Lost in their own thoughts and everyday problems, people walk unconcerned up and down Bajirao road, sparing hardly a glance if even that, for an exquisite example of the best of Maratha craftsmanship, the palace of Vishrambaug Wada. To many who throw it a cursory glance, it might stand like a question mark on the wall of time. One cannot blame them, for very few among those who pass it each day probably know much about its history.
Vishrambaug wada Palace was built by Peshwa Bajirao II, on a plot of land purchased by him from Shri Haripant Phadke in 1799. Work on it began on 26th March 1807 and it was completed by 20th Nov 1808. The sole purpose of this Garden of Rest (Vishrambaug) was relaxation and entertainment.
The original entrance to this building is below the imposing cantilever balcony with elaborate carvings, which is supported by finely carved mythical creatures. On either side of the entrance stand intricately engraved teak pillars, shaped like Suru (cypress tree) trunks. To accentuate the beauty, even the beams are embellished with carvings of peacocks and parrots. The 40,000 square feet palace has halls and three courtyards (Teen Chowki). Its splendid architectural style of fine woodworking developed under the Peshwas. There are also influences of Rajasthani and Gujarati craftsmanship.
Peshwa Bajirao II continued residing at Shaniwarwada, making Vishrambaug Wada a second home, where he came to relax. There are stories that in his later life, when he suffered some ill health, his wife had a garden of Tulsi (Holy Basil) planted close by, (present day Tulshibaug) as this plant had curative properties for many ailments and even breathing in its vapours was considered extremely beneficial to health.
Vishrambaug Wada though has a very checkered past. Its days of glory were short lived. When the British took over Pune, its palatial splendour was turned into hallowed halls of learning. A school called the Sanskrit Pathshala was established here to teach the Vedas and Shastras in 1821 and later in 1828 the Elphinstone Engineering Institute was shifted here from Mumbai. It was still an important building in 1852, where Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was felicitated by Major Candy. Its slide into obscurity began, when the colleges were later shifted to their present locations. The major blow came when its front quadrangle was set on fire on May 13, 1879. From here on it became a victim of an unimaginative and apathetic administration. The British rebuilt the destroyed part in an uninspired and functional way. In 1930 the Pune Municipal Corporation bought the Vishrambaug Wada from the Government for Rs. 1 lakh and the second floor was built in 1933. The building was used to house the PMC till they moved to their present location in 1959. Besides housing the PMC, it has been used, by the police dept, by the health dept, as a ward office cleaning section, among other things, till this building that had already been stripped off its grandeur, also lost its heritage value. Walls, doors and rooms had been added willy-nilly as and when the bureaucracy decreed, till very little of its original beauty existed. Presently it serves as a post office and a library.
Perhaps this state of affairs would have continued endlessly, till tired of the abuse the Wada would have one day fallen down and passed away into obscurity, marked only by a few half hearted eulogies in the newspapers.
Fortunately such a situation has been averted by an extremely commendable decision taken by the PMC. Three years ago, when the Wada, which is on the heritage list, was in a dilapidated condition and due for extensive repairs, a key decision was reached, which will hopefully be the watershed in the maintenance of heritage structures in Pune. It was decided that instead of making functional repairs to the building it would be restored to its former beauty, using materials as close as possible to the original ones. The entire cost was projected at about Rs. 3 crores.
Civic heritage cell chief officer, Mr. Shyam Dhavale, supplied me with the information regarding the renovation and rebuilding. To maintain the originality of the construction and to avoid mistakes, the PMC appointed a 3 architect panel to overlook the rebuilding. Before anything could be built though, all the walls and rooms that had been so haphazardly constructed before, had to be brought down.
The first phase of the restoration began about two years back on the West side of the Wada. Now the third courtyard is almost complete, while work is going on in the second courtyard. Already 1.5 crore has been spent on rebuilding, restoring and beautification.
The care given to the restoration can be witnessed right at the entrance of the third courtyard or chowk, where one can see, not just the grand carved door but also the brick work around it, which is laid aesthetically with live mortar as it was in the days of the Peshwas, using not the ordinary bricks but a flatter, broader version called the ‘Pustak Veet’. Within the courtyard one cannot miss noticing the teak pillars, which after decades of being painted in oil paints, have now been scraped clean and treated again with linseed oil as they originally were. It is not just the pillars but the doors, door frames, windows, including the seven feet high ‘Mahirap’ windows with railings to sit by, that speak of the minute care given to detail here. Much of the wood has been replaced, with importance given to merging the new with the old. Rows of chandeliers have been chosen to match the ambience of the place. Fountains play in the courtyard adding to the feeling of peace.
