Vintage Pune

The Pune Cantonment
The Pune Cantonment area began to develop in the real sense only after 1835 when other occupations and services began to come up in the area. In 1886, there were around 2500 houses and some 700 commercial establishments in the area. British officers would descend on the area during the monsoons.

Pune also became the military centre of the Bombay area. In 1850, Sir Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy built a bund across the Mutha to tackle the Cantonment8217;s water scarcity. The Cantonment8217;s market, Sadar Bazaar, was where many Bohri merchants carried on business. Due to the stringent rules of the Cantonment, stale food was not sold in the market.

Many roads here had English names like Native Infantry Lines and Royal Artillery Lines where most Europeans lived. Sadar Bazar had a Ram temple and there were five churches in the area. The many There was also a government bakery where a steam-run machine was employed to grind flour.

One hundred and thirty one years ago, Narayan Joshi described the Cantonment thus: 8220;The Cantonment area is a healthy and pleasant place to stay in. There is free flowing wind due to the open spaces and little garbage due to the strict laws. The population here is also less dense.8221;