HAVELI

For a period of over one hundred years the district of Pune has been a bastion of the all-powerful Maratha empire. Pune District is marked by numerous awesome land and sea forts, a testimony to Raja Shivaji's daring exploits. Later, Pune was handed over to the Peshwa family, whose Maratha power rose to be a major political force. In 1818, Pune was taken over by the East India Company.

The cultural capital of Maharashtra, Pune is just 170 kms from Mumbai. In fact, Pune exemplifies an indigenous Marathi culture and ethos, in which education, arts and crafts, and theatre are given due prominence. It has one of India’s oldest universities and numerous colleges catering to Indian and international students. Small when comapared to Mumbai, Pune's old city area is peppered with narrow and winding roads but the newer areas are more open and spacious. Though mostly populated with a Marathi-speaking community, Pune is slowly becoming a more cosmopolitan city.

Today, Pune is an important commercial and educational centre with distinctive features and characteristics of its own including the omnipresent 3 wheeler auto-rickshaws and cyclists and a daily siesta hour which is taken very seriously.