The beautiful buildings here are sometimes in the most random places. Mike and I decided to explore and find the Shindyanchi Chhatri building that was mentioned in a Pune guide we have. We took a ricksaw to the edge of town, in a modge podge neighborhood and saw this great architecture. The Shindyanchi Chhatri is a memorial to a rich man. We are unsure of the meaning of the memorial, but there were many signs that told us in honor of him we could not open umbrellas in the building. So we kept all our umbrellas down and snapped a few shots.
Here are some pictures of the outside:
The inside had multiple elegant pillars in the main room with a balcony circling all around the top of it. The frames around the window were beautiful, with so much fine detail.
The caretaker of the building kept trying to bring us back into the shrine area made for the man who the building was made for. We’re never sure of where we’re allowed and where we’re not, but we followed and saw a gorgeous dome ceiling painted beautifully. I can’t imagine how long it took to do. There was also a shrine to the man, where people could come and offer blessings or sacrifices of sorts. It still strikes as odd how many shrines there are, and to a lot of different people or gods. Coconuts are sold everywhere for offerings, as well as incense.
This building was one of the last that was on our “to do list” for Pune. We’ve finished looking at all the recommended Lonely Planet suggestions and most of the ones on our Pune guide. It makes us realize how long we’ve been here and how long we will be here. We’re almost done with our stay in Pune. Time is flying by, as I only have about two weeks left to teach my students!
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