Blogs from Pune, Maharashtra, India, Asia

We could not have known five years ago when we were in Pune visiting Apoorva and her family that we were actually going to be able to accept the invitation to the wedding of sister in law Gauri when this would take place. When we got our visa for India in Amman, Jordan, and had booked our flight to Delhi we did not even know Gauri was actually going to get married. But as soon as we announced that we were going to come to India, Apoorva immediately asked (or told) us to organise our travelling around the wedding date of Gauri and Ashish. Of course we instantly accepted the invitation and organised our travelling, because attending an Indian wedding was something we had always wished for and now we were invited into the close circle ... read more

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since I took off from Detroit. I have started to fall into a routine with working days. I get up at 6 AM, shower and all that jazz, breakfast at 6:45, catch the bus at 7:30, work until about 5:45, catch the bus back, relax, dinner at 8:30 (early by Indian standards. Some of the other guests in the house eat as late as 10 PM!) and then bed by 10. Luckily, my bus route got changed yesterday and the time it takes to get home has been cut in half. I enjoy the new route because it gives me new parts of the city to see every day, but the dust in this part of the city is very thick during rush hour and I spend ... read more

Jet lag is killing me. Yesterday after I typed up my first post, I passed out for 3 hours. I woke up just in time for dinner; another amazing meal. Last night was pretty uneventful, still no internet so I will have to keep saving these to my computer. This morning I woke up at 5 AM and could not fall back to sleep. Breakfast was at 8. The cook made me an omelet and toast. Pretty basic breakfast, but no complaints here. After breakfast, I decided to read the paper. I took some pictures of a few of the smaller stories. In case any of you were wondering, even in India, it is impossible to escape the Trump phenomenon. Today is hot. Like, 97 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Still, I was ... read more

Hello friends! WHAT’S NEW??? Hmm, I keep asking this question to myself and try to come up with ideas that excites and motivates me to travel. After my Leh & Ladakh trip in July 2016, I did not do much. As I like travelling and explore new places I was giving a thought to explore State of Gujarat during Navaratri festival in Oct’2016, but could not manage to get leaves from my office for such a long duration so I had to give up on that plan. However I wanted to visit at least one place in coming months and that’s where I decided to explore ruins of Hampi, a Boulder Paradise ! The plan was travel to Hampi by road from Pune (State of Maharashtra). Hampi is one of the most popular tourist destination in ... read more

Shaniwar Wada, situated in Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA is approximately 285 year old fortification built in 1732, used to be the palace of Bajirao I, who was the second Peshwa (Prime Minister) of Maratha empire. He was Peshwa during the regime of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, the grandson of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. As the foundation stone laid down on Shaniwar (Saturday), it is named as Shaniwar Wada. It was a magnificent building during the period of Bajirao I and was in its full glory during that time. It used to be a seven story building with a ground floor made of stones and rest of the floor made of wood. It is said that later on in 1828 due to some fire the wooden floors got destroyed. Even today the remaining structure of Shaniwar Wada is telling the ... read more