Like museums everywhere, those in Pune represent a graph of cultural, traditional, and financial history of the city. Pune has its own share of museums, each specializing in specific historic and cultural sections with elaborate displays. The most viable transportation option is to have two or four wheelers of your own, as the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML) bus service is not preferable, especially for tourists. Auto rickshaws and vans are also available.
Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum
This museum, established in 1962, exhibits around 15,000 historical artifacts collected by a local history enthusiast Baba Dinker Kelkar over a period of 40 years. Dedicated to his late son Raja, who faced an untimely death at the age of 7, this museum is supervised by the Maharashtra Government’s Department of Archeology. The building has three floors and two separate wings for exhibits dating back to 13th to 14th century.
National War Memorial Southern Command
The only war memorial of South Asia built by the contribution of citizens, this monument is dedicated to the Indian martyrs of the post independence era. It was inaugurated on the 15th of August, 1998. The museum inside throws light on the defense and war mechanism of the country, beginning from the ancient times to the modern era, including exhibits of weaponry from the Rajput, Marathas, and Chola periods.
A parade is held every Saturday around 06:30 pm
For kids, there is a paintball shooting range.
Blades of Glory Cricket Museum
The biggest cricket museum in the world, the Blades of Glory is the brainchild of a former club cricketer Rohan Pate. There is a wide collection of cricket bats and kits signed by famous cricketers put up for display.
Smoking and carrying food inside the museum is not allowed.
Pune Tribal Museum
A part of Tribal Research and Training Institute of Maharashtra, this museum was originally constructed in 1962. But it did not open to the public, with exhibitions of Maharashtrian tribal artifacts, before 1965. Some of the things have come from the Gondwana and Sahyadri provinces of the state of Pune.
Drinking water and washroom facilities are not up to the mark.
Darshan Museum
The museum is located over a 10,000 sq.ft area, displaying the vision and deeds of the Indian social and spiritual reformer Sadhu T. L. Vaswani, through various shows. This museum displays a fusion of traditional and modern exhibits and entertainment with unique audio-visual shows.
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Mahatma Phule Museum
Established in 1890, this art museum has been renamed twice, changed from its original name The Poona Industrial Museum. For a specific period, it was acknowledged as Lord Reay Museumand, finally getting its present name in 1968, after the famous social activist Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. The museum presents the culture and heritage of Maharashtra through agricultural and industrial exhibits.
Vikram Pendse Cycle Museum
The joint venture of two cycle enthusiasts Vikram Pendse and Pandurang Gaikwad, this unique museum showcases vintage cycles and their parts.
Aga Khan Palace
Originally made as a refugee for the famine-stricken locals, this palace was built by Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III (hence the name). Later, during the Quit India Movement for freedom from British rule, Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba Bai, freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu, and Gandhi’s secretary Mahadev Desai were imprisoned here. Due to the palace’s link with the Indian Freedom Movement, it is now named as The Gandhi National Museum. Kasturba Bai died here with her remains preserved here, in a marble memorial.
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The Italian architecture of the palace itself is another great attraction.
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The gardens are quite well-maintained with clean washrooms and drinking water facilities. There are benches scattered through the garden, where you can spend a few relaxing hours, or take pictures of the surroundings.
Sunil’s Wax Museum
Aituated outside the main city, but within the Pune district, this museum exhibits wax sculptures of national and global celebrities belonging to politics, sports, film, and entertainment industries. Mumbai based artist Sunil Kandalloor makes these wax statues all by himself.
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Although all museums don’t require the same amount of time to visit, covering multiple museums is doable. To avoid the crowd visiting them during weekdays is always a better way to enjoy peacefully.