Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Shivaji Raje,the founder of the Maratha Empire, lived in Pune as a boy, and later oversaw significant growth and development of the town during his reign.
In 1730, Pune became an important political centre as the seat of the Peshwa, the prime minister of the Chhatrapati of Satara. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the independence of India.
Fondly called as the Oxford of the East and the cultural capital of Maharashtra, Pune as a city has grown manifolds over the past few decades. Pune is a city that is located in the state of Maharashtra in western India. With a population of four and a half million people, it is the eighth largest city of India and second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai.
It is located at confluence the Mula and Mutha rivers. You will find that transportation, including air, rail, and road is available from Pune to the other major cities in India.
Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities, having more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities. Additionally, Pune city is well known for various cultural activities like Classical Music, Sports, Literature, Foreign language learning and Administrative, Economics, Social Science studies.
These activities and job opportunities attract migrants and students from all over India, and also attract students from Middle-East, Iran, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia which makes for a city of many communities and cultures.
Pune has well-established Manufacturing, Glass, Sugar and Metal Forging industries since 1950-60s. Pune also has a growing industrial hinterland, with many information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in Pune district.
This city is a major industrial center, growing rapidly by the year. It is known as the “automobile city,” because it contains several different automobile manufacturers. Tata motors, manufacturer of India’s largest passenger car and commercial vehicle, is located in the suburbs of Pune. Daimler Chrysler also has an assembly line for its Mercedes Benz in Pune.
Of course, the manufacturers in Pune are not limited to automobiles. Coca Cola and Frito Lay also have manufacturing plans in the city of Pune.
The city of Pune holds many great aspects of India’s past. Pune is home to many people who love to eat. You will find a variety of different foods here, ranging from sweets to spices.
The Puneite is definitely much more relaxed and friendly than the average Bombayite. A warm greeting about his wellbeing will do him in and mind you, he’s very touchy about Pune. The most outstanding aspect of Pune and its people is the sound balance they have maintained between modernity and their age-old rich culture and tradition. No wonder, it’s called the ‘Cultural Capital of Maharashtra’.
Pune has something to offer everyone, and you are bound to find an adventure when you visit here. The regional language out here is Marathi. Unlike many other Indian regional languages, Marathi is easy to understand, posing not too many problems to the tourist. Much can be attributed to the similarity it holds with the national language Hindi.