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India – A Popular Tourist Attraction
India is surely a popular tourist destination, not only among our own countrymen but also among the international traveler, who consider our country as one of their favorite destinations.
The reasons for this choice are many. India is well known for its pilgrimage spots, ancient caves, sightseeing places, weekend getaways, museums, popular monuments, hill stations and the list goes on.
People who have a religious bent of mind prefer visiting temples and other pilgrimage places to offer their prayers, hill stations are more popular amongst the younger crowds. Monuments and archaeological sites are a favorite for the inquisitive traveler who wants to dig deep into our country’s historical roots.
Sightseeing spots and picnic places are for those who want to have fun during the weekends after a long week at work.
Maharashtra – The Wonder Land
India is our country and the Maharashtra is located in the western part when we look at its location. The capital city of Maharashtra is Mumbai, well known as the financial capital of India. Maharashtra is popular for many reasons, if we look at the area covered by the state; it appears to be the third largest state in the country.
Population wise, it is the second most populated state in the country. The regional language of the state is Marathi, but we can also find majority of Hindi speaking community residing in the state.
The state has Arabian Sea flowing on its western coast. This state is surrounded by many states like Karnataka, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Godavari and Krishna are the main rivers of Maharashtra.
The state of Maharashtra has the Western Ghats running through its western coastline, where we can also find the world famous Konkan railway line. The state is mainly housed in the Deccan plateau. The state has many important cities like Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nasik, Nagpur etc.
Majority of the people practise Hinduism, along with the Muslim, Christian and Jain communities. Buddhists and Sikhs also form a small portion of the population. Along with Marathi speaking people, we can find a lot of Hindi, Gujarathi and Kannada speaking population in the state.
The state is into a lot of industrial activities right from manufacturing sectors, automobiles, textile industries, media and telecom industries, fashion ventures, tourism and most importantly, the film industry.
The state is also a leader in terms of its agricultural production and boasts of some elite educational institutions, making it a very popular state in the country. A tropical climate is usually experienced in the state and it receives reasonably heavy rains during the monsoon season. Black soil is the trademark soil of this region.
Pune – The Smart City
The capital city of Maharashtra is Mumbai which is also the financial capital of the country and home to majority of the film fraternity and celebrities from cinema. Pune happens to be the second largest city of Maharashtra.
Pune was the center of the Peshwa rulers who ruled in the 18th century and the Maratha king Shivaji chose Pune for all his political and important activities.
He made it the center stage of all the happenings in his empire. There are many forts that were part of this Maratha Empire in those days that can be found at Pune.
Incredible Youth
Pune is also famous for its incredible youth population. There are some very famous establishments of universities and educational institutions offering very good and quality education.
The standards are comparable with that of international quality and hence one can find a lot of students from abroad coming here to study. Since the new breed of youngsters follows a mixed culture, it is apt to say that the people of Pune are fast forward and very advanced.
Pune is amongst the few cities that would be regarded as a smart city. There are many technologically ahead centers of excellence and IT companies operating from this place that has made a big name for them.
The native people of Pune speak Marathi. Since the vast education opportunities allow foreign students to come and reside there, there is a mix of Hindi, English and Marathi languages spoken here.
Food and Culture
Street food, just like in Mumbai is popular at Pune also. Apart from this, one can find a variety of cuisines to choose from in the region of Pune. Pune is famous for its vada pavs, chats, pav Bhajis, kebabs, biryanis, strawberry milkshakes and variety of biscuits and cookies to choose from.
Some of the most famous household and traditional dishes of Pune include Misal Pav, Poha, Sabudaana Khichdi, etc. People of Maharashtra and Pune in particular are especially famous for preparing multiple varieties of Poha, a dish prepared from boiled rice as the base ingredient.
Pune is popularly called the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Pune has a mix of many cultures. The old and the new blend very well in this city, which has a cosmopolitan nature. This is mainly because the old and the new generation are both found in proportional rates in the city.
The city is home to many foreign students. Not only has that, students from all over the country preferred to come to Pune to pursue their specializations. For this reason, Pune is also popularly called the ‘Oxford of the East’.
Connectivity
Pune is just 120 kilo meters from Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Pune is easily connected through road, rail and air from all major cities of India.
There are many deemed universities as well as private universities of high fame offering very good education to students.
Some of the famous universities are Bharathi Vidyapeeth University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Symbiosis International University, Film and Television Institute of India, MIT School of Business, etc. The list of famous universities in the region is a very big one which draws thousands of students to come and study at his place.
Popular Tourist Attractions
Some of the popular places to visit in Pune are Sinhagad, Shaniwar wada, Aga Khan Palace, Dagadusheth Ganapati Halwai temple, Pataleshwar temple, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Mahatma Phule museum, Peshwa museum, etc.
A local sightseeing trip to Pune carries travelers to all the important places of visit in Pune and shows the beauty of the city. Pune is located on the Deccan Plateau.
That makes it hotter in the summer regions. Usually it reaches around 25 degree centigrade from March till April. As summer increases, the heat becomes more and it becomes scorching in the city. Temperatures can extend up to 30 degree centigrade in the month of June.
Miscellaneous Facts
People in Pune are friendly and are well adapted to their culture. They celebrate Ganapathi temple with lots of enjoyment. That is one of the main festivals of the region.
Just like in Mumbai, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with a lot of pomp and show. People are very friendly and guide tourists very well. They speak local Marathi and they are highly proud of their Maharashtra culture.
Shivaji Jayanthi is celebrated on the 19th of February every year. Pune celebrates the day with a lot of fervor and gives it a lot of importance. Shivaji played a vital role in setting up the Maratha kingdom and it was under his rule and administration that they captured many forts and set up the Maratha Empire.
The Konkan, Mayal and Desh regions were captured by Shivaji and he in this way built a big Maratha empire. Shivaji is a very big and renowned personality in the entire region of Maharashtra.
Pune is also famous for its shopping. Tulsi Baug, Lakshmi Street, etc are famous places for shopping. One can find all items like handicrafts, clothes, accessories, shoes, handbags and carpets, food products, articles at the various shops in the market.
Like many other important cities of Maharashtra, Pune leads the state not only in education, but also contributes significantly in tourism. There are many hill stations in and around Pune that attract lot of tourists every year and they come and stay here during the summer months.
Pune is a fast growing city and has managed to develop into a major IT hub. It is like the city of Mysore in Karnataka. People are changing rapidly with increased technology and they have managed to keep their culture intact.
People from all over the country come to visit these places it is neither too big to explore nor too small. Temperature is moderate and ideal for a traveler. A 120 kilo meter ride from Pune leads one to Mumbai and the expressways are just awesome.
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