Ep 2 Pune, Maharashtra Day 2 | Pataleshwar Caves | Vishrambaug Wada | Mahadji Shinde Chhatri
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Today our day in Pune starts with visiting Pu La Deshpande Park. This park is quite famous. It is famous for tourists as well as the locals who come here for their daily morning walk. Another name for this park is Pune-Okayama Friendship Garden.
It is written here. Let's go inside for a walk and visit the garden properly. There are some rules written here, like "no eatables, drinks allowed here." Another rule written below is "do not feed the fish...
...in the park," which means there must be a fish pond inside. Feels good to be here. It is a lovely pond! This landscape is beautiful! There is a fountain in the pond. As I look beyond the fountain, towards the treeline behind it,... ...I see a rainbow there. Usually, we see a rainbow in the sky.
But here, with naked eye, I can see a rainbow formed on the trees. This is my first-time experience seeing a rainbow like this. What a view! There is a beautiful pagoda built here.
Let's walk up to there. From there, we'll get a good aerial view of the garden too. By the way, this part of the garden is awesome! From this height, I can see the whole garden and... ...from down there, the landscape was different, we could see a hillock type of garden. From here, we can see both sides of the garden. It is good that we started our day here. Now, let's go and have breakfast.
Thereafter, we'll see how the day progresses. While preparing my itinerary, it was on my mind to visit the Parvati Hills. But I couldn't manage my time properly. So, now, I am going to show you Parvati Hills from a distance before we go for breakfast. We've parked our car here.
These are the stairs we need to take to reach the Hills. I'm going to stand there and tell you more about this destination. You need to take 108 such steps to reach the top of the hill. You will take one step after another like this and reach the top.
I once saw a video on YouTube. Watching it, I realized that once I reach the top,... ...I would see the whole Pune city below me. Also, if I go there early in the morning, the view would be much better. At the top, there are 5 temples, which we can visit. The main temple among those belongs to Bhagwan Shiv. This main temple of Bhagwa Shiv was built by the Peshwa Shrimant Nana Saheb about 275 years ago.
He used to come here regularly for worship. I am not going up. I just wanted to show you the Parvati Hill. Come, let's go for breakfast now. After travelling for 10-15 minutes, we've come to Verandah restaurant in Erandwane locality.
We'll go in for breakfast. I've ordered for myself sabudana khichdi. I haven't had sabudana khichdi in a long time. Look at the style of serving this khichdi. The khichdi is beautifully garnished with dessicated coconut. Sabudana khichdi with coconut.
Very nice! Each sabudana grain is separate and well-cooked. Secondly, they have used Singdana (peanuts) in crushed form. There is coconut on top, so its taste gets enhanced in a different way.
This is good as well. Till date I have never tried Sabudana Khichdi with curd, It is the first time I am doing it today. I really liked the ambiance of this restaurant. It is spacious.
There are tables and chairs at some distance from each other, so overall it is cool. Thalipeeth? Oh! I thought it would be a small size, but this is a pretty big size! We serve curd with it. White butter! This is curd. The white butter is melted!
No, no, it is no problem! Yes, give me some more white butter. I like its taste only with white butter. Give me some more! Looking at Thalipeeth, I can feel that its taste is going to be amazing. Terrific! It has very mild spices. Generally, the spices in Thalipeeth are mild anyway. This Thalipeeth has multiple grains like Bajra, Jowar, Rice, and Chana.
It can be called a powerhouse from health point of view and its taste is awesome! I can say that whenever I have tried Thalipeeth in Maharashtra... ...for instance, I tried it when I visited Konkan last time,... ...and I had it when I had visited Mumbai earlier. In fact, today, I am eating it for the third time in Maharashtra, and this is the best, so far! As per my experience so far, this is the best Thalipeeth that I've eaten. As per my personal experience! It is true that in the absence of white butter, this wouldn't have tasted as good! It tastes delicious only with white butter. Once our journey to a destination is complete and we are editing our video... ...while we are watching our videos being edited on the timeline, it feels like... ...I wish I had tasted this food item again before leaving the city. I liked Thalipeeth here so much that I can't even describe it.