Though the courtyard is hushed now, in this setting of grandeur it is not hard to imagine the chatter of ladies dressed in bright silken sarees, turbaned noble men of a bygone era strolling around, voices and laughter and the strains of music and song. One can only look forward to the day when the work will be complete and after decades of neglect and defacement, this pride of the Peshwas will once again attain its original, regal splendor.
Vishrambaug Wada is just the first in a long list of heritage buildings that will be restored to their original beauty. Two other structures which are being renovated in similar fashion are the equally important Nana Wada and the Trishund Nagar Ganesh Temple.
Nana Phadnis was an accountant during Peshwa Madhavrao’s reign but when underage Sawai Madhav Rao, son of Narayan Rao came to the throne in 1774, Nana Phadnis took over the administration and continued to look after it for twenty years. He built his mansion Nana Wada in the vicinity of Shaniwarwada in 1792, where his chief office was also located and from where his administration was carried out.
I was extremely fortunate to be loaned a project on Nana Wada by Mr. Priyal Mote a student of T.Y.B.Arch-Allana College of Architecture, for my reference. This has helped me to both learn as well as perceive details, which my layperson’s eyes would have surely missed.
Nana Wada with its timber framework is an excellent example of Maratha construction technology. Skilled carpenters were summoned from Rajasthan to carve the arches, doors, windows and Suru shaped pillars. The live mortar was prepared using clay, lime and jaggery. A public tank was also built opposite the Nana Wada
In 1892 the Deccan Education Society built the New English School, in what is assumed, to have been the rear part of the wada. There were marked differences between the structure of the Nana Wada and that of the New English School, both which reflected the times during which they were built, the availability of materials and expertise, as well as the prevalent tastes, preferences and priorities of their respective builders.
Whereas the Nana Wada had been designed for both beauty and functionality, fast construction and functionality was the priority during the building of the school. The pillars and arches in Nana Wada were mainly decorative but in the British structure they are used as spanning and load bearing elements. The Marathas were careful about aesthetics down to every small detail and even the railings of the balconies were made of intricately carved teak, but in the school the British have used cast iron railings. Use of glass for window panes was also introduced in this structure. The edifice reflects the period of the industrial revolution in England, with its faster construction techniques, use of stone arches and cast iron as major spanning devices. In 1953 the school was handed over to the Corporation and a records office was opened here, along with a new school; The Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya and a night school called Kinkar Ratraprashala.
It is Nana Phadnavis’ office quarter which is presently being renovated by the PMC. The entire restoration and beautification is estimated to cost about Rs 1 crore. Artisans have been called from Mumbai to work on it. Once more great care is being taken to keep the reconstruction as close to the original as possible. The ‘Meghdambaris’ (cloud shaped) decorative balconies in this building are the only ones of their kind in Pune. When we visited the site, work was going on in full swing and hopefully in a few months it will be open to visitors, who will have their breath taken away by the building’s magnificence.
PMC’s third ambitious restoration project is the Trishund Nagar Ganesh Mandir. This is a 300 year old temple which was constructed by the Gosawi Panth. There is no brick work here and the temple is constructed completely out of black stone. It has fine examples of Rajasthani, Mughal as well as Maratha architecture. Its front elevation is decorated by very rare sculptures. Its artifacts, carvings and sculptures are unique and not found anywhere else in Pune.
The temple has been damaged considerably. Trees are growing out of its walls and water is leaking through the roof, destroying the structure. The PMC has begun the renovation, by opening the roof to repair and prevent any further leakage, prior to starting on the rest of the structure. Beautification will be carried out in the second phase. What is singular about this project is that unlike the other two, this is an Archaeology Department trust property. This is the first time the Corporation will be spending its own money on re-doing a structure for the sole reason of maintaining its heritage value. There are over a hundred heritage buildings in Pune, many of rare beauty and one hopes that the PMC will continue with its admirable initiative.
Architecture of any place is the confirmation of its history. Moreover it is a chronicle in wood, stone and mortar that recounts the lives and tastes of those who passed before. The walls of old buildings are never mute; they speak to us with their shapes, materials, designs and age about people and times gone by. Therefore it is imperative to preserve these witnesses whose testimony we can rely upon, in their original form.
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