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Imposing murals and designs at metro stations offer glimpses of the city's past
A life-size mural of the Mahatma spinning the charkha, an installation resembling a film reel and another designed like a traditional Marathi Wada: these are not exhibits in a museum but facades of metro stations built in Pune.
Criss-crossing the city, the Pune Metro rail, currently operational on two routes, promises to change the way people commute, interact and live. With exteriors and interiors of the stations transformed into tableaux depicting historical and cultural events, riders behold a fragment of the city’s timeline each time they board the train.
Expected to witness massive footfalls once they are operational, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Udyan and Deccan Gymkhana stations on the east-west corridor have been designed as a tribute to the Maratha pride.
“The elements of the stations will remain the same as others: they will have a concourse and a platform, but the exterior will have a representation of the traditional headgear and the iconic pagdi of Maratha soldiers symbolising their valour. The design of the pagdi in silver and scarlet reflects a confluence of the city’s past and present,” Dr Hemant Sonawane, executive director (PR) and chief vigilance officer of Pune Metro, said.
“A cable-stayed bridge, designed like a tanpura, will connect Chhatrapati Sambhaji Udyan station to the peth area. This is an attempt to pay tribute to the art and culture of the city...