Inside the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad

These are a few pictures of the Sardar Purandare Wada (which is a large house with a courtyard), and is a continuation of the previous post with pictures of the exterior of the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad. Saswad, near Pune, is a small historical town. It has some ancient temples, and also has this huge Purandare residence, which is more like a fortress!

These are some photographs of the interior. The first image is a close up of a small trap-door, which is at the bottom of a very high spiked door at the entrance to the wada. It was my ancestor, Ambaji Purandare, a Diwan of the Peshwas who owned this wada and built it with the help of the Peshwas, possibly in 1710.
Opening the huge iron doors is not practical today, and the way to enter is through this small trapdoor. You enter into a fairly large corridor inside with a very high ceiling which is a buffer between the door and the actual wada. At one time, there were doors on both the sides. A way to trap invaders if they did break into the main door.

Walk a little further ahead and you enter open space, and another door which leads you into another corridor. This is the entry to the main house. Carvings still decorate this wooden door.

Once you enter and look to the right, you can see the dilapidated rooms. Huge corridors line the rooms. The structure is still standing and it is possible to climb up three floors and explore the inside.

The other side of this structure lies in ruins.

You might also like to see photos of the exterior of the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad or more photos of the inside of this old historical fort:  Interiors of the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad
Or photos of Ancient Doors in India or more ancient culture from Maharashtra: Vishram Bag Wada Pune - Photos or Ancient Narsimha Temple in Pune

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Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad

Saswad is a historical town near Pune, and besides some ancient temples, it also has the huge fortress - the Sardar Purandare Wada (large house or mansion) where the Purandare family (from my mother's side) used to live. It is a private property belonging to the Purandare family and is therefore closed to the public. This old ancient house is more like a fort, built like one with huge stone walls and columns.

As you can see in these photos, it is a massive fortress, built to keep out invaders. Spiked doors, (at least 15 feet in height), thick stone walls which are very high, and turrets meant for guns. It was my ancestor, Ambaji Purandare, a deewan of the Peshwas who owned this wada and built it with the help of the Peshwas, possibly in 1710. It is today Maharashtra's oldest standing structure. A Ganesha temple is right next to it, also built by Ambaji Purandare. He built the temple on his own land, and built it before he built the wada as a gesture of goodwill, and service to the community and also for auspicious reasons.
This is the entrance.

A view if you look up.

Another view of the exterior of the Purandare wada.

A glimpse of the inside. One side (right of the picture) has been destroyed, but the left side is standing. It is possible to climb up through narrow steps into the various rooms. The temple can be seen in the background and the town of Saswad too. Photographs of the interior rooms and carvings will be published on this website soon. Although it is in ruins inside, the beauty of it is still visible, with the wooden frescoes and carvings in the numerous rooms.

You might also like to see photos of the Inside the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad which has some long shots of the inside, or Interiors of the Sardar Purandare Wada at Saswad which has more pictures of the rooms, stairwell and so on.
Or check out photos of ancient doors (including a close-up of one from the Purandare wada of Saswad:
Ancient Doors in India or more ancient culture from Maharashtra: Vishram Bag Wada Pune - Photos or
Ancient Narsimha Temple in Pune

Or try the labels under this post for more related images.

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Footprints in the sand

Just some footprints in the wet sand on the beach. Walking barefoot feels good in the sand. This person has well defined arches on the feet.

Footprints in the sands.

More photos: Sand backgrounds for blogs and designers or try the label beaches for all photographs of beaches.

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Religious homes in India

India is one of the most religious countries in the world, with the highest number of believers. This is reflected best in the homes of middle class Indians who outnumber the upper classes, and also the poor (the poor or those under the poverty line consist of approximately 22-25% of the population). Almost every room has a diety in the house of a middle class India.

The pooja room is however mostly near the kitchen. If the household is affluent he could build a separate pooja room, but for most middle class Indians, the different deities are placed in one corner in the kitchen.

However, there are photographs or figures of deities in almost every room. Here is a photograph with the idols kept neatly on a shelf near the ceiling in the living room.

Here is a picture of the goddess Laxmi giving her blessings to Shivaji Maharaj, an ancient king. This photograph was present in a common room of the house.

And as if pictures of deities are not enough, Indians invariably worship their past leaders. Here in this photograph you can see photographs of Swami Vivekananda (who was a guru and a propagator of Hinduism) and Jawaharlal Nehru (ex-Prime Minister) next to the photographs of deities.

You might also like: Middle class kitchens of rural India or A village in Maharashtra or Huts in an Indian village or Photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area or Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India (which has a picture of a model thatched hut) or Interiors of rural homes in India
Or if you want to pictures of rural people, click: Rural People
Related viewing: Sketches of traditional Indian houses

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Logs being burnt in wood burning stove

This iron log burner was out in the open near a farm. Probably to generate energy for the farm on which this stove is kept. Logs of wood cut and stored next to a large iron or metal stove. Operates on coal.

A peek inside the iron stove. Logs are being pushed inside.

A photograph of the inside of the wood burner stove with large logs burning inside. Hot coals are creating the fire.

Some unrelated miscellaneous images: Pylon or Transmission Tower graphics or Old ledgers, files and papers or
Clothes Lines or Stock images of empty or unused pipes or or Tandoor Oven, tandoori rotis and cooks

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Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions

Older people's faces tell us a lot because as they age their expressions get set into their features and you can tell a lot about the personality just from seeing that set expression. You can see this evident in the differing expression of these elderly men.

A slightly impatient look to this man. Impatient but tolerant or stoic. The eyes tell us that he has suffered in his life. This while cap is typical of Maharashtrian rural men or farmers in Maharashtra.

A man without much expression on his face. You can tell that he is reserved.

This man smiles easily and does not seem conscious of the camera. You can see his wizened and lined face, years of hard physical labour etched on his face. But he is a happy man despite the hardship.

A slightly disheveled old man. His expressions is fairly unconcerned, relaxed, not paying attention. As if he is thinking of something else. He seems to be a person who has distanced himself from life a little for reasons unknown.

A happy and smiling old man who has seen much happiness. Contentment and fulfillment is written on this face.

You might also like to see sketches of different expressions: Expressions of irritation, annoyance and anger
Or, if you are looking for more portraits you can check out: Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men
Or try all the posts filed under people for interesting photographs of people.
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Children playing in the river water in rural India

Trying to escape from the summer heat, these kids are frolicking in the river on a hot sunny day. A man is also bathing in the river. In the villages the river is used for washing clothes and at times utensils, bathing as well as for swimming.

Kids enjoying themselves playing in this shallow river adjoining a small village.

Another photograph of children playing in the river water.

(Higher resolution photos of the above are available).

You might also like Street kids playing cricket or Children playing Holi in semi-rural India or A minute in the life of a street kid

More Images of children playing, working and studying: Children playing without toys or Child Labour or Working children or Photographs of children studying outdoors or Child Beggars

Or try the label "Children" for all pictures of kids on this website.

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Strawberries packed in boxes and containers

These are photographs of strawberries ready for sale. They are usually packed in large cardboard boxes if they are a large quantity as shown here.

Smaller quantities are packed in thin transparent containers.

Related Images: Bora (Berry) - the red tropical sweet berry or closeups of the fruit: Strawberries photographs and sketch.

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