Pune is a more relaxed travel destination than nearby Mumbai

Give India's megacities a wide berthand head for Pune, where history and culture abound, writes Shafik Meghji

Asia travel

Shafik Meghji

Published: 12:00am, 27 Jun 2013

Why you can trust SCMP

Corner facade and covered balconies in Peshwa.

to Mumbai, it's hardly surprising that Pune has long been overshadowed by its bigger and brasher neighbour. Now, however, the city is fast developing into a tourist destination in its own right.

Dubbed the "Oxford of the East" due to its strong educational heritage, Pune is the second biggest city in the central Indian state of Maharashtra. It lies 150 kilometres southeast of Mumbai, close to the Sahyadri Hills on the edge of the Deccan plain.

In recent years it has become one of India's booming IT and technology hubs, a development that has drawn in people from around the world, boosting the local economy and giving the place an appealing cosmopolitan atmosphere.

This, in turn, has helped to transform the city into something of a mini-Mumbai, with many of the best features of the megacity. It has a vibrant culinary scene and nightlife, and a host of cultural attractions - but without the oppressive crowds, traffic and stifling pollution that so often make a visit to the capital an ordeal.

At just a fraction of the size of Mumbai, with a population of just over three million compared to Mumbai's 19 million, it is easy to get around Pune. This makes the city an ideal place for a weekend break.

The best place to start exploring is Peshwa, Pune's old town. Amid the maze of narrow streets are many traditional wooden (mansions) that date back 200 years, as well as a few Raj-era relics such as the buzzing Mahatma Phule Market (previously known as Crawford Market).

Street sellers outside Mahatma Phule Market.

The old town is also the location of a set of imposingly high perimeter walls, the only surviving parts of the Shaniwar Wada Palace, which was home to the powerful Peshwa family until it was captured by the British in 1817. Even though the palace is no more, the walls are worth a look for the forbidding Delhi Gate, whose huge teak doors come with elephant-proof spikes.

While you're in Peshwa, make sure you visit the fascinating Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum (rajakelkarmuseum.com). This converted town house contains the eclectic 21,000-piece collection of Dr Dinkar Gangadhar Kelkar, an Indian poet who spent much of his life collecting arts, crafts and knick-knacks from all over the globe. Noodle-makers, musical instruments, suits of armour, fine textiles, and ivory toys are just some of the curiosities on display.

About five kilometres northeast of the city centre is another of Pune's key sights, the stately Aga Khan Palace, where Mahatma Gandhi, his wife, Kasturba, and other key figures from the Indian independence movement were interned by the British in 1942. Kasturba died during her imprisonment in the palace, which also houses a museum dedicated to Gandhi.

The wide leafy avenues of Koregaon Park, northeast of the old town and home to most of Pune's top hotels, restaurants, bars and shops, are good for wandering. The area is also the location of the famous Osho International Meditation Resort (osho.com). Set amid 16 hectares of landscaped gardens, the ashram of the now-deceased guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh draws visitors - who dress in distinctive burgundy-coloured robes - from around the world.

If you want to extend your stay, Pune is within striking distance of the quirky Raj-era hill station of Matheran. British colonial officials would flock to Matheran, which is perched at an altitude of 800 metres on a narrow ridge in the Sahyadri Hills, to escape the summer heat. Many Maharashtrans now do the same. A miniature train takes you up to the town, where there are several colonial-era hotels.

[email protected]

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Wada everywhere

Post