On world heritage day today, I thought of sharing information about some of the oldest institutes in Pune which are a mark of rich culture and heritage, so read on.
Pune is full of rich culture and heritage has been an academichub since time immemorial; an element that has earned the city the title of ‘Oxford of the East’. The city is home to influential institutes, some more than a century old. They have the inspirational Victorian Gothic and Baroque styled structures all around. This will take you through a walk of time of the inheritance of the institutes of Pune.
Deccan College
ESTD:1821
A sacred place for archaeology, linguistics and other students, Deccan College, Post Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University is the oldest institution in Pune and the third oldest in the country. The college’s main building built in 1864 has been given a Grade-I heritage status by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The college grounds have a special part to play in history for being a part of the area where the Battle of Khadki was fought between Maratha and British forces in 1817.
SP College
ESTD:1916
The earlier New Poona College was renamed as Sir Parshurambhau College in 1928 after Sir Parshurambhau Patwardhan, the late chief Saheb of Jamkhindi. The college’s main building and Lady Ramabai Hall are traditional structures and the latter is famous for hosting speeches of Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose. It was started in a small place at the Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya, the college shifted to its present location on Tilak road in 1924. The establishment stone for the main building was laid
In 1924 and the construction was completed in 1927.
Fergusson College
ESTD:1885
Image Coutsey:By Atulswaroop (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this year, the University Grants Commission awarded the esteemed Fergusson College with a special heritage status. The academy covers 65 acres space in the heart of the city. Fergusson College, full of graduates in the field of politics, entertainment and academics including PV Narsimha Rao, Smita Patil , PL Deshpande, Wrangler RP Paranpe and many more. It is the second oldest college of the city and a storehouse of custom structures including the NM Wadia Amphitheatre and Bai Jerbai Wadia Library. The amphitheatre lately underwent restoration.
MPKV College of Agriculture, Pune
ESTD:1908
According to records, the Mahtma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth College of Agriculture building was designed by Edwin Lutyens of the Herbert Baker and lutyens duo that had planned and designed the capital of India, Delhi, more than a century ago. The distinct dome-like structure has found its place in many movies lately. The building itself has been reported to have been used as a sanatorium during the First World War and has been recognized as a grade-I heritage structure by PMC. The College of Agriculture is a forge in farming and has several feats to its name.
Savitribai Phule Pune University
ESTD:1949
By Niranjan Basarkar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The one structure you cant miss in this 411 acre campus is the university’s 151 year old main building. The Grade-I heritage building was the governor’s house in the nineteen forties
The construction of this building began in 1864, which took seven years for the original structure, including, the dominating 100 ft tower. The restoration of the building which was undertaken in 2006 is yet to finish, while the estimated cost of the restoration was Rs1.7 crore which is expected to cost upward to Rs13 crore.
College of Engineering Pune (COEP)
ESTD:1854
Image Courtsey: http://www.coep.org.in/
Primarily called Poona Engineering Class and Mechanical School, COEP is one of the oldest engineering institutions in Asia. The college’s heritage main building underwent restoration a few years back. Designed by WS Howard, the foundation stone was laid by Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor of Bombay, on the 5th of August.1865. The main building designed of the inspirational Gothic style architecture has a 60 ft tower. It is a listed Grade-I Heritage structure and in fact, the COEP campus is also listed as a heritage precinct.
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
ESTD:1930
It was established by the servants of India Society, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics is named after Mahatma Gandhi’s political Guru Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The Dhanajayrao Gadgil Library building which was built in 1905 is placed on the campus and is a heritage structure. It is a combination of daunting and modern architecture and is said to hold more than two lakh publications including some dating back in the 1960.
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI)
ESTD:1917
This school was named in the honour of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, the institute is a storehouse of knowledge. The Tata Hall, Nizam Hostel and press building are heritage structures on this campus. BORI has taken meticulous efforts to preserve old manuscripts and conducted the research project ’The Critical Edition of Mahabharata’ which was completed in 1966. This dream edition, edited by the likes of VS Sukhtankar, SK Belvalkar, SK De and Prof DR RN Dandekar, was released at the hands of Dr S Radhakrishna.
Information compiled from various sources including websities of respective institute.
Blog Title Image Curtsey: http://www.dcpune.ac.in/