Anyway, now let us have tea here and move ahead. Let me share an update with you. Our spice2nuts products are now also available on Amazon.
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When we were travelling on the Karve Road towards the Pataleshwar Temple,... ...I saw, on my left, the Bipin Snacks Corner. Though the eatery is small, you can see the crowd outside and assume how popular it must be. This eatery is famous for its Poha. The customers especially visit here for their Kakadi Khichdi. There are a few other snack items here, which are ultra-famous! I will try to visit here tomorrow, at least, once.
Right now, let's move ahead. Right now, we have come to visit Pataleshwar Cave Temple in Pune city. For your reference, let me tell you, these caves are located on the Jangali Maharaj Road. Hello! Namaskar Ji! Yes, Namaskar! How are you? Absolutely fine! Welcome to Pune! Oh, thanks! I talked to him yesterday and he told me that... ...he runs a travel agency and works on outbound tourism. But, he added that he was passionate about heritage tourism & loved organising heritage walks.
That's how we ended up coming together to visit the Pataleshwar Cave Temple. We've met here. So, this is from where we'll go to the caves. Yes, yes, this is the road. This is the temple. This temple is carved out of a single, monolithic rock, you can see.
This rock has been carved from top to bottom. You are talking about this Mandap. Yes Mandap, as well as the temples behind it. You won't find many such temples elsewhere. There is only one such carved temple in Satara.
You can see for yourself it is just like any other Shiv Ji Mandir. You will also find Nandi sitting in front of Bhagwan Shiv. I was reading somewhere,...
...to better understand the design of this temple, you can refer to... ...the Kailash Temple in Ellora, just as a hint. There, the sculptors have cut the rock from the top in downwards direction. Similarly, here they have started cutting the rock on the top and then proceeded downwards. Same technology! Its name, Pataleshwar, defines that the temple exists below the earth, thus, the name. Feels so good here. Just imagine, we're visiting an 8th century cave temple. We had darshan of Bhagwan Shiv just now.
The next cave temple here is dedicated to Ma Parvati and, on this side,... ...is the cave temple of Bhagwan Ganesh. Basically, there are three smaller caves inside a big cave. So beautiful! It feels so good to visit an eighth century cave temple here. You can even feel the positive energy of this place. I have just noticed one thing.
There is a huge difference between the temperatures outside and inside the caves. Isn't it? It is absolutely cool in here. It is peaceful too.
A thought to ponder is that when they started cutting the rock from the top... ...they must've had this design already in their mind to build a temple and a parikrama path too. Very beautiful! During which dynasty's reign was this temple constructed? This entire structure was built during the time of the Rashtrakuta king in the 8th century. I just recalled reading somewhere that it was the third king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty.... ....who ordered the building of the Kailash Temple at the Ellora Caves. I mean the third king of that dynasty.
Yes! This is very good! This is something worth pondering about.... ...at one time there was a huge basalt rock here. By cutting it, a temple was built in the 8th century. It's a big achievement! Now, we'll travel 3 KM to visit Vishrambaugh Wada. We'll visit the Wada there. Vishrambaugh Wada is close to the Shanivar Wada, which I visited yesterday. We are here to visit the Vishrambaug Wada.
Renovation work is going on here at the moment, so I will not be able to show it to you very well. But, let me give you brief information about the history of this place. You must be aware that Peshwa Bajirao II was the last of the Peshwas. After him, this place came under the control of the British. Peshwa Bajirao II got this Wada built to serve as his personal residence.
