There are books and there are books. And then there’s a journey called Punyakatha—Pune’s Story of a Million Years; a Magnum Opus that recreates the history of our beloved home city—a place historically coveted by power brokers, rulers and strategists of every hue for its soil and its soul.

The challenge was to bring out a history book that wasn’t the typical history book. A book that bespoke a proud legacy and emphasized proud roots through anecdotes, pictures, maps and poetry—without lecturing the reader.

Stone Age to Megapolism

The existence of rivers and a convenient location in the lap of the mighty Sahyadris, along with good weather made the region an ideal place to nurture life and civilizations. The earliest settlers of the Deccan as well as the first bonafide dynasties of the Deccan strode around with confidence.

Home to the saints and the breeding ground of freedom

Gradually, Pune came under the Yadava Rule before they were overruled by the Khilji Sultanate. With the march of time Pune—like the rest of the state—was caught amidst the tectonic shifts of the power plates of the Sultanates of Bijapur, Ahmednagar and Golconda not to forget the sprawling Mughal Empire.

It must be mentioned that all through this tumultuous period iconic saints like Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar and Samartha Ramdas Swami preached about ‘Self-Rule’, ‘Self-Reliance’ and ‘Self-Respect’, thereby gradually leading to the rise of a colossus that was Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje. This was where Raje spent a sizeable part of his childhood—along with the Mavala boys of the region.

Bastion of education and cosmopolitanism; home to the Southern Command

After Raje, it was his Prime Ministers who chose the city as their seat of power. Under the Peshwas, the city emerged as a major hub for scholars. Despite the abrupt shift of power into British hands, the city retained its status as a stronghold of education. Their choice of Pune as an important Cantonment city and eventually as the Headquarters of the Southern Command added a whole new dimension of multiculturalism to the city’s culture.

A city poised on a grand tomorrow

Pune’s strategic location, its coveted status as Smart City, proximity to Mumbai, peaceful and law-abiding socio-cultural fabric and a plethora of educational institutions make it a wide and delightfully diverse pool of trained manpower for the IT, industrial and manufacturing centres to choose from. Regularly ranked amongst India’s most livable cities, it was also recently declared Maharastra’s biggest city.

Punyakatha brings all this out—but doesn’t stop at that. It involves you in the highs and lows of the city’s evolution from a basti to jagir to megapolis of the future. A city that is as much a national pride as it is an international choice.

Kalyani Sardesai

Heritage India

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