Pu La Deshpande Garden, Pune

We finally got the opportunity to visit the Pu La Deshpande Garden in Pune yesterday. Inspired by the Okayama Garden in Japan, this beautiful open space in Pune spread over 10 hectares was green and beautiful even on a scorching summer evening, on a day when the max temp crossed 40 degrees C! As you walk around the well-maintained paths, along lush green rolling landscape, water bodies crossed by wooden bridges, and beautiful flowering plants frequented by birds, you are suddenly aware of the changing scenery - and it's quite interesting to see how completely different the view is from different parts of the garden.

Keping off the Parvati slums on one side, a massive electricity distribution center on the other flank and a bustling arterial road on the third, this garden truly is a sanctuary.

And, in the rains, this really must be heavenly.

The PMC has done a credible job of maintaining this so well, and so clean, and ensuring that the teeming crowds stay away from the lawns and onto the paths. Benches at regular intervals provide ample space for old and young alike, to have some intimate conversations.

The only inexplicable restriction, which I found unnecessary and silly, was on photography and video shooting without priori permission. And to get permission, you got to go all the way to Sambhaji Garden on JM Road, 30 mins away. Come to think of it, though, they do allow mobile photography, so it doesn't really inconvenience the public at large, and the municipality probably makes good money from giving out permissions for larger shoots. So, yes, I guess it's fine :)

Here are some "mobile" pics from our walk in the park yesterday...