Shaniwar Wada:  Majestic History of Pune's Iconic Fort

           Everyone loves good horror story especially if it's mixed with political intrigue, brutal murder and a lingering voice of haunting people till date, well that’s the story of " Shaniwar Wada"

INTRODUCTION:

         Shaniwar wada, situated in Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA is approximately 285-year-old fortification built in 1732. It was used to be palace of Bajirao, who was the second Peshwa of Maratha Empire. He was the Peshwa during the regime of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, the grandson of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

 

ABOUT SHANIWAR WADA:

                  It was built by Peshwa Bajirao and ceremonial had taken place on January 1730 and it was completed in January 1732 on Saturday, due to this it was named as "Shaniwar Wada".

                Shaniwar Wada was home and work place of Peshwas such as Baji Rao I, Bhau Saheb, Ragunath Rao, Vishwas Rao, Madhav Rao, Narayan Rao, Sawai Madhav Rao etc. Even after completion of this Wada, Peshwas made several changes in Wada as per their requirement. Nana Saheb Peshwa made arrangement of water, which was carried from Katraj Lake (7.5 km away) from Shaniwar Wada via underground channels.

       Shaniwar Wada has five entrance Gates. The main entrance Gate is known as Delhi Darwaja (Gate). Peshwas Aim was to capture Delhi throne and expand Maratha Empire hence Gate, which was facing north named as Delhi Gate. Baji Rao Peshwa fulfilled this dream. It is also current entrance for this Wada. This gate is large enough to enter Elephants whereas to stop enemy’s elephants, each door has 72 long steel spikes. Two solid bastions are built with arrow loops and holes to attack on approaching enemy’s army. Apart from Delhi Entrance, there are four more entrance for Shaniwar Wada. They are Mastani Darwaja or Ali Bahadur Darwaja, Ganesh Darwaja and Jambhul Darwaja or Narayan Darwaja.

Rumours & Facts: -

As we look in the past and recall this love structure as the witness of the love story of Bajirao-Mastani and the loneliness of Kashibai, there’s a lot more to it.

The most interesting story associated with Shaniwar Wada is that of the horrible murder of Peshwa Narayan Rao. This foreboding fort dates back to the 18^th century and has an extremely bloody past. It was the scene of devastating fire in 1828 which caused the deaths of many to this day. Visitors here claims to hear that agonized screams of pain as if people are still being burned alive. The fort has even been the scene of a viscous murder it was here that a jealous uncle drunk on rage organized to violent ways and then disposed of in nearby river. His ghost now continues to walk the river bank and the fort still calling out pleading for his uncle to save him like " kaka mala vachva".

Hope you enjoyed this wonderful historical place. Thanks for having your time to read this blog see you again with more interesting blog.

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