As the name suggests, Gram Sanskruti Udyan depicts the village life through life-like statues of people of different professions going about their day. The Gram Sanskruti Udyan is accurately designed and wears the look of a village. It is an ideal place to get a glimpse of India’s culture and village life through more than 700 sculptures.
There are several houses, each belonging to an individual of a different profession. You will get to see sculptures of blacksmith, barber, tailor, goldsmith, sweets shop owner, vaidya (Doctor), and many others.
Apart from the display of different professions, day to day village life are also wonderfully depicted in Gram Sanskruti Udyan. The depiction of farmers working in the field, Panchayat resolving a dispute, a village wedding, and a teacher teaching his class under a tree are among them.
The Gram Sanskruti Udyan also has sculptures of different animals like dog, crocodile, lion, tiger, rhinoceros, hippopotamus. The highlight is the cowshed which houses tens of sculptures of cows. Some of the statues like crocodile, cows, dogs look so real and would be very hard to tell them apart if placed along with the real ones. We loved how veins were visible on some of the cows and dogs which shows the artist’s attention to detail.
The only disappointing part of the park is that all the descriptions are in Marathi. If not in English, at least the description could be provided in Hindi also for visitors outside Maharashtra.
When you visit Gram Sanskruti Udyan, don’t forget to visit the Someshwar temple. It is located behind the ticket counter. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva but the main reason we have mentioned it here is that it also houses the replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas. Now, we can say that we have seen all the Jyotirlingas :).
We had spent 5 days in Pune and Gram Sanskruti Udyan was one of our top favourite places. Surprisingly, many people are not even aware of this place. It is definitely worth your time and anyone who goes to Pune should visit Gram Sanskruti Udyan.
One can easily spend one to two hours exploring Gram Sanskruti Udyan. Better to visit in the morning or evening as it can get quite hot in the afternoon.
How to reach Gram Sanskruti Udyan
Gram Sanskruti Udyan is located a bit outside the city centre and direct public transport is not available. But you can always take an autorickshaw or cab. Both Uber and Ola are available in Pune to book autorickshaws or cabs.
Address – Late Sanjay Mahadeo Nimhan Gram Sanskruti Udyan, Ward No. 9, Ward No. 8, Someshwarwadi, Pashan, Pune, Maharashtra 411008
Opening Hours – 10 AM to 8:30 PM
Suggested Duration – 2 to 3 hours
Ticket Cost – INR 50 (12+ years), INR 30 (3 to 12 years), INR 150 (Foreigners)
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