Budhwar Peth Street Poona, 1900 Postcard

Budhwar Peth Street Poona, 1900 Postcard

This is an old 1900 postcard of Budhwar Peth Street in Poona, now Pune. The busy commercial street had shops for electronics, bookstores, restaurants, etc. And also the notorious red-light area. Pune is the second-largest city in Maharashtra after Bombay (or Mumbai). Since it lies on the Deccan Plateau, the weather is cool all around the year. Because of Pune’s cool weather and its strategic location, the British established a military Cantonment in 1817.

Read more Location and Origin of Pune. See post Vintage Print View Of Poona Near Bombay

Pune had a rich history. With control shifting from the Marathas to the Adil Shahi dynasty and then the Mughals and so on. Its most illustrious son and hero was Shivaji under the Maratha rule.  The picture shows a busy Budhwar Peth crowded with people and horsecarts. No motor cars are visible because these did not come into the scene until some years later.

Did you know- India’s first girls’ school was started in Poona by Savitribai Phule in 1848

More from the collection- Vintage Raja Ravi Varma “Saraswati” Oleograph., British Cavalrymen Bangalore – Old Photo 1877., Mahatma Gandhi On The Streets of Bombay – Old Print 1932