A tryst with time

The neat,immaculately maintained monument was not always so. Till 1993,it had been neglected and was surrounded by shanties,which made it inaccessible by road. Reminisces Ravi Chaudhari,president,Pune Sanskriti Vaibhav Trust and one of the original planners of the expansion of Phule Wada,“A few government officials and historians recognised the significance of the monument and its importance in the cultural history of Maharashtra. They got together and relocated about 150 families from around the Wada by giving them adequate compensation and repaired the roads and the Wada itself. Within 21 days it was transformed into the national monument it is now.”

Mahatma Phule was an advocate of the untouchables and education for the girl child. After being evicted from his village for opening a girl’s school,he and his wife moved to Phule Wada where they ran an orphanage. Raghunath Srirangdhok,writer and teacher,is all praises for Mahatma Phule. “He introduced deep irrigation for the entire village and wrote a book,Shetkaryacha Asud,which enumerated his ideals,all of which are applicable even today,” he says.

Original documents handwritten by him are on display at the wada. “One of the main attractions of Phule Wada is a historical well,which was built solely for the untouchables. Every year on Mahatma Phule’s death anniversary,we organise a function which is attended by political dignitaries and more than 10,000 people,” says Balasaheb Daundkar of the Archeology Department of Maharashtra.