Late Sanjay Mahadeo Nimhan Gram Sanskruti Udyan — Attraction in Pune

Pune, a heritage city, is gifted with quite some sights and structures from the medieval as well as modern history. The cobbled peths of Pune is ridden with many a hidden gems. However, the peripheral and newly developed areas have only been looked at from an expansion and commercial point of view. Not anymore. To add some cultural colour to the area of Pashan, the PMC has cultivated a beautiful Gram Sanskruti Udyan which is an ode to the typical village life in Maharashtra. This newly developed open museum in Pune definitely deserves a visit.

Enter the gate and the tour of this unique village begins instantaneously. The idea of this park is to educate the visitors about every tiny nuance of village life. Expect to witness every aspect, every element, every contributor, small or big, from a typical village in Maharashtra. A vaidya (village doctor), an astrologer, a goldsmith, a money-lender, a grocer, a village katta thronged by villagers, a tailor, panchayat meeting, a bangle maker. Each of these parties have a role to play in the village set-up and are unique to it. Isn’t that an exhaustive list? Some of the other cultural and social nuances you can catch a glimpse of in the rural life here are a scene from Nag Panchami, a pooja, a palkhi, a temple, an oil extraction place, a verandah in a house and its significance, a wedding, women performing pooja, a game of viti-dandu, an open school under the tree. Witness all this in awe-inspiring life-like statues depicting the scenes from an everyday village life. Know about the significance of each, worded in Marathi outside each illustration.

Oh and we haven’t even begun telling you about the Patil Wada! A little further on the trail you will encounter a large mansion which depicts a residence of a Sarpanch or a wealthy resident of the village. It shows outside a group of people meeting. You are welcome to step in here! Well lit with natural light, the inside is quite typical as the large figurines adorn the 2 sided platforms on a height. A woman figurine is seen inside working in the kitchen. Step further and you will come across an illustration of a sophisticated stable with cows and buffaloes with enough space of their own to graze and laze.

That’s not it. Witness the specialists of the village and the different occupations they pursue. These illustrations also try to portray how they work with their special equipment. Coppersmith, blacksmith, barber, launderer, cobbler, butcher, bamboo weaver, potter. Some niche professions we got a glimpse into were thread weavers, blanket weavers and cotton seed separators. We found these jobs to be very laborious yet extremely significant. Good quality threads are needed to stitch good clothes. To make blankets from raw wool is not an easy task. The raw cotton pulled out from the plenty of cotton balls harvested from the field has numerous uses. Once here, you will understand how self-sufficient a village economy can truly be.

This effort to bring a slice of the rustic and rural life to Pune is quite laudable. The work done on the statues as well as the set ups is quite intricate and well done. The Gram Sanskruti Udyan is maintained by the PMC. An entry fee of Rs. 50 for adults and Rs. 30 for children is chargeable to enjoy this one-of-a-kind garden and open museum.

Timings: 10 AM to 9 PM

Address: Near Someshwar Wadi Temple,...

Our 90-year-old grandfather visited Pune recently, so we took him to this beautiful heritage village. It was a very special moment for us — four generations of our family have visited this place. Everyone had stories to share, connecting their memories to what they saw there. My daughters and I just listened, amazed and touched. It really shows how we are all connected through time.

The park showcases every craft and culture of India. Even though our grandfather has limited mobility, he felt so connected to the sculptures and scenes that he walked through the entire park with excitement. It brought back memories from each phase of his 90-year journey.

We truly appreciate the team behind this place for creating something so real and full of life.

This is one of the best places to visit in Pune. If you take your time and look at each craft home, it takes about 1.5 hours.

Elderly visitors especially enjoy it — many of them recall their childhood days while walking through the lanes. So if you have elders in the family, bring them along.

Except for the entrance gate, the rest of the park is...

I dont know why such an amazing place is not known to people even on the East side of Pune. This was one of my best 1 hour spent on a nice cool winter afternoon. I urge Punekars to visit this place along with their kids. A MUST SEE. Let me describe you what you should expect from this place. Well we who are running in their 40’s will appreciate most of the aspects of this place. Because this shows you the rural India (Maharashtra) that we had seen and some of us have lived. It gives a peak into the lifestyle of people from the rural areas of Maharashtra. Each profession or business in those times have nicely replicated in life size statues and homes. You need to walk for about an hour to see the place completely. The Ironsmith, Goldsmith, Doctor, Tailors to Tamasha, Kushti, Village market, everything is dramatically installed here. This is where we came from and this what we lived before, show it and explain it to your kids. This way you can give a little taste of rural Maharashtra to the young ones and also give them a dip of how our...