Monumental Loss

All Date can hope for is that these memories remain vivid in his mind long after Hari Bhavan ceases to exist. In a few weeks from now,the stone walls of the 150-year old house will be pounded to dust.

Hari Bhavan is a wada,one of many such houses that used to be a symbol of pride for their residents,mostly administrators and businessmen,during the reign of the Peshwas,who ruled from 1749 to 1818. Wadas have been unique to the history and culture of Pune. They are mostly made of wood,have red sloping brick tiles,narrow passages,ornate carvings on wall edges and are divided into courtyards. The men of the family would gather in the central courtyard to discuss business and politics,while the women and children would huddle inside the rooms.

Historian Mandar Lavate says,“Probably the best examples left now of wadas are the Mujumdar Wada in Kasba Peth,the Raste Wada in Rasta Peth and the Vishrambaug Wada behind Shaniwar Peth — all in the old city. The major wadas were named after the members who built them. Raste Wada,for instance,was named after Sardar Raste who built it. The 232-year-old Mujumdar Wada is nothing if not a fine example of the architecture of those times with its ornate wooden windows,exquisitely-carved furniture and antique chandeliers.”

Date’s grandfather,Gajanan Hari Date,a businessman,had built three wadas — Hari Bhavan,Date Wada,and Janki Bhavan — within the same compound in Narayan Peth. Located off the bustling Laxmi road,in the old city,Narayan Peth has been a central hub of activity for old-time businessmen. “Hari Bhavan was not where we just lived. We also did business here,for example,by renting out a small marriage hall within the wada,” says Date of his large six-room,two-storeyed house. It stands in contrast to a shining,new six-storeyed glass-and-cement building next to it. Soon,Hari Bhavan too will give way to a multi-storeyed apartment building,following the fate of Janaki Bhavan,on whose place also stands a similar edifice.

First,the main gate of the compound was broken down,then a road was laid by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) between Hari Bhavan on one side and Janaki Bhavan and Date Wada on the other. “We will commission a builder to construct a multi-storeyed building in which each family within our large family will have a flat of its own,instead of wrangling over one large,single property. At least my grandfather’s land will still stay,” says Date.

There are many reasons why wadas,despite their historical value,are slowly fading out of the cityscape. Built as large single-storeyed structures close to the road,they have fallen prey to shrinking urban spaces,the breakdown of the joint family system,property disputes,and widening of roads. There is also the issue of safety. Having been constructed primarily with wood,the wadas weren’t well-ventilated. Hanging wires and non-concealed electrical circuits pose a fire hazard,especially in the congested,almost claustrophobic old city area of Pune,where most of them are located. This has led the PMC to embark on annual drives to determine the stability of these structures,and identify which of them need to be demolished.

Photographer Sandesh Bhandare,whose book Pune: Queen of the Deccan is about the city’s wadas,says “the rot had already set in when I was shooting the wadas way back in 1988”. “Wonderful specimens of the erstwhile Peshwa culture like the Natu Wada in Shaniwar Peth no longer exist,except in photographic books and journals,” he says.

Restoration architect Kiran Kalamdani says wadas are impractical today. “A courtyard of 20 feet by 20 feet would then be home to around 40 people. Today,even an average person requires a room which is at least 10 feet by 10 feet.” But some wadas have been lucky enough to have found favour with contemporary living. The 20,000-sq feet Vishrambaug Wada is now home to a post office and offices of the municipal corporation. It has been restored under the PMC’s Heritage Corridor Plan,retaining the original design,including red tiles,and sloping brick roofs,wooden and stone pillars,wooden staircases,high-and-narrow windows,and ornate carvings on the edges of the walls.

Kalamdani,who helped restore Vishrambaug Wada,says restoring wadas is an uphill and expensive,but not impossible,task. “About a century-and-a-half ago,the old city was the hub of all socio-economic,cultural and political activity. All businesses allied to wada-building like carving and brick-making were concentrated there. To rebuild them in the original style would mean replacing certain materials,like lime with cement for binding,old decayed wood with treated wooden panels and so on. It’s an expensive proposition but the results are pretty similar to the original designs.”

A hint of modernity has transformed the Sai Krupa Wada,owned by the Tarawade family,in Somwar Peth,into a monument that has stood the test of time. Built in the early 1900s by social worker and freedom fighter Bandoba Malharrao Tarawade,the wada has been renovated twice over the turn of the century. The family members have used stone in place of wood so that the the walls and the floors last. Instead of using lime as a binder,they have used cement and mortar. But the design remains the same,with small doors and windows,and a small courtyard,complete with a secret passage for servants to enter and exit from. The 1,600-sq-ft wada has three families living in it. Chandrakant Tarawade,a retired government servant,who stays there with his brothers Sanjay and Vijay and their families,says,“ We cannot make any changes to the room sizes without breaking down the structure. That would mean building a new house altogether. Over the years,builders have approached us with lucrative proposals but we have not accepted them. These houses symbolise everyone being together. Of course,you can always get a private life in high-rises. But we are happy being close-knit.”

The Tarawades are an exception. As Date’s 24-year-old nephew,Shashank,says wistfully,pointing out to an open space that has now become a multi-storeyed parking lot near his old house,“That area behind the wada used to be an open ground where we would play. At least I got a chance to live in the old house and play in the open. What will the next generation have?” Folk tales and memories of a forgotten past,perhaps.