Pune- A Great City. Review on Pune

Pune, previously spelt as Poona, is at the confluence of the Mutha and Mula rivers. Shivaji, the great Maratha leader was raised here. It was granted to his grandfather in 1599. Later it became the seat of power for the Brahmin Peshwa family untill 1817 when it fell to the British and became their alternative capital during the monsoon. The city has a rather more pleasant climate than muggy Mumbai.

With excellent rail communication between Pune and Mumbai, many people who work in Mumbai, prefer to live in Pune and commute daily between the two cities. As a result, the big city-influence has rubbed off on Pune, and fashion shop and fast-food outlets are constantly springing up. Pune boasts a prestigious University, styling itself as the 'Oxford of the East', and is a major industrial centre.

Bhagwan Rajneesh's famous Ashram, known as Osho Commune International, is at Koregaon Park, in aeafy northern suburb of the city.The other attractions are the Raja Kelkar Museum, Shaniwar Wada, Pataleshvara Temple and the Tribal Museum. There is the Empress Botanical Gardens, Saras Baug Ganesh Temple and Bund Gardens.The Parvati Hill & Temple is on the southern outskirts of the city on a hilltop. There is a good view from the top, where the last Peshwa ruler is said to have stood and watched whilst his troops suffered defeat at the hands of the British at Kirkee.

The Aga Khan Palace is a pilgrimage centre. After Mahatma Gandhi delivered his famous Quit India resolution in Bombay in 1942,the British interned him and other leaders here for nearly two years. Both Kasturba Gandhi, the Mahatma's wife and Mahadev Desai, his secretary for 35 years died here during this period of imprisonment. Their ashes are kept in memorial tombs (samadhis) in the gardens. The Palace is across the river in Yerwada.

Pune is famous for the annual Ganapati Festival.

Pune has the famous Symbiotic Institute of Communication. It has also the Military Academy at Khadagswala, close to the city. The Indian Institute of Education, established by the famous educationist J. P Naik is here. It is internationally famous, and has sponsored the State Resource Centre for Adult Education (SRC) for Maharashtra. Presently. Dr. Chitra Naik, wife of J. P. Naik, manages the IIE. Chitra Tai and I have been close friends. She was a Member of the Planning Commission of India.

Pune has the famous Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), which has given to Bollywood a galaxy of Stars. It has also the National Film Archive of India. Once I had visited the FTII, on an assignment, when my good friend, Mr. N. V. R. Murthy was its Director.

I have another friend in Pune. He is Dr. P. R. Dubhashi, former Vice-Chancellor of Goa University, and former Director of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.

I have visited Pune twice - once to attend a meeting sponsored by the SRC, and again to attend another meeting at the invitation of my friend Jhambule, when he was the Director of Education of Maharashtra.

Pune is a great cultural and educational centre. It is also a city of industrial houses and a city of much military importance. Pune is four-in-one.