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One of my flickr pics has appeared in today’s local paper.
Its about the War Cemetery at Khadki (Kirkee) Pune, India
The original pic is below.
(The TOI has used my picture without my permission)
Forts at Kumbharwada, Pune.
I was talking to a friend from UP and he said he never built forts at Diwali. And neither did any friends down south in AP or TN. And neither did friends from districts around Pune...That's when I realized that building Diwali forts was just something that children in few places in Maharashtra do, maybe even, just in Pune ! It must be the influence of Shivaji and his history here. Anyway, so as kids, we used to amass rocks and stones, build the base with it, throw a sack over it, lather on the mud and earth in a paste, smooth it all down. Then build the fort either with mud again, with PoP or with simple cardboard/thermocol materials. The final painting was done with oil paints. Some parts were left as earth, unpainted. Some seeds of kothimbir (coriander leaves) were sprinkled and over some 2 or 3 days, the green leaves would grow up , giving an appearance of grass! The main entrance would be a grand one, maybe in gold and all shiny. Then we buy the small figurines (Maval soldiers with spears, village women with waterpots, village shepherds, sheep, cows, cannons, trees, dogs, etc) and place them all around. And finally, the king himself, a majestic figurine of Shivaji Maharaj(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji), right at the top watching over his kingdom. The part I remember best was using an upturned bottle cap as a well. It would hold the water and not seep into the mud base. I always was told to do this as a last step :). In the night small earthen oil lamps would be placed all around to illuminate it. The whole scene was just pure magic. And then the elders would come around and admire everyone's forts. This was a time when it was just OKAY to play and get your hands dirty in mud. I'm happy to say that this tradition is still alive and well today :).
Pune Junction railway station is the main railway head of Pune. It is a railway junction with on the Mumbai - Chennai railway line. It is also the origin of Pune - Bangalore railway line. All trains are operated by Indian Railways. Pune Railway Station serves as a halt for south bound trains from Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as the origin/destination for trains to north India. Pune is well linked to the entire country by this station. Also there is a project of running bullet train form Pune to Ahmedabad which will originate/terminate here. This is a major head for freight transport for Pune.
On 1 June every year celebration of birthday of Deccan Queen Express train takes place on this station. This station has got two footbridges. Plans are made to upgrade this station to world-class standard.[1
The Mumbai - Pune railway line was completed in 1856 and Pune railway station was opened. This was the time when the first train ran from Pune railway station. The Pune - Miraj line was completed by 1886. Initially Pune - Miraj line was meter gauge track. The first express train ran in 1928 between Mumbai - Pune.
Suburban Trains[edit]
Further information: Pune Suburban Service
Pune's suburban service operate on 2 major routes, i.e. from Pune Junction to Lonavala and from Pune Junction to Talegaon. There are 3 trains which operate on Pune - Talegaon route while 15 trains operate on Pune - Lonavala route. Important stations on this route are Shivajinagar Station, Khadki Station, Pimpri Station, Chinchwad Station, Akurdi Station, Dehu Road Station, Talegaon Station and Lonavala Station. There are 8 passenger trains between Pune Junction to Daund section. These operate as suburban trains for this route. In this way the Pune to Daund section becomes the third route for suburban trains. The important haults on this route are Loni Station and Urali Station. Electrification works have begun on Pune - Daund section, after completion it is expected that the route will get regular suburban trains. The administration is now focusing to complete this work quickly.[2]
[hide]Pune – Lonavla
Pune Suburban Railway System
Legend
Pune Junction Mainline rail interchange BSicon LDER.svg Parking
Mutha River
Shivajinagar Bus interchange
Khadki
Mula River
Dapodi
Kasarwadi
Pimpri
Chinchwad
Akurdi
Dehu Road
Begdewadi
Ghorawadi
Talegaon
Vadgaon
Kanhe
Kamshet
Malavli
Lonavla Mainline rail interchange Parking
Deccan Odyssey[edit]
See also: Deccan Odyssey
This is a tourist train operated by the Indian Railways. This train takes a tour of Maharashtra and Goa. Along its route it has Pune Junction as its halt.
Diesel Loco Shed[edit]
Main article: Diesel Loco Shed, Pune
A diesel loco shed located near Ghorpadi railway station comes under the Pune Railway Division. It is one of the three diesel sheds belonging to Central railway and the largest of all of them.
Bullet Train plan[3][edit]
Further information: High-speed rail in India
See also: Pune - Mumbai - Ahmedabad High-Speed Passenger Corridor
Indian Railways are planning to start High-speed rail in India. Pune-Ahmedabad Bullet train[4] is one of these trains. This train will cover 533 km at an average speed of 350 km/h. This train will halt at Mumbai. Currently Pune-Ahmedabad section takes 10 hrs by rail. This distance will be covered in just 1 hrs 52 min with the introduction of this bullet train.[5] This train is expected to cover Pune to Mumbai in 40 min. It is expected that this route will have 26.6 million passengers by 2021.
Karnataka govt has planned to run bullet trains between Bangalore and Belgaum. If Pune Miraj rail line is converted to bullet train route and linked to Belgaum bullet train route then Pune Bangalore travel could happen in less than 5 hours and Pune Miraj could take just 1 hour. Currently Pune Bangalore travel via Sampark Kranti express takes almost 18 hours.
Proposed Plans[edit]
There are plans for increasing connection, upgrading the station and suburban railway and also to shift the freight depot to Mundwa to accommodate more freight trains.
Connection
To connect Pune to Nashik by rail.[6][7] (Feasibility survey accepted in budget 2011 - 12)
Demand of New Railway line between Chinchwad Railway Station and Roha (Konkan Railways).[8][9]
To start new express trains form Pune to Ahmedabad (Via Nasik), Amritsar, Bangalore, Guwahati and Surat (Via Nasik).
To start Duronto to Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) and Chennai
To start hourly railway service between Mumbai - Pune section.[10]
To start high-speed railway service to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Upgrading
To increase platforms from 6 to 9.
To modernize this station to international standard.
To increase one track between Pune and Lonavla and to increase frequency to 30 minutes in peak hours and 45 minutes in non peak hours.[11] (Survey accepted in budget 2011 - 12)
To construct separate terminal for suburban trains.[12]
Other
To shift the freight depot (Maldhakka) to Mundhwa area to accommodate more freight trains.
New EMU Terminal[edit]
The new EMU terminal will be situated on west of the existing station. It will have two lines and one platform. This Proposal includes:[13]
Extension of existing platforms to accommodate 24 boogies train.
A new terminal for EMU to accommodate 15 boogies train.
Three foot over-bridge to connect new terminal to other platforms.
no tripod.. just camera on the wall
Self instruction: Go there again and have a wider aperture and shorter ISO.
and try a tripod.
The Khadki Kali Bari Durga Puja, organised by Kali Bari Samiti, is the oldest Durga puja of Pune. It is held within the premises of the Khadki Kali Temple.