Knowledge Quarter Walk
FTII, BORI, law and university campuses — the leafy west end where Pune thinks.
A slow loop through Pune's most storied learning campuses, from a film school under banyan trees to a 19th-century university clock tower on a hill.
The walk
Stop 1 of 7
Founded in 1960 on the old Prabhat Studios lot, FTII has trained generations of Indian cinema. The campus banyan tree is a near-mythological hangout, and walking tours can be arranged through the alumni office.
tip
Spend ~45 min at this stop
~12 min walk · 0.9 km
Stop 2 of 7
Established in 1924 by the Indian Law Society, ILS occupies a leafy old campus whose stone facades have featured in countless Marathi films. The lawn cricket matches between batches are the stuff of campus legend.
tip
Spend ~20 min at this stop
~1 min walk · 0.1 km
Stop 3 of 7
More sketches of BORI
See all 1 →
BORI's scholars spent 50 years assembling the critical edition of the Mahabharata from across the subcontinent. The reading rooms hold over 30,000 manuscripts; visitors can tour the small museum.
tip
Spend ~45 min at this stop
~7 min walk · 0.5 km
Stop 4 of 7
The bronze of R K Laxman's wry, dhoti-clad Common Man stands on the Symbiosis Vishwabhavan lawn — a quiet tribute to the cartoonist who lived his last years in Pune. Students treat it like a thinking-buddy.
tip
Spend ~15 min at this stop
~10 min walk · 0.7 km
Stop 5 of 7
The museum displays personal effects, manuscripts, and the first copy of the Indian Constitution annotated by Ambedkar himself. Plain white architecture and a sober biographical timeline let the artefacts speak.
tip
Spend ~45 min at this stop
~22 min walk · 1.5 km
Stop 6 of 7
The pagoda on Hanuman Tekdi is reached by a 20-minute climb through scrubland used by morning walkers and parakeets. The terrace looks straight across to the university clock tower and, on a clear day, to Parvati hill.
tip
Spend ~40 min at this stop
~37 min walk · 2.6 km
Stop 7 of 7
More sketches of SPPU
See all 3 →
The 411-acre campus is built around the former Governor's residence — basalt walls, a soaring clock tower, and Goan-style verandahs. Students call the main building "Mukhya Imarat" and it remains one of Pune's most photographed structures.
tip
Spend ~30 min at this stop
End of walk
7 stops · 5.5 km · 329 min