Growing I remember tagging along with my mum for her weekly fresh grocery shop. I was rewarded with an eclair for helping her carry one of the many beautiful hand-made cloth bags home, full of fresh fruit.
The market was all busy, buzzing with activity, lots of vendors with their hand carts full of produce. Most of them regulars and many knew their regular customers by name too. My favourite was always the elderly lady who sold fresh curry leaves, fragrant coriander leaves and green chillies. Her tiny frame also hidden behind the piles of green.
Tulshi Baugh and Mandai, a vibrant Kaleidoscope of Pune’s Vintage Market, sits huddled in between modern buildings, dusty by-lanes. It is always busy with throngs of people milling about, weaving their way through traffic and stray cows chewing cud on the road and stray dogs chilling by the foothpath. Pedestrtians determined to reach their favourite shops muscle their way through vehicles with auto-rickshaws honking incessantly at no-one in particular and huge privately owned cars with windows rolled up driven by goon-like private hire drivers ferry their masters and mistresses to get their fix of their favourite food or drink or simply to visit the famous temple nearby.
Shri Ramji Sansthan Temple
Somehow on these same roads, dusty public buses offer a cheaper transport alternative to the common men and women who’s daily income does not afford them the same creature comforts as the nouveau riche or the Khandani- Ameer (rich by inheritence crowd) or the modern middle-class crowd that works for their money and picks an uber-ride or a zips around on gearless scooters that actually rule the roads in Pune city. Oh yes, Pune city is completely over-run by reckless motorbike and scooter riders who are absolute speed demons and zip across the lenghth and breadth of the city without a helmet and even protest when they are asked to pay a fine for not caring for their own personal safety. Don’t believe it, well, at your own peril then, for not very long ago, I was one such rider (though I did always wear a helmet and followed the rules) Oh how I miss my beautiful gearless scooter my Honda Activa, it gave me wings – litreally!
But I digress, we must come back to talking about the beautiful market that is Mandai and the gorgeous Ram Mandir. This 18th century temple was built by Shri Naro Appaji Khire in what used to be a huge tulshi garden literally translating into a garden where the holy basil grew. At the time, the building was the tallest spire in the city of Pune. There is a spacious wooden congraration hall right outside the temple and many smaller shrines around the main temple (have a look at the photo below).
The temple and the surrounding market is steeped in history and has seen stalwarts like freedom fight Lokamya Tilak and other emiment members of society frequent the area in the pre-indpenedance times.
Tulshibaug
The inner courtyard market right outside the temple has many shops whcih are probably as old as the temple itself. They sell jewellery, various utensils and also all sizes of sculptures and framed pictures of various dieties.
Right outside the courtyard are shops selling many different things including two of my absolute favurites, toy kitchen utensils and toy kitchen sets and Glass bangles. Other shops sell cotton bedding, shoes, bindis and imitation jewellery.
I am low-key obsessed wih Bangles and glass bangles have this beautiful retro feel and for me they transport me to a forgotten era. To adorn a wrist-full of delicate glass bangles and dress in a Traditional cotton sari gives me an etheral experience as if I was in a stage play or period drama. That is why I love these beautiful glass bangles shop in Tulshi Baug. All those shiny bangles are so pretty.
I hope that someday I can visit the bangle market in Hyderabad to see the famous bangle market and buy loads of bangles made from lakh clay.
Once you step outside into the streets from the temples inner sanctum there is a very busy market selling everything imaginable. It is home to several hundred shops and probably as many street side vendors. Nestled very close to the Vishrambaug Wneada, this histroic 18th centruy temple and market area is a stone’s throw away from an equally famous and histroic fruit and vegetable market – Mandai.
Mahatma Phule Mandai
The current indoor area of Mandi is housed in a Britosh era Gothic style building and the architecture is to be admired. It houses a busy market which spills over into the streets outside with hundreds of hand carts and shops selling every possible fruit and vegetable that you would expect to find and even some exotic ”foreign” vegetables.
In the 70’s this market would attract vendors who trade and purchase from the wholesale vegetable on a dialy basis and then transport their purchases in bullock carts to various part sof the city and adjoining smaller towns too. Now it mainly houses retail vendors who sell to the general public.
This market is home to shops that sell lots from than just fruits and vegetabes though. You can shops for spices, pulses, stainless utensils, wicker baskets, ceramic pots and pans, popaddams, peanuts and so much more. Lots of Mithai shops dot the outside lanes alongwith lots of famous old resturants that are popular with tourists and locals alike.
No trip to Pune is complete without exploring these historic market places and soaking up the vibrant atmosphere. Hopefully, I will soon be able to explore the local food and walk around and explore the oldest resturants that dot this and the surroudning area.
Love browsing markets as much as I do? Why not have a virtual gander through various markets across the world by checking out my blog posts below:
- Borough Market, London
- Portobello Market, Notting Hill, London
- Mohammed Ali Road Street Food Market, Ramadan Special, Mumbai
- London Bridge and the surrounding area
*Not sponsored. As always all opinions are always my own. Unless otherwise stated all photographs are clicked and processed by me. Kindly do not replicate any text and/or images/photographs from this post or my website without my express written constent.
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