Pune Shaniwarwada is a palace fort in the city of Pune in western Maharashtra; built in the year 1730 by the first Bajirao Peshwa, the Wada has been a silent spectator to the lives of the Peshwas. In fact, Maratha culture depicts this Wada as one of its important landmarks. It covers six and a quarter acres in central Pune. Located in Kasba Peth, the seven-storey-high Shaniwar Wada has now become a picnic spot for the Puneites. The magnificent Dilli Darwaza marks the entrance of the Wada.
The impressive front elevation and secure walls are still so well-known that a person cannot have doubts about the strength they once possessed. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but has the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist and archaeological site.
Peshwa Baji Rao I, prime minister to Chattrapati Shahu, king of the Maratha Empire, laid the ceremonial foundation of his own residence on Saturday, January 10, 1730. It was named Shaniwarwada from the Marathi words Shaniwar (Saturday) and Wada (a general term for any residence complex). Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,120, a very large sum at the time. Currently, the perimeter fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings.
Shaniwarwada has five gates:
1.Dilli Darwaza (Delhi Gate), facing north: The strongly built Dilli Darwaza gatehouse has massive doors, large enough to admit elephants outfitted with howdahs (seating canopies).
2. Mastani Darwaja (Mastani's Gate) or Alibahadur Darwaja, facing north This gate was used by Bajirao's mistress Mastani while traveling out of the palace's perimeter wall.
3. Khidki Darwaja (Window Gate), facing east The Khidki Darwaja is named for an armoured window it contains.
4. Ganesh Darwaja (Ganesh Gate), facing south-east Named for the Ganesh Rang Mahal, which used to stand near this door. It could be used by ladies at the fort to visit the nearby Kasba Ganapati temple.
5. Jambhul Darwaja or Narayan Darwaja (Narayan's Gate), facing south This gate was used by concubines to enter and leave the fort. It obtained its second name after Narayan Peshwa's corpse was removed from the fort for cremation through this gate.
The important buildings in the palace included the Thorlya Rayancha Diwankhana (Marathi: The court reception hall of the eldest royal, meaning Baji Rao I), Naachacha Diwankhana (Dance Hall), and Juna Arsa Mahal (Old Mirror Hall).The complex had an impressive lotus-shaped fountain: the Hazaari Kaaranje (Fountain of a thousand jets). It was designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each petal had sixteen jets with an eighty foot arch.
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