Travelogue: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park near Dange Chowk, Thergaon, Pune

Very near to Dange Chowk, Thergaon, Pune, there used to be a municipal park along with a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Recently this same park has been renovated and upgraded into a theme-based park by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Of late several new parks have been developed by PCMC in the Chinchwad area and it is a good trend. 

You can find it on Google Maps here. 

Here are some of the pictures from the park:

(Above) The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

(Above) The beautiful garden provides shade and a peaceful sitting 

(Above) A giant saffron flag (pataka) can be seen proudly in the sky

(Above) The park has this theme of wall murals depicting the whole life of Shivaji Maharaj; starting from his birth as seen above

(Above) An exhibition in the form of series of wall murals can be seen inside the park

(Above) Another wall mural showing victory of Shivaji in the South India. Do you know that Shiva ji had spread his empire till Tamil Nadu? In 1677 Shiva ji had invaded Madras and you can read about it in the Hindu newspaper here. 

(Above) The skyline of the park is dominated by the Shivaji Maharaj statue

(Above) The beautiful gate to the park; at Dange Chowk, Thergaon

(Above) The flyover at Dange Chowk is also named "Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Udan Pul, Thergaon"

(Above) Wonderful wall murals at the park showing different stages of Shivaji Maharaj's life

The entry to the park is free. Though the park seems to be still developing and a few sections may be added in the future. Kids were seen touching these murals and I saw a kid applying force to check how strong an elephant's trunk was! I stopped him and asked him not to touch it; but in the meanwhile the kid did beak a small bell from the neck of a bullock's statue. Feeling guilty, he picked it up and tried to install it back on the statue without success. I helped him do that but not before hurting my finger a bit. :) I think protective chains need to be installed before these murals so that they can be viewed but still remain safe. Also, it seems there will be a shade built to protect these murals from the rains - as of now these stand in the open sky and hence dust and water can harm those. 

The park is situated at the very busy Dange Chowk and there is no other place so near to the buzzing junction which is so calm and peaceful. Appreciation goes to the municipal corporation and government for making this park a wonderful and inspiring place to visit.

- Rahul Tiwary | April 2019