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Shaniwar
Wada is a palace fort in the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. Built
in 1746, it was the seat of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire
until 1818 when the Peshwas surrendered to the British. The fort itself
was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving
structures are now maintained as a tourist site.
Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the centre
of Indian politics in 18th century. History
In June 1818, the Peshwa, Bajirao II, abdicated his Gaadi (throne) to
Sir John Malcolm of the British East India Company and went into
political exile at Bithoor, near Kanpur in present-day Uttar Pradesh,
India.
On February 27, 1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex.
The conflagration raged for seven days. Only the heavy granite ramparts,
strong teak gateways and deep foundations and ruins of the buildings
within the fort survived.
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Construction
Peshwa Baji Rao I, prime minister to Chattrapati Shahu, king of the
Maratha empire, laid the ceremonial foundation of his own residence on
Saturday, January 10, 1730. It was named Shaniwarwada from the Marathi
words Shaniwar (Saturday) and Wada (a general term for any residence
complex). Teak was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was
brought from the nearby quarries of Chinchwad, and Lime (mineral) was
brought from the lime-belts of Jejuri. Shaniwarwada was completed in
1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,110, a very large sum at the time.
The opening ceremony was performed according to Hindu religious customs,
on January 22, 1732, another Saturday chosen for being a particularly
auspicious day.
Later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification
walls, with bastions and gates; court halls and other buildings;
fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the perimeter fortification wall
has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex
with the foundations of the original buildings. It is situated near the
Mula-Mutha River, in Kasba Peth.
Despite its cultural value the fort is not maintained well by the
Government. Its inability to maintain the historical Shaniwarwada from
the funds provided by central archaeology department forced the fort’s
advisory committee’ to woo business houses to fund Shaniwarwada’s
makeover.
Fort Complex
Gates
Shaniwarwada has five gates:
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Dilli Darwaza (Delhi Gate), facing north
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Mastani Darwaja (Mastani's Gate) or Aliibahadur Darwaja, facing north
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Khidki Darwaja (Window Gate), facing east
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Ganesh Darwaja (Ganesh Gate), facing south-east
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Jambhul Darwaja or Narayan Darwaja (Narayan's Gate), facing south
Palaces
The important buildings in the palace includes the Thorlya Rayancha
Diwankhana (Marathi: The court reception hall of the eldest royal,
meaning Baji Rao I), Naachacha Diwankhana (Dance Hall), and Juna Arsa
Mahal (Old Mirror Hall).
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Since
the buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1828, only descriptions
of the living areas of the fort are available. All the state halls
in the buildings are said to have doorways with exquisitely carved
teak arches, with ornamental teardrop teak pillars shaped like Suru
(cypress tree) trunks supporting the ceilings, which were covered
with beautiful teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers.
Exquisite glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The floors were
made of highly polished marble, arranged in a mosaic pattern and
adorned with rich Persian rugs. The walls contained paintings with
scenes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. |
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The
buildings are said to have been designed and constructed by many
well-known artisans, including Shivaram Krishna, Devaji, Kondaji Sutar,
Morarji Patharwat Bhojraja (an inlay-work expert from
Jaipur) and Ragho
(a painter).
One of the buildings in the Shaniwarwada complex was seven storeys high.
It is said that the spire of the Sant Dnyaneshwar temple at Alandi, 17
km away, could be seen from the uppermost terrace of this building.
The Fountain
The complex had an impressive lotus-shaped fountain: the Hazari Karanje
(Fountain of a thousand jets). It was constructed for the pleasure of
the infant Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao.
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It was
designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each petal had sixteen jets with
an eighty foot arch. It was the most complicated and intricate
fountain of its time.
Captain More who visited the Shaniwarwada in 1791 described it as
“very magnificent. A hundred dancers can dance here at a time. In
one corner is a marble Ganapati statue and the palace is flanked by
a fountain and a flower garden.”.
Sad memory with this fountain: Sawai Madharao, the nephew of First
Madhaorao Peshwa and son of Narayanrao peshwa died due to injury on
falling on this fountain. |
Popular Culture
In 2008, Shaniwar Wada was featured in The Amazing Race Asia 3. In the
game show, one participant from each team of two have to find the
correct pheta from among those worn by 50 men within the Wada.
Getting There
By Air: Pune’s nearest airport located at Lohegaon,
Pune Airport, approximately
10 km from the city centre. Daily flights connect it to Mumbai and Delhi
as well as to other major cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad and
Chennai. Private cabs, auto rickshaws or city-airport shuttle buses will
cover the distance from the airport to the city centre.
By Rail: Pune is one of the most important rail junctions in the Central
railways zone of Indian Railways. Plenty of trains connect it to major
destinations in the south, north and west of the country by mail,
express and superfast trains. The Deccan Queen and Shatabdi Express are
fast commuter trains from/to Mumbai, with travelling time of
three-and-a-half hours approximately.
By Bus: Maharashtra state roadways buses and buses operated by private
companies connect the different places in the state to Pune as well as
destinations in the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Goa and Andhra
Pradesh. Most people travelling to Pune from Mumbai, Nasik or Aurangabad
prefer to do so by road as the distance between Mumbai-Pune is 170 km,
Nashik-Pune 209 km and Aurangabad-Pune is 230 km. The roads are well
maintained with conveniently located motels and service stations enroute.
Getting Around Pune
Metered taxis and auto rickshaws ply the city streets; the latter are
the most popular mode of transport in Pune as they are economical and
fast. Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) buses reach every part of the city
and the suburbs from the terminals at Swargate, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune
Station, Shivaji Nagar Station, M G Bus Stand, Pune Corporation and
Saras Baug.
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