10 Unique Facts About Pune

Welcome to one of the Metropolitan Regions and 2nd largest cities of Maharashtra and the 8th largest metropolis in India - PUNE

Situated on the right bank of the Mutha river, blessed with a great history, Oxford of the east, hotspot for delicious food, and now one of the largest IT hubs in India.

Pune City

This is what we know about Pune. Interestingly, there are many more things which some people don't know yet. So, I am presenting some facts which will drop your jaws.

So, Freund!!! get comfortable on your couch and ready to know some amazing facts about this city.

1. Name of the city (Pune)

The Name of the city Pune was derived from the name Punya as the city is situated on the confluence of two rivers, Mula and Mutha rivers.

Before this name, Pune was called as Punaka Desha, Punekavadi, Punevadi, Kasaba Pune.

The official name of Pune was Poona until 1978.

2. Oxford Of The East

Pune runs overall 100 educational institutes, 297 primary schools, 30 secondary and higher secondary schools, 21 engineering colleges. Pune University has 57 engineering colleges which are affiliated to it, which is the highest count in the whole world for a single university.

Not only engineering colleges but Pune has art, science, film and television institutes, law school, medical colleges too.

Many foreign residents in Pune are students studying in universities like Symbiosis International University.

Our former Prime Minister Hon. Jawaharlal Nehru referred this city as "Oxford and Cambridge of India"

Education is equally important for boys and girls both. During the old days, girls were struggling to get an education due to the mindset of people. This mindset was broken with lots of struggles and fights against those people by Savitribai Phule and Mahatma Jotiba Phule. They got stone-pelted by the that time resident, got cursed like arrows on their chest but never thought to stop the fight of Education For All.

Picture shows Humiliation suffered by Savitribai Phule

Savitribai Phule with her associate Fatima Begum Sheikh (her close friend), built India's first girls school in Bhide Wada of Pune in 1848.

Because of them, now we girls are going to school without any fear and standing proudly in the society.

Bhide Wada, Pune

Savitribai Phule regarded as the first female teacher in India. Now, the University of Pune is named after her as Savitribai Phule University, Pune, which is ranked 7th among the universities of India.

University of Pune

Pune is also a place in India where "Bharat Ratna Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve" started India's first school for widows in Hingane, Pune.

Not just education even living like a normal human life used to be such a struggle for widows in those days. But Maharshi Karve not only started a school for them but he married to a Brahmin widow and for the decision, he got ostracized. He raised voice against such oppression. He also fought against the Untouchability and stood for abolishing caste discrimination.

Now, Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha has many schools for girls in many cities in Maharashtra. I can proudly say that I am one of the students of Karve Shikshan Sanstha.

MKSSS,Pune

3. Origin Of Badminton

India has produced many legends in Badminton, no doubt in that. But there is something I'm going to tell you about this game and many of us who are quite regular players of this game, don't know that fact.

What if I tell you that this game is developed by Britishers during their rule in India.

And what if I tell you that it is developed by Britishers especially in Pune.

And this isn't it just...

The game was called as "Poona Game"

Shocked!!! Right?

Yes, It's true. In the 1870s, British officers in Poona developed a variation of battledore and shuttlecock games, which became very popular at that time.

Badminton

The rules for the game have been drawn up first at the Ammunition Factory in Khadaki in 1873.

Later the game was taken to England and re-dubbed as Badminton which is now a popular game in Asia.

4. Birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Maratha Headquarters.

Shivneri Fort in Junnar- A region in Pune District which is not so far from Pune city, is a birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire.
He spent his childhood there. This is a must-visit place on your next trip to Pune.

After the destruction of the town during the raids by the Adil Shah dynasty, the reconstruction of town was overseen by Dadoji Konddeo, Successor of Dhadphale. Later, Lal Mahal constructed where Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj spent his young years of his life.

Shivneri Fort, Pune

In 1720, Bajirao-I, was appointed as Peshwa of the Maratha Empire by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. He moved his base from Saswad to Pune and created it as headquarter of the Maratha empire. He also commissioned the construction of Shanivar Wada on the right bank of the Mutha river.

Maratha Empire

5. Entertainment Industry

Pune is a cultural city. Various entertainment events keep happening all over this city where you can explore from Theatrical Plays(Marathi), Classical Dance including Lavani Dance- the tradition of Marathi Dance, Musical concerts by great artist like David Guetta, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Jay Sean.

Pune also provides a great range of entertaining radio channels with their charming radio jockeys who keep entertaining all the Punekars, especially during the terrible traffic hours.

The Bacardi NH7 Weekender event is hosted in 04 cities of India and Pune is one of them and there is huge support from Punekars every year.

The very famous Pune International Film Festival is the most loved event in Pune.

Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2019

6. The Delicious Variety of Food

If you are in Pune and never had Bhakarwadi, Misal-Pav, Dabeli, Pav-Bhaji, and Momos then you missed the delicious, mouth-watering variety of taste. Pune has many unique restaurants as well as several street food stalls that provide awesome food and great hospitality.

