Mumbai and Pune are synonym of one another. Your tour to Mumbai is incomplete if you don't explore Pune. This is what was told me by friend Michalle, and I wisely listened to her. She also told me that Pune is the cultural capital of Maharastra, and endorse many exotic tourist spots that are worth exploring. As she spoke about it, I was able to see a particular glow that was enough for me to understand that I have some great thing ahead.

Pune is a well linked city by air, road and rail. Pune airport is 8km northeast of the city and the railway station.

It took me around 4 hrs to reach Pune from Mumbai. Michalle told me an intesting fact about Prune that it was earlier called Punnyapattanam, that literally means the city of auspicious deeds. Some of India's greatest leaders, Lokmanya Bal GangaDhar Tilak, Sane Guruji, the Chapekar brothers are the sons of this soil. Shivaji, the great Maratha leader, was raised in Pune, granted to his grandfather in 1599. Later it became the seat of power for the Maratha Peshwas till 1817 when it fell to the British Raj and became their alternative capital during the monsoon.

The first place that I explored was the Parvati Hill . The Parvati Temple was the erstwhile private shrine of the Peshwa rulers. The Parvati and Devdeveshwar temples stand atop a hill. The Parvati Museum houses replicas of ancient paintings, old manuscripts, weapons and coins. The temple is dedicated to Parvati and Ganesha, the family of Lord Siva. The hill has a good view of the nearby area.

Another important place that I examined was the Gandhi National Memorial. Previously known as the Aga Khan Hall, this beautiful building with salons and suites is a great historical landmark. It was here that Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders of the Indian National Congress were imprisoned during the 1942 Quit India Movement. The samadhi of Kasturba Gandhi, Gandhi's wife, also lies here. This is a beautiful building surrounded by a well-kept garden. There are many other exotic tourist destination in Pune that I covered dyuring my trip. They included Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Tiaras Baug, Shinde Chatri and Bund Gardens.