'Shaniwarwada was the stately mansion originally built as the residence of the Peshwas. The foundation of the mansion was laid by Bajirao 1 in the year 1730 AD and construction was completed in 1732 AD at a cost of Rs. 16,120. Several additions were made to the palace like fortification walls with bastions, gates and court halls by his successors.
What was once a seven storied structure was gutted by a fire in the palace. Only the remains can be seen now like the fortification walls with five gateways and nine bastions that enclosed the entire palace. The principal gate is called Dilli Darwaja (Delhi Gate); the other gates are called Mastani or Alibahadur Darwaja, Khidki Darwaja, Ganesh Darwaja and Narayan Darwaja.
 |  |
The walls in the palace were painted with scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. A sixteen petal lotus-shaped fountain stands reminiscent of the exquisite work of those times. The historical structure which stands as an important chapter in the history of the Maratha empire, is now maintained by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Around 1,000 people used to stay in the palace.'
It was a good place to go for the morning to relax and see green space, it was interesting how similar it was to a rune of a fort or home in Europe. We had fun walking round trying to work out what the various rooms would have been, some of them had signs but a lot of the signs were missing so it turned into a guessing game. At night time they hold a light and sound show which I will hopefully go and see at some point.
Anna and Casey (new Sangam volunteer from Florida) decided to try out the 1700s baths!
Afterwards, we walked up to Laxmi Road, a typical Indian shopping area/markets/little shops. I brought another punjabi (blue top and white trousers/scarf) and an everyday purple sari in the style of the Pune design which means it is a block purple colour but with a band of design along the edges. Our work punjabis have arrived back from the tailors today so we will wear them to the site tomorrow. They are purple with again a Pune design, it will be interesting to see the children's and teacher's reaction to us wearing Indian clothes at school!
This was one of the views from the walls surrounding the stately home.
Hi Hay.I dont know if you got my previous comment as it did not come up as being published, however we liked the pictures of the children in their paper hats. This was a very interesting report on your visit to the stately home, Th pictures are excellent.keep having fun, Take care Love N & G XXXXXXX
ReplyDeleteGreat photo's - it all sounds really interesting.
ReplyDeletekeep enjoying yourself
love J & G