This city got tons of tea lovers. At every other residential area and IT-Park, there are many tea-stalls for these tea lovers and they are quite occupied usually.

You will also get see many unique food Thalis(Plates) offered by various restaurants like Bahubali Thali, Ravan Thali of Fish, Peshwai Thali of Ice-cream only in Pune.

IceCream Thali at Kiga

Ravan Thali

7. Unique way of communication

Punekars got a unique way of communication. I have never seen such pure Marathi speaking people anywhere else. Their tone and accent are so royal when you hear it.

Punekars have one policy though, Talk Less Say More.

Punekars also have an unspoken way of communication with the help of boards which is called as Puneri Patya. These are mostly used for information purposes when the informer is not present at the site. This way is taken as a funny and little arrogant way by other Maharashtrian. It's a useful way if you see the intelligence used behind the logic of this idea.

Puneri Patya

8. Freedom Movement

Pune's contribution to the freedom movement was magnificent. It is a place where many wars happened against British colonizers in which many people like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak, Tarabai Shinde, Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati sacrificed their lives so that the people of our country can live in independent India happily.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak alongside the educationalist and thinker Gopal Ganesh Agarkar started the first newspaper in Pune Named Kesari that spoke about the fight we fighting against the British. His advocacy for Swaraj is one of the iconic historical move.

"Swarajya is my birthplace and I shall have it! "

Kesari Newspaper

He and Agarkar started educational institutes in Pune including Deccan Education Society and Fergusson college where Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar studied. He and his brother secretly started a society called Abhinav Bharat Society. Savarkar initiated the event by burning the British made clothes on Karve road of Pune.

It's interesting to know that the very famous Aga Khan Palace has a memory of these freedom fighters. It is a place where Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba Gandhi, and his secretary Mahadev Desai were house arrested for 21 months. It is a place where Gandhi attempted to teach Kasturba to read and write, where Meera ben and Kasturba used to play carrom, where Sarojini Naidu used to sing songs and Bhajans and where Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai died.

Aga Khan Palace, Pune

Mahatma Gandhi spent some years during freedom movement in Yerwada Jail of Pune as well which is a highly secured and the biggest jail of Maharashtra and also one of the biggest prisons having over 5000 prisoners(2017) capacity in South Asia.

Yerwada jail is a place where Poona Pact was signed between Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi (Though he was not directly involved in the signing of the pact).

A Pub in Pune

9. Highest In

Highest growth span recorded for 20 Years.
Highest number of Pubs in India.
Highest number of cigarette smokers.
Highest number of software companies(212)(Bangalore:208, Hyderabad:97)
Pune University has 57 engineering colleges affiliated to it which is highest for a university to affiliate in the world.
Highest density of traffic.
Highest number of two-wheeler in the world.
Maximum number of scientists considered for many high profile prize nominations.
Maximum number of software professionals.

IT park in pune

10. Unique Identity

Pune is a fashion capital of the east.
Yoga center of India.
Infosys Started in Pune.
Deccan Queen Express running daily for the last 86 years. On 1st June its birthday celebrated by decorating it and cutting cake before departure.
Punekars are pretty good in making world records.
People of Pune are obsessed with learning the German language.

Dear Punekars! if any non-Punekar ask you to tell something interesting about Pune. Tell them these facts. It will definitely stand them amazed.😄

Guys like these facts about Pune, you are also fulfilled with some astonishing unique things in you, probably, you haven't noticed them yet. Let all of them come out.

Explore yourself to reveal those hidden things, let them come out, grasp them, use them in your life and show the world that you are unique, you are extra-ordinary, Like Pune did. Kind of a moral and an inspiration at the end of my blog.

Pune always strongly stood against the crisis, epidemics, natural & man-made calamities like 2009's swine flu, 2010's German Bakery Bombing Incident, 2019's flood and today its again facing COVID-19 along with rest of the country, in fact, the whole world. These incidents in the past took many people's lives and shaken up the city. But still, this city is standing with great courage, inspiration, and motivation to rise again.

And I'm sure, Pune and the whole country will defeat this pandemic too and will rise again.

Ek jaan hai, maan hai, aur shaan hai,
Yeh iss desh ka, riyasat ka samman hai,

Girna, uthna, chalna, daudna aur udna hai,

Bas manzoor nahi isse kabhi bhi thamna hai,

Halaat mushkil ho yaa bahot hi gambhir,

Sada yeh raha ek janbaaz ek shoorveer,

Aman ka gahwara aur eilm ka markaz hai,

yeh Itihas aur sanskriti ka bhi markaz hai,

Jiski khoobsurat har subah wa shaam hai,

Sarsabz shadab PUNE iss shehar ka naam hai

- MudassirKhan Pathan (Insta @mkp.writes)

Finally, dear all! Don't forget to tell me in the comments about this article.

Thank you for always supporting and encouraging me.

Keep reading my blog.😄

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