Exploring Remnants of the Maratha Empire at Shinde Chhatri
Exploring Remnants of the Maratha Empire at Shinde Chhatri
- Posted by Colleen
- On September 27, 2022
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- 2
During this second segment of my Fulbright, I’ve been seeking out the “hidden gems” in my adopted home of Pune–exploration-worthy sights off the main tourist track. I found one of those gems tucked away in the South-East corner of the city.
There are no lines of people waiting to enter, parking is easy, and the fee is a ridiculously modest 100 rupees (about $1.25 USD), even for foreigners. And other than removing your shoes before entering (as you would any temple or memorial in India), the only rule appeared to be that no cameras were allowed. Since there were no signs in English anywhere, I learned cameras were prohibited from a shrieking-and-arm-waving gate attendant who came running as soon as I removed my camera from my shoulder bag (I discovered that taking photos with mobile phones was fine, strangely enough).
The Shinde Chhatri is a memorial to a commander in the Maratha army from the 18th century. Apparently the commander built a temple to the Hindu god Shiva, so when the commander died a memorial for him was erected as an adjoining structure to the temple.
Although we couldn’t enter the temple on the day I visited, the inside of the memorial alone was worth the trip. Gorgeous ceiling art, ornately carved teak pillars, and those repeating scalloped archways that I so love gave me a lot to photograph (with my iPhone, of course!). I suppose this shouldn’t have surprised me since I read that the architectural style is called “Anglo-Rajasthani” (Rajasthani is the style of architecture I saw–and loved–on my visit to Jaipur during the summer).
I’ve included a few images below (you can find the rest here on my Instagram page).
If you’re interested in learning more about the Shinde Chhatri, a wee bit of background story can be found on this page.
Until next time!
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