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Monday, May 30, 2011

Balcony and railing designs of old Pune houses or wadas

These are railing designs from balconies of old houses in Pune. Most of these houses are not in a good condition and many are on their way out. Long balconies covering the whole facade of the building are a common signature of old Pune architecture. The concept of separate balconies for each room did not exist then. When it came to open space, it was either these type of balconies and/or courtyards on the ground floor of the wadas or houses. Most of these houses used to be occupied by a single owner.

double storeyed balcony


Today most of these old houses are occupied by middle class people. They are now increasingly selling out to builders, and these old structures are being replaced by new (ugly) buildings, mostly for commercial activity.

balcony of old house


This building was probably built in the fifties or earlier.

balcony railing designs



A pretty old house with intricate balcony railings ruined a little by the posters and commercial signs

ornate balcony railings


This is quite a spectacularly preserved old building on Laxmi Road, Pune. The balcony railing on the top floor are different from the one on the first floor. Stained glass decorates a part of building.
beautiful railings on old house


Often these old buildings fall prey to commercial interests and this results in the uglification of the facade of the building. Hoardings and billboards ruin the face of the buildings.


balcony of old house


This is a beautiful old building with stained glass. It was drizzling the day I took some of the photos the rain is visible in the photos.

building with stained glass and balcony


This balcony railing looks plain at first glance but a closer look reveals a more intricate design. This building is not as old as the other ones, and was probably built sometime in the seventies, or maybe the sixties.

unusual balcony design

This is a building in Goa. Added it here because of the unique design of the metal railing on a verandah. It looked like an old building, although not typical of the Goa houses.

Goa balcony


One rarely sees wooden railings in India. But here is one example of an old building with a long wooden railing on the balcony. One is not sure whether the walls partitioning different rooms were part of the original design or not, but now the building is divided into various different dwellings, all small spaces for middle class people.

wooden railings

You might also like Vishram Bag Wada Pune - Photos or  Rani of Jhansi Statue in Pune
For pencil drawings of balcony or verandah railing designs:  Sketches of balcony railing designs
For images of ancient balcony railing designs: Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort



3 comments:

  1. beautiful buildings and photographs. How I wish these could be preserved and saved from modern concrete glass houses.

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  2. reminds me of the wonderful, carefree days of my childhood, spent in one of these wadas in Sadashiv peth, opp S.P. College. Now that wada is long gone, given way to a new residential complex, but it still remains etched in my memory, and i draw inspiration from these images,when i am feeling low, and sad.

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  3. It is the same with me Hema. I too spent my childhood in a similar wada in Sadashiv Peth, opp. SP college. I will not be surprised then if there is some connection between our families because in those days the eminent people who lived in Sadashiv Peth all knew one another.

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