersons hailing from Pune include father-son cricketing duo Hemant and Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Radhika Tulpule and Nitin Kirtane (tennis). The sporting scene has been stimulated by local MP Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian Olympic Association. [2]

All Peths in Pune City

Peth is the general name for a locality in old Pune. Businesses in many of these localities used to be open for business only once a week. Hence these localities are named according to the day they were open for business. For example,

• Raviwar (Sunday) Peth,
• Somwar (Monday) Peth,
• Mangalwar (Tuesday) Peth,
• Budhwar Peth (Wednesday),
• Guruwar (Thursday) Peth,
• Shukrawar (Friday) Peth, and
• Shaniwar (Saturday) Peth.

Some peths have been named after a major temple located within their boundaries. Kasba Peth is oldest peth in Pune city and Kasba peth is the center of the city (e.g. Kasba Peth, Ganesh Peth, Bhawani Peth). Many other peths have been named after certain notable people. For example,

• Sadashiv Peth : Named after SadashivRao Bhau. One of the young Peshwa warriors who lost their lives in the 3rd Battle of Panipat.
• Nana Peth : Named after Nanasaheb Peshwe
• Narayan Peth : Named after Narayanrao Peshwe
• Ghorpade Peth, Rasta Peth : Named after prominant Maratha Sardars (Generals) from the Peshwa Dynesty

The last peth is the Navi (New) Peth. After Navi Peth, the localities are named as "Nagar" such as Sahakarnagar, Shikshaknagar, Vimannagar, Lokmanyanagar and so on.

References

--Krushnamegh Kunte(2001) Butterfly Diversity Of Pune City Along Human Impact Gradient. Journal of Ecological Society, Volume 13/14, 2000-1'

See also

• Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum
• Royal Connaught Boat Club
• Oxford Bookstore in Pune

External links

Official websites

• Search Engine for Pune
• Pune International Film Festival
• Pune City Guide
• Pune Municipal Corporation E-Governance
• Pune news
• Interactive Map of Pune using Google Maps API
• Pune Classifieds
• Pune Forums
• Pune Classifieds, Pune Forums, Friends in Pune
• Latest news headlines from Pune
• Property and related articles and news
• Pune City Guide
• Pune District Gazetteer
• Template:Wikitravel
• http://www.ranwa.org/punealive/index.htm