Shanivarwada fort

The climb down from Chatushringi hill left us all thirsty. Once the thirst was quenched we were on our way again to explore Pune. This time it was Shanivarwada fort in the middle of the city!Crossing into the older "version" of the city was a surprise in itself. There was a lot of hustle and bustle even on a Sunday! My brother made a few twists and turns with his car through those old "gallis" and we waltzed into the parking lot outside the fort.

The entrance was marked by a huge statue of a Maratha (didn't have the chance to look at his name on the plaque on the statue) on a horseback. The gate of the fort can be described as humongous. But once inside I was disappointed to find an empty courtyard. Yet, even that vast expanse of empty land right in the middle of the city was very beautiful. Later on I came to know that the fort was burnt by a fire. The ruins in the courtyard were only an indication of how magnificent the edifice could have been when it used to stand tall! The only thing that was left was the fort wall that enclosed the courtyard. There were steps to climb up to the top of the wall. The height of each step was large. Asusual the climb to the top was exhausting as is
becoming the case these days because of my accumulating flab. But the effort was worth it. The view of the city from the top was great. Sad thing yet again that I haven't taken my camera along. As is in the case of the Chatushringi temple the one more visit to this old fort is due.

When coming out of the fort we noticed a board just beside the ticket sale counter that said that the fort was built in the 16th century by BajiRao Peshwa, the greatest among the Peshwas as a residence. There was also supposed to be a fountain that had a thousand fountain heads right in the middle of the fort. It also mentioned the fact that in those days the fort was constructed at a princely sum of Rs. 16,400. Imagine how much it would cost now just to erect the fort wall today ...