Pune
Pune (Poona during the British period) has had several lives. It was for a time the home of Shivaji and later the seat of the Peshwas, or Maratha leaders. During the British period, it was (as it remains today) a military center. Recently, it has become a major industrial and high-tech center.
Government House, the summer residence of the British Governor of Bombay. In the early 1950s it was put to a new use as the home of the then-new Poona University. At the time the photo was taken in 2008, it was being restored.
Rear view.
Vice-chancellor's lodge, a classic British-era home.
A classic of a different sort, an information office that naturally asks to be left alone.
Another Pune educational center, the College of Engineering.
The interior of the main hall is very grand.
A cathedral of learning.
Theodore Cooke, M.A., principal from 1865 to 1893.
Perhaps in the internet age an old-fashioned library is less essential than it once was.
Campus relaxation.
Another college, that of Nowrosjee Wadia.
Sitting an exam.
The city's Sassoon Hospital.
Tower of the hospital.
The Sassoon family originated in Iraq but became prominent elsewhere in Asia, including China.
Henry Wilkins, who attained the rank of general, was an architect on the side. Among other projects, he renovated the famous Aden tanks.
A recycled British government guest house.
Post office.
The remarkably churchlike synagogue, another Wilkins production.
Tower clock, made by John Bennett, Cheapside, London.
Sassoon's tomb on the synagogue grounds was also designed by Wilkins.
St. Mary's Church, in the cantonment.
Interior.
An unusual last name and perhaps related to the Cecil Le Mesurier who worked in the Ceylon Civil Service and established the village there known as Lemesuriergama.
Monument with tarboosh or fez. Frankland part of a British army that was ambushed while retreating from Persia after forcing the Persians to abandon their claims to Herat. If Frankland died young at 31, his wife had already died five years earlier, at 22.
Monument with truncated palm.
Another youngster.
Wondering when we're getting to the city of the living? Right now, here at the Empress Botanical Garden.
One of the many office buildings that have sprouted in the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, adjoining the village of Chinchwad.
Housing for the upwardly mobile.
The location adjoins a major highway.
One of many car dealerships along the highway.
The same road, heading south to Bangalore.
Farther north, the road drops down to Bombay and the coast.
The section of the highway between Pune and Bombay is one of the most crowded highways in India. Come back another time, and you'll probably agree.
Along its entire length there seem to be no bullock carts or loose animals.