Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Jyotiba Phule, was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women and oppressed caste people. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. Phule started his first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence or Bhidewada. He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj to attain equal rights for people from lower castes. People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes. Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra. The honorific Mahātmā, was first applied to him in 1888 at a special program honoring him in Mumbai.
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati was an Indian social reformer and Christian missionary. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar and Sarasvati after being examined by the faculty of the University of Calcutta. She was one of the ten women delegates of the Congress session of 1889. During her stay in England in early 1880s she converted to Christianity. After that she toured extensively in the United States to collect funds for destitute Indian women. With the funds raised she started Sharada Sadan for child widows. In the late 1890s, she founded Mukti Mission, a Christian charity at Kedgaon village, forty miles east of the city of Pune. The mission was later named Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission.
Savitribai Phule was one of the first female teachers in India, a social reformer, and a poet. Along with her husband, Jyotiba Phule, in Maharashtra, she played a vital role in improving women's rights in India. She is considered to be the pioneer of India's feminist movement. She strived to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. She and her husband were pioneers of women's education in India. They started their first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence or Bhidewada.
Shirur is an administrative subdivision of the Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located on the eastern boundary of the district, on the banks of the Ghod River. The town is also called Ghodnadi to distinguish it from other locations that have the same name. Ghodnadi in Marathi Language means Ghod River.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is the civic body that governs the inner limits of Pune, India. It is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis, which is spread over an area of 500 sq. km. and has 3.4 million residents. Established on 15 February 1950, the executive power of the PMC is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed by the Government of Maharashtra. The position is held by Dr. Rajendra Bhosale, IAS.The general body of the PMC consists of 162 directly elected councilors, popularly known as "corporators", headed by a mayor. Murlidhar Mohol (BJP) was elected as the mayor and Sunita Wadekar as the deputy mayor by the newly elected in April 2021. The land for Pune Municipal Corporation was donated by Late Hon. Shri. Bhausaheb Shirole (Patil) who was second Mayor of Pune city and later became an MLC.
Sai Paranjpye is an Indian movie director and screenwriter. She is the director of the award-winning movies Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor and Disha. She has written and directed many Marathi plays such as Jaswandi, Sakkhe Shejari, and Albel.
Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce is a college in Pune, Maharashtra, India. The college was established in 1943 by the Deccan Education Society. It is affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Sindhu Shrihari Sapkal, affectionately called Sindhutai, was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 and many other awards in the Social Work category.
Debopriya Chatterjee and Suchismita Chatterjee are sisters by birth, popularly known as the "flute sisters". They are Indian Hindustani music artists who play instrumental Indian flute music.
Cyrus S. Poonawalla is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and Poonawalla Fincorp a leading NBFC in India. In 2022, he is ranked as the 4th richest person in India on Forbes India rich list with a net worth of $24.3 billion. He is ranked number 1 on the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.
Gandha is a 2009 Marathi Indian film. The film is directed by Sachin Kundalkar and produced by Sandeep Kankariya under the banner Flashbulbs Ventures. The film blends three independent stories where the main characters of all stories go through experiences involving their sense of smell. The stories are written by Kundalkar and his mother Archana Kundalkar. Sachin Kuldalkar won Best Screenplay Award for the film at Pune International Film Festival.
Kaksparsh is a 2012 Indian Marathi period drama film directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and produced by Aniruddha Deshpande and Medha Manjrekar. The film stars Sachin Khedekar, Priya Bapat, Medha Manjrekar, Savita Malpekar and Ketaki Mategaonkar. Based on a short story by Usha Datar by the same name, the film depicts the tumultuous events in a Chitpavan Brahmin family, set around 1930–1950 in Konkan. The film was a commercial success and got critical acclaim for its direction, screenplay by Girish Joshi and also for the performances by its actors, especially Khedekar for his portrayal of Hari Damle as a head of the family.
Shobhana Ranade was an Indian social worker and Gandhian, known for her services towards her cause of destitute women and children. The Government of India honoured her in 2011, with the Padma Bhushan—the third highest civilian award—for her services to the society.
Chitra Jayant Naik (1918–2010) was an Indian educationist, writer, social worker, the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Education and the expert member of the Planning Commission of India. She was the chairperson of the Non-formal Education Committee set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and was a member of the National Literacy Mission. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986.
Lila Firoz Poonawalla is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, humanitarian and the founder of Lila Poonawalla Foundation, a non governmental organization.
Lucy Kurien is the founder and director of Maher, a community and interfaith organization for abused and destitute women and children, headquartered in Pune, India.
Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar were an Indian filmmaker duo working predominantly in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. Bhave and Sukthankar had made seventeen feature films, more than fifty short films, and four TV serials; all of which had been written by Bhave. Sunil Sukthankar, a Film and Television Institute of India graduate (1989) is also an actor and a lyricist. He has written more than 90 songs for their own films as well as various other Marathi and Hindi films. The duo had won various national and international accolades for the films Doghi (1995), Dahavi Fa (2002), Vastupurush (2002), Devrai (2004), Astu (2016) and Kaasav (2017). At the 64th National Film Awards, their feature film Kaasav won the prestigious President Golden Lotus National Award.
Vasudeo Sitaram Bendrey was historian, author, editor, translator and publisher in Marathi language. He is known as Bhishmacharya of Marathi History. He dedicated his work for research in Maharashtra history and wrote, edited and translated over 60 books on different history topics.
Bindumadhav Khire is an LGBTQ+ rights activist from Pune, Maharashtra, India. He runs Samapathik Trust, an NGO which works on LGBTQ+ issues in Pune district. He founded Samapathik Trust in 2002 to cater the men having sex with men (MSM) community in Pune city. He has also written on the issues on sexuality in fictional and non-fictional forms including edited anthologies, plays, short-stories, and informative booklets.
