West India · Maharashtra
Pune, Maharashtra
Sources: wikimedia
About Pune
- Riverside
Where it is
Pune is a major city in western Maharashtra on the Deccan Plateau, at the meeting of the Mula and Mutha rivers, east of the Western Ghats and south-east of Mumbai.
History
Shivaji spent his early years at Pune's Lal Mahal in the 17th century, and in the 18th century the city became the seat of the Peshwas, who ran the Maratha Empire from the Shaniwar Wada palace. The British took Pune in 1817 and made it a military cantonment, and it became a centre of education and social reform, known as the Oxford of the East.
People
Marathi is the main language, with Hindi and English widely used by the students and professionals who come from across India. Pune has a strong tradition of Marathi theatre and classical music, hosting the Sawai Gandharva festival each December, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak made its Ganeshotsav a public festival in the 1890s.
Known for
- Shaniwar Wada, seat of the Peshwas
- The Aga Khan Palace
- Sinhagad and the Sahyadri forts
- Ganeshotsav celebrations
- Universities, IT parks and car factories
Did you know?
In 1848 Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule opened a school for girls at Bhide Wada in Pune, often described as the first girls' school in India run by Indians.
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