Actually, there are three Wadas in this area and Bajirao II used to live in all three from time to time. This Wada is actually very beautiful! I am confident that when this renovation work will be complete in the coming months,... ...it will be really nice to visit here. Even today, one gets an old-world feel coming here. As you enter the Wada, you'll see information put up on its walls. For instance, I can clearly learn what took place during the year 1821. This piece of information begins in 1818 and passig through 1821, it finally tells us that in 1856,...
...the teaching of ancient scriptures and Vedas, which was done here, was stopped. After that, this place was turned into the Deccan College. Later on, the College was shifted from here to elsewhere. All the old texts or manuscripts that were there were all shifted to Deccan College.
So, this is all about the history. Now, let me also tell you something about Peshwa Bajirao II. When Peshwa Bajirao II lost the third Anglo-Maratha war... ...he was exiled to Bithur, which is a town in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Bithur is where he spent the remaining days of his life. When you'll visit the Wada, you'll get to see an old well here.
Being here makes you feel as if you actuallly are in one of those Wadas, about which... ...you read in history books. It is a live experience of those times. Such a beautiful and nice place. Okay then, next we are going to visit the Sri Dagadusheth Ganapati Temple.
After that, we'll go for lunch. Come! I have reached the Srimanth Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Mandir. For the past five minutes, I've been seeing there is a lot of traffic on this road. It looks like a very busy road. Let's go inside. I came into the temple and had darshan of Bhagwan Ganapati.
I had very nice darshan here. When I was planning my Pune trip, lot of my subscribers told me that even if... ...I was in Pune for 2-3 days, I just had to visit Ganapati Bappa in this temple. So, I just had to include this visit in my itinerary. After my darshan here, I've met Akshay Bhai, who works for the Temple trust.
Jai Ganesh! Please give us information about the significance of this temple. Dagdusheth Ganapati is the identity of Pune. Whenever someone visits Pune, from anywhere in the world, he definitely visits this temple and... ...he pays obeisance here, at the feet of Ganesh Ji. Such is the reputation of this temple. For the past 125 years, it has been a traditional belief among the devotees that...
...Ganesh Ji has been fulfilling their wishes. One thing I am interested to know about is the name Srimant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple. So, we understand that the temple is of Ganapati Bhagwan. Please tell us more about how this name came to be. Dagadusheth Halwai was Pune's richest man and thus, he was given the honorary name of Srimant.
He was the biggest sweets merchant in the city. He was one who launched the Ganeshotsav in Pune. On receiving the orders from Satguru Madhavnath Maharaj,... ...he establish this temple of Ganesh Ji. Thus the name of this temple, in honour of Dagadusheth. The photo that I see in front of me, is that of Dagadusheth halwai? It is that of Dagadusheth Halwai Ji.
Also, this is the photograph of... Yes, this is a photograph of his wife, Smt. Lakshmi Dagadusheth Halwai. The Lakshmi Road, which is the heart of the Pune City and is home to the shops of.... ...all the main businessmen of the city,... ....is named after this motherly figure. Very good! It was a good decision to visit here. We had a good darshan. I had sent my team members for darshan on Sunday itself but I couldn't come with them.
When they came back, they told me it was crowded. That gave us the idea that weekends see large crowds. Yes! That is obvious! Okay then, thank you! Jai Ganesh! For lunch, we've come to a very famous eatery in Pune.
We're going here for lunch, Badshahi! Banana curry, Moth Dal (Moth bean). What is this? Aamti! Aamti! Okay, I have to say this. They serve drinking water in a pot here.
We reached here at 3.00 PM, which is when the eatery closes. So ours was a last-minute entry. The seating set-up here is like that of old eateries, unlike what it is like in modern restaurants. Now, you see there are tables and chairs on the left and right sides.
What are your working hours? It is between 12.00 PM and 3.00 PM. 12.00-3.00 PM and what about the evening time. 8.00 to 10.00 PM. When does the evening shift begin? We start at 8.00 PM.
