Pune – Temples and a Fortress

June 27th, 2015

We had a day off in Pune so my coworkers and I checked out the locals attractions.  There isn’t a lot of tourist attractions in Pune.  Lonely Planet listed a half-dozen including a meditation resort and a Memorial Yoga Institute.  Our flight wasn’t until the 10PM so we set out to kill some time, we first stopped at a local temple.  We then checked out Pataleshvara cave temple followed by the Shaniwar Wada – a fortress, and finally Aga Khan Palace – the palace Gandhi was held prisoner.

Our first stop was Chaturshringi temple – a hindu temple. We stopped there for no particular reason, just that we passed it frequently.  There was a Yoga class going on for a group of teenage boys.  Personally, I have never tried yoga but have always wanted to try.  I don’t think jumping in to a Yoga class in a country where they have Yoga competitions, seem right.  While walking around, a little boy was walking down some stairs, he spotted a lizard and shrieked.  I am not sure who ran faster, the boy or the lizard.  I couldn’t believe how quickly that lizard moved.

We moved on the Patalshvara cave temple. There wasn’t a lot to see, a small unfinished temple that had been carved into the rock.  It dates back to the 8th Century and still used today.  There is very little inside except a set of statutes and an altar.  It wasn’t what I expected at all.

We stopped at the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum which was a small museum with a collection, collected by a single person.  It was very interesting to go through but not a lot to take pictures of.  Shaniwar Wada (the fortress)

was our next stop and that I found interesting and great to walk around.  It was built-in the early 1700 and a hundred years later was destroyed by fire.  The outer walls and foundations remain.

For Breakfast, I saw these guys a few tables over from me eating this savory looking pancakes.  I don’t eat a lot of sweets and this look right up my ally.  I asked the waiter what it is and he said it was an Indian Breakfast (Really!?).  He showed me where they made it and ordered it for me.  I asked him twice what the name was and I couldn’t catch it.  I tried reading what the guy wrote down on the order and I couldn’t make out his handwriting.  I will have to ask the guys at work if they know what it is!