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MYTHS

Pune is a sort of military encampment basically, and life is rough there?
Part of Pune IS a military cantonment and the people are basically sturdy hillmen. But what gave you the idea Pune life is "rough"? It is a cultured place.

It is some sort of sidey country cousin to Mumbai....
It is like Mumbai of fifty years ago as far as quality of life is concerned, but has all the latest amenities of Mumbai WITHOUT the disadvantages. Classy place, actually.

Pune is full of hippies from that Rajneesh ashram....
They are visible in some areas because of their dress....but most of Pune residents are just like you or me.

Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Since it is fairly close to the huge Mumbai city it is considered a small town but actually it is fairly large in its own right. Pune is now a growing industrial and commercial nerve centre. Coupled with the construction boom and the enterprise of locals and immigrants (mostly from crowded Mumbai), Pune is today all set for a large scale economic revolution. With IT scenes also on the upsurge, Pune is barely the same sleepy old Maratha town.

BACKGROUND & HISTORY

Pune was one of the many small insignificant villages on the foothills of the western ghats. As one moves east from the hills, the hills gradually reduce in height and the plateau of the Deccan with its famed black soil begins. Several small rivers pass by to ultimately form the large peninsular rivers. Near the confluence of two rivers, the Mula and Mutha, the village of Pune developed into an army camp in the middle ages. Even in very ancient times people used to regularly traverse the western ghats ( hill ranges) between the plateau and the sea coast. Even today stone age implements are found scattered on the ground around Pune. Besides, the area around Pune is dotted with excavated caves and shrines dating back to pre buddhist times. The world famous Junnar buddhist caves are close by. It appears the ancient trade route passed through, or at any rate near Pune.

Shivneri, the birthplace of Shivaji is also nearby, as are several forts of the time. The references to medieval Pune increase during the Bijapur sultan dynasty. With the rise of the Mahrattas, and consolidation of power after the fading away the Mughals, Pune came into prominence. By the time the Maratha confederacy controlled most of north India (18th century), Pune was the seat of the prime ministers called Peshwa. Pune bears the stamp of that period. Later intrigues heralded the coming of the British who grasped the significance of "Poona" and stationed a sizeable military establishment there. Modern Pune is still linked with the army culture and the typical 'cantonment'. Light engineering industry like automobiles have expanded all around Pune in satellite townships like Pimpri-Chinchwad which have become de facto suburbs today although they are big municipalities in their own right.

Old Pune is divided into "Peths" or wards named after days of the week like Somwar peth, Mangalwar Peth etc and the oldest of these wards dating to the 10th century is called Kasba peth when the Bijapur Sultans had a small encampment. . The peshwas built their palaces like Shaniwar Wada, which is in good preservation. Mughal Aurangzeb occupied Pune several times but never seemed to hang on tho the place for long. By the time the British turned up, new social forces got the better of the pandits and mughals as well. The Pune cantonment is one of India's largest military bases even today.

Until recently Pune was under the shadow of the nearby giant city of Mumbai. Now many people and firms are shifting to Pune from there. But over all, the qualities of Pune are still not known to prospective employees at large. ( Let it remain so wish most old Pune residents). Apart from light engineering, IT is making a mark here. Corporate offices are found in Karve Road, Tilak Road, Mumbai-Poona Road, Ferguson College Road, Jangli Maharaj Road, Camp, and MG Road area. Further away, technology parks and campuses are also springing up rapidly.

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