Keep Smiling...............: Pune Day 2

Pune has a huge student populace and there’s a lot that the city offers to this yuppie crowd. We started the day with a really continental brunch, at this place called the Flour Works, where most of the menu was like totally unfamiliar stuff, atleast to me What I really liked though, is this little cosy corner they had with a couch and a nice collection of books, and folks could stroll in and just sit around, munch and read. It’s a place you go to spend Sunday mornings, not a place you go to just eat, a concept that’s not part of the Idli Dosa culture I guess. (I still love my Idlis and Dosas)

Flour Works

And after a nice and conversational meal, we decided to actually do some sightseeing in Pune.

We first visited the AgaKhan Palace

The Aga Khan Palace was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in 1892,as an act of charity to help the poor in the neighbouring areas of Pune, who were badly hit by famine.

The palace is a pretty and picturesque structure with huge arches and wide spread lawns. It is however, known more for its close link to the Indian Freedom movement as it served as a prison for Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba Gandhi, his secretary Mahadev Desai and Sarojini Naidu for two years following the Quit India Movement. It is also the place where Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai died and are buried.

The Aga Khan Palace

The Palace from another lens

Cold Cream used by the Gandhis.
I'm a complete cold cream loyalist, so I had to get this one :)

The Samadhis of Kasturba and Mahadev Desai

We next visited the Shaniwar Wada, an 18th century fort of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, and what survives is mostly the ground floor walls and the foundation. It's even said to be haunted by the ghost of the young prince who was said to have been assassinated there, and local lore says they can hear his cries for help on new moon nights.