Pune is known by many monikers, all a testimony to its changing landscape. Once upon a time, Punekars lived in wadas and travelled in tongas. Then, the roads came to be occupied by cyclists. Soon, there came another set of two-wheeler (scooters, motorcycles), three-wheeler (auto rickshaws) and four-wheeler vehicles (cars, buses). In the near future, the Metro rail will run through the city connecting the old and new neighbourhoods, opening up a whole new world.
This will inevitably see more changes in the realty sector — more apartment complexes, gated societies, bungalow societies will come up to accommodate many more people aspiring to own a home in the city. In this article, which is by no means comprehensive, we chat up residents living in a wada, a gated society that came up soon after Independence and a recent township that has tried to safeguard the interests of the sons of the soil.
PAST PERFECT
The quiet streets once dotted by independent bungalows and wadas (community dwelling accommodating families in one or two room tenement called ‘birhad’) now bustle and crackle with the never-ending stream of pedestrians and two wheeler riding commuters.
The Perugate neighbourhood of Sadashiv Peth has undergone a sea change and the residents of the Gore wada are a witness to it. “In my childhood, in 1940-50s, the doors of the houses were always open to neighbours and acquaintances. The streets were quiet because there were hardly any people on the road,” says Prabhakar Gore, opening the doors to the balcony of the wada. “We have to keep the balcony shut because of the dust, noise, and the honking of the vehicles. There is so much vehicular traffic that we can barely hear ourselves speak,” he informs.
The balcony is long and colonnaded, a reminiscent of the old style architecture. The house was originally built in 1923 by his grandfather, Narhar Gore, as a bungalow. Around 1935, his grandfather built the wada and tenants came to live there. “The ‘c’ shaped structure that you see now, came up then. Presently, the third generation of those tenants is staying with us,” says Prabhakar.
His older brother Dr Srinivas Gore (Gore hospital is a part of the wada) remembers playing cricket and hu tu tu with the kids of the tenants in the courtyard on which the hospital now stands.
“There was one Hotel Bombay below our house. Once I visited it for a lark and my father happened to spot me. I was asked to wait outside the house for two hours as punishment,” he laughs. Now, of course the area has many eating joints, mostly non-vegetarian.
Gore wada was one of the few wadas of that period which had 24 hour water supply, courtesy the water tanks constructed on the terrace. They pumped up water through an old well. “My grandfather also built toilets and bathrooms for the tenants. Those who took up two room accommodation had to share the facilities with another family. Those who rented four rooms had toilet and bathroom all to themselves,” says Prabhakar.
Their oldest tenant family is Rajaram Sathe. Sathe says that this mother, Saraswati, came into this house after her marriage in 1936 and they have stayed there ever since. His 99-year-old mother lists off the many families that stayed in the wada and the social gatherings they had. “We used to have Ganapati Utsav and bhondla. We played phugdya too,” she recalls.
Her 78-year-old son says, “In those days these facilities spelled luxury for us. Our malak (owner) was really thoughtful and considerate. He had a common platform for all the ladies to come and wash their clothes. I would say that my childhood was ‘gokul’; there were so many children to play. Standing in the balcony, we could see the Parvati hillock.”
The Gore family has managed to retain most of the original structure, but have also made a few changes. “The living room where we are now sitting was renovated. We combined two small rooms into one. Other rooms have the niches and arches reminiscent of the wada architecture. We have also made some changes to the staircase,” explains Prabhakar.
to be continued