Transformation of a Public Open Space within a Historic Context
ANJALI & KIRAN KALAMDANI,
‘KIMAYA’ URBAN DESIGNERS & CONSERVATION ARCHITECTS
REVITALIZING ENVIRONS OF SHANIWARWADA, PUNE
Synopsis of conservation project Shaniwarwada the eighteenth century citadel of the Peshwas in Pune was the virtual capital of India for a century between AD1732 and 1818. It was burnt down by the British in AD1827. In the colonial period the 5.75 acre campus was presented as an archaeological ruin with plinths inside surrounded by a nine-bastioned fortified wall and five gates. During the freedom struggle the place was a political dais from where activists voiced their opinions and used the history to incite National Pride. The area outside was reduced to a passive recreational ground and a neglected ruin with little or no interpretation, for fifty years in post-independence India. In 1991 the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) appointed the architects to prepare a Perspective Plan for the project. ‘Revitalizing Environs of Shaniwarwada, Pune’. All the stakeholders of the area were enlisted and their needs, problems, potential and suggestions were addressed in the Vision Statement.
When implementation began in 1999 the architects were invited to join the team with noted historians, corporates, central, state and local government officials to implement the Perspective Plan. The open-air theatre, the son-et-lumiere, virtual conjectural restoration aiding in interpretation of the ruins, a souvenir shop and a ‘social’ wall was built around the ruins. Several encroachments, inconsistencies and eye-sores were removed to make the area a better place for the tourist and the citizen. Several festivals cultural performances and experimental mixed-media performances are now held in the area to proclaim it as the revitalized center-stage of Contemporary Pune.
Conservation project’s goals and objectives (client’s brief)

PROLOGUE
Urban space in pre-industrial Indian cities is characterised by traumatic transitions. Living patterns are torn between changing social orders reflecting in transitional life support systems and the omnipresent cultural continuum.
A rich mix of myth, religion, history and heritage seem to be fighting a loosing battle with overcrowding, poverty, pollution, traffic jams and thoughtless renewal.
It might be a long time before the Indian urbanite comes to terms with the machine. Meanwhile the election-crazy politician and his puppet bureaucrat are busy building monuments to themselves in urban space. Their stepbrother, the corporate executive is happy with cosmetic surgery or monumental disasters. The well-meaning bureaucrat and the well-intentioned politician are too often silenced. It is high time the man at the receiving end wakes up to his impending doom and forges the path to his own salvation.
Revitalizing Shaniwar Wada and its environs is but one step in this long and treacherous journey
Kiran Kalamdani, Feb.’ 91
Though the initial small steps were taken with pessimism on account of the non starters seen in similar projects across the country, the patience and diligence of the long term has paid off. The Architects were responsible for the project report commissioned by INTACH (New Delhi) entitled ‘Revitalizing Environs of Shaniwar Wada’. Salient Features of the project report were:

a) Re-establishing the Shaniwar Wada as a focus of cultural activities in Pune by constructing an Open Air Theatre in the open ground opposite the wada – creative, urbane and healthy activities were to be promoted by this reprofiling.
b) Removal of encroachments around the monument to restore its authenticity and enhance its historic value
c) Providing a boost to tourism in and around the wada by introducing infrastructure that will bring history alive in the form of Son-et-lumiere, interpretative signage, conjectural models, souvenirs and guided walks.
d) Promoting participation of all the stakeholders viz. Citizens of Pune, philanthropists and entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, politicians, historians, central, state and local governments, experts and talented persons to transform the area into a cultural venue of not only Pune but modern India.
The background of the property Historical Background:
Shaniwarwada was the most stately and prestigious fortified palace built by the Peshwas (Prime Ministers) of the Maratha Kings in AD1732 in Pune. The Peshwas were a Brahminical race who expanded Chhatrapati Shivaji’s kingdom into and empire that stretched over a territory that was from Attock in Afghanistan in the west to Bengal in the east and Tanjore in the South to Kashmir in the north. It was the unproclaimed capital of the Maratha confederacy for a period of about a century (between 1710 and 1818 AD) after which it was taken over by the British in AD1818. It was not only seen as the political center, but came to be known as the virtual Cultural Capital of the Marathi-speaking people. Architecturally the Dilli Darwaza (Main Gate facing Delhi) is an icon that symbolizes Pune City. It is therefore the most popular and representative icon of heritage values of Pune. The project articulates this significance at all levels so that the importance of Shaniwarwada in cultural memory is enhanced. The palace was burnt down in a fire in 1827 and lay as a ruin for another seventy years. It was then brought under the fold of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1911. Excavation and presentation of ruins were carried out for thirty years. In 1952 there was a ‘P M Lad Committee’ that was set up to undertake the reconstruction of some part of the buildings inside and set up a library. Though this never happened, a systematic study of the ruins, records and establishment of the former use of spaces was completed. The INTACH initiative of 1991 followed by the implementation in 1991 to 2001 has rendered the site as an active heritage site that has intertwined successfully with the contemporary culture of Pune.
Present context, condition, use of the property: In the present context the site offers a variety of experiences for different classes of people. For the heritage enthusiast there is a cleaner and better-maintained ruin with interpretation and facilities for drinking water, toilets and souvenirs. The urbanites living in the vicinity have a green space to use in the mornings and evenings where children can play in a vehicle free zone. Occasionally festivals and cultural performances are held that can be enjoyed at a low or no cost. The level of maintenance inside and outside the premises is of a higher order though there is scope for further improvement.