Agakhan Palace is one of the most beautiful constructions in the city of Pune and a trip to this city is incomplete without a visit to the famous Agakhan palace. This is the place that boasts of a rich legacy of history and makes one of the most important sites in the Pune Darshan.

Where is it?
The Palace is just 2 km away from the famous Bund Garden in Yerwada that stands on the Pune-Nagar Road.

Historical Background:
As mentioned in the beginning, the site holds its own importance in the Indian history. Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Agakhan III built this beautiful palace in the year 1892. The Yerwada area of Pune had been famine-struck for quite a long time and people living there badly needed a means to earn their living. The construction of the Palace came up as a source of employment for them.

Prince Shah Karim al-Hussayni Agakhan IV who was an heir to and grandson of Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Agakhan III, acknowledging the historical importance of the place, donated the palace to the Government of India in 1969.

Mahatma Gandhi and Agakhan Palace:
The palace has got strong associations with the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. In an important event in the history of Indian Freedom Struggle, Mr. Gandhi was kept in the Agakhan Palace under house arrest along with his wife Kasturba Gandhi and his long-time assistant Mahadev Desai. Both Kasturba and Mr. Desai suffered from dysentery while under house arrest and breathed their last in the palace itself.

The Palace Building:
The entire site occupies an area of 19 acres out of which on the 7acres of land stands the beautiful Palace building. The construction is awesome from the architectural point of view and holds the attention of all at the outset. There are 5 big spacious halls in the Palace. The Italian arches and beautiful lush green lawns catch the eye of spectators. A corridor of 2.5 m all around adds to the perfection of the construction from the symmetrical point of view.

Main Attraction: Gandhi National Memorial:
The place has been hallowed by the presence of Mahatma Gandhi here for 21 months and hence becomes one of the important National Monuments in the country. A beautiful museum has been created inside the palace complex. It is called the Gandhi National Memorial.

The museum displays a rich collection of photographs of the important events in the biography of the Mahatma. You also find some paintings showing some incidents from Gandhi’s life.

You will also sense the solemnity in the atmosphere inside the museum while looking at the assortment of Gandhi’s personal items like the clothes and utensils he used, his rosary beads, his Charkha, chappals, a letter written by him after his secretary passed away and many more.

After Gandhi’s funeral, some of his ashes were brought to the palace and have been kept here in the Museum.
Moreover, cenotaphs of Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai built by Charles Correa, too are the places worth visiting.

Location for Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’:
Some of the shots of Richard Attenborough’s epoch making biopic of Mahatma Gandhi called “Gandhi” were shot in the Agakhan Palace.

Gandhi Memorial Society:
Since 1980, Gandhi Memorial Society has been looking into the maintenance of the museum, the cenotaphs, gardens and the rest of the campus of the palace.

Activities in the Palace:
In an attempt to spread the Gandhian philosophy, many exhibitions on Gandhi’s life are organized in the Palace. In addition to that, the Khadi Gramodyog Bhandar and Rastriya Mahila Sanstha conduct classes to the needy and the poor in order to make them economically self reliant.

How to Reach?
The best option is of course the Pune Darshan Bus specially engaged for the trip to the important places in and around Pune. Otherwise any bus to Yerwada will take you to the Agakhan Palace.

So, when you set out on a trip to Pune, don’t miss the Agakhan palace.

If you know more about Agakhan Palace in Pune, please let us know through comment.

Agakhan Palace in Pune on Map
Agakhan Palace, Pune-Nagar Road, Pune