A historical monument without signboards

   In the Ganj Peth area of Pune, riding through the small crowded lanes without any signboards for the 'Mahatma Phule wada' and completely trusting the Google maps to show me the location, I reached. Horns of the vehicles reverberated my ears. The front gate was closed so I along with my friends went from the rare gate. The unadorned historical site is preserved by the Archaeological Department of Maharashtra government.
  While stepping into the wada I came across the holy basil which in itself gave me the feel that I am about to see some thing historical but the dust and the sand had filled the atmosphere as the construction site was underway in the wada  was unpleasant. Removing our footwear we entered the house of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule. The legendary work of Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai is safe guarded through painted canvasses. The wada built in 1852 bears testimony to various social reforms brought by the couple.
   The wada houses a well which was opened by Mahatma Phule to the untouchables. The wada was not only the home for the couple but it was also an abode for various other widows and their children. Their work in widow remarriage has been exemplary. The various painting also shows that the meetings of Satyashodhak Samaj used to be held in the open space of the wada.
     Mahatma Phule began his fight against illiteracy in women by teaching his wife, Savitribai to read and write. The revolution that began at home soon became a national cause. Savitribai Phule became the first lady teacher in the country by starting a school at Bhide wada. In 1863  they started a 'home for the prevention of infanticide' in their own house, to ensure the safety of widows. Both she and her husband dedicated their lives to building a movement for equality between men and women and a fight against the caste system and remain shining examples for social reformers fighting for gender equality.
   The simplicity of the wada speaks volumes of the simplicity of the couple. The old style roof, doors, windows, lights gave me the village feel which even my village don't. The wada is the same place where the Mahatma took his last breath.
   On the 3rd January we celebrate the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule but this 2018 was ironic that on the birth anniversary of the first women educationist of the country, the schools and the colleges were bandh due to the appalling incident at Bhima Koregoan.