8.00 to 10.00 PM, two hours? Two hours. The same thali is served then as well? Yes! The Kakadi (cucumber) salad is awesome! Very good! By the way, I have to say this. The Maharashtrian food in Pune,... ...wherever you may be eating,... ...will inadvertently be accompanied by Aamti. Ir is basically made with Toor dal, it has imli (tamarind) and gud (jaggery) in it. Last time, I was told that it also has a special ingredient, coconut, in it.
The best thing about it is that if you eat it in 10 restaurants, each dish will have different taste. Oh God! It is terrific! Umesh Bhai, how did you like it? Very good! You liked it? It is good! It is not too sour! But you mainly feel the sweetness in it and, also, Toor Dal is easy to identify. It is very well-cooked Aamti! So far, I was praising Aamti.
I didn't pay attention to the Dal. Now that I am eating the whole Masoor Dal, I can realise what a genuine taste is. It has no spices or chilies. Or you can say it has very mild spices; The main thing is I can taste the original flavour of Dal and the curry leaves in it. Very good! Terrific! This Dal is No. 1. isn't it No. 1!
After lunch, we travelled for about 20 minutes. To visit Srimat Mahadji Shinde Chhatri (Memorial). Here, we visited the place that is the Samadhi (tomb) of Mahadji Shinde.
This complex also has a temple dedicated to Bhagwan Shiv. We saw the architecture of this building. We also saw the glasses used in its windows. Now we've left the building. For the past 15-20 minutes, I've been trying to learn from Manish Bhai about Mahadji Shinde's history. Let me first try to share it with my audience.
You can correct me if I am wrong. During the reign of Peshwa Bajirao I, Ranoji Shinde played a significant role, being a Maratha. It would be safe to assume that he played the lead role in Bajirao's army.
He had a total of five sons and Mahadji Shinde was his youngest. We are here to visit the Chhatri built in his honour. Now, we'll talk about Mahadji We know that the Marathas were defeated at the third battle of Panipat. In that battle, the Shinde family, knnown today as the Scindia family,...
...lost a number of its members. After this battle and the defeat, Mahadji Shindi was left wounded and could only walk with a limp. That defeat was a huge setback for Marathas. The joint efforts carried out by Mahadji Shinde and Nana Fadnavis... ...to help the Maratha empire stand again on its two feet were remarkable. Thanks to those efforts, the Marathas were victorious in the first Anglo-Maratha war.
We know already that the Marathas could not win the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Maratha war. Their victory in the first war was majorly due to the collaboration between Mahadji and Nana Fadnavis. Now, let us talk a bit about Peshwa Bajirao I. He devised a very positive strategy durig his reign, to help him expand his kingdom. He established confederacies all over his kingdom.
For example, in Indore, he asked the Holkar family to take care of the administrative affairs. The Gaikwads were handed Baroda. And the Bhosle family was given Nagpur. Similarly, the Scindia family got the command of Gwalior. Is that right? The Bhosle family was already established in Nagpur.
Alright, so they were asked to look after that area. They already belonged to the royal family. But the Bhosles used to work under the Peshwas. Nagpur's Bhosle are as good as the part of Shivaji Maharaj's dynasty. Alright! Cities like Indore, etc, progressed well under the reign of the Peshwas.
Basically, they were soldiers who were later asked to look after the adminstratie work as well. In fact, about 40-45 years after the battle of Panipat in 1761,... ...the Northern India was under the command of families like Pawars, Holkars, Shindes etc. Correct. correct! So, Mahadji Shinde played an important role in the unification of the Maratha kingdom. Today, this is the reason why Marathas take his name with reverence. You can come to visit this memorial. You'll feel good.
The architecture of this place is also good to look at. You will need to buy the entry ticket of Rs 20 per person in order to enter. So, Manish Bhai, thank you! We spent a good day with you today. I liked it too. You should visit again. Thank you! Thank, it is great! So, we will finish today's episode here.
Right! So, it is bye-bye to you for now. We will drop you on our way to the hotel. Thanks for your time!
2025-04-10 14:15
