Sunil Jalihal's BLOG

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Jul 7, 2009

Jadhavgadh - Heritage Hotel & Museum

Looking for a different kind of Monsoon Destination last weekend, we decided to visit the otherwise "parched" areas of Pune district, on the southern side of the city. Saswad, Purandar and the area above the Babdev and Dive Ghats. The area is at its best during the monsoons and has some interesting places to visit, without the huge crowds that you encounter with any destination towards the west of Pune - Mulshi, Lavasa, Lonavala.
Purandar Fort (1398 mtrs, 4560 feet higher than Mahabaleshwar at 4500 feet) is one of the lesser known forts but forms the (far away backdrop) to the South Eastern part of the city as Sinhagad does for the South Western. We spent some time at the fort, could not see much with the clouds, mist and rain. Dont know if we missed anything though, since nothing much has been done to preserve the fort except a statue of Baji Prabhu in the lower fort.
On our way back we visited Jadhavgarh Fort Hotel, a 300 year old fort that has been restored and converted into a Heritage Hotel and is run by Vithal Kamat of Orchid Hotels fame. Well restored, well attended and serviced, but a bit pricey - this is perhaps the only heritage fort hotel in Maharashtra. Have heard of many heritage fort properties in Rajasthan and have stayed in a few Maharaja's bungalows converted to hotels (like the hotel in Kalimpong or the forest guest houses in Kabini) but this is the first that we have seen in Maharashtra. In order to ensure that no harm is brought to the 300 year old structure the 'Kholi' or Rooms of the hotel have been laid out in such a way that they seem to fit in naturally on the side walls of the fortress. You can even find in places, the original historic stoned wall as a part of the modern room. I hope this inspires similar restoration of other forts both in the heritage hotel and public forts category.

"Aai" - the best maintained museum in the country
What makes this hotel unique is also the museum that it houses, making it perhaps the only "museum hotel" in the world. This museum called "Aai", created out of Vithal Kamat's personal collection is an impressive structure housing an equally impressive collection of artefacts of the region. Well laid out, well lit and well attended. The musem is "economically" maintained by one manager-guide and a house keeping attendant. Not a spec of dust anywhere, not a missing bulb and all the artefacts are neatly and imaginatively displayed. Also has a few "engaging" pieces that visitors can touch and feel. We were told that this is only about 10% of Vithal Kamat's collection and the rest of it is at the Orchid Hotel in Mumbai. Have been there a few times, but wasn't aware that they had a museum there. Will check it out next time I am there.
Hope the Ministers of Tourism (of Maharashtra and India) have seen this museum! The National Museum in Delhi that houses some of the "symbols" of India and our civilization is nowhere as meticulously maintained as this museum. I hope our museums (and their trustees!)soon get some pride, character and clean toilets so that visitors can remember the artefacts they see rather than stinking toilets and the rude and disinterested officials that run them!

For all those in Pune, would highly recommend a visit to Fort Jadhavgad that is situated a km off the Pune-Saswad Road just after you've reached the top of Dive Ghat!

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