Pune Camp (Cantonment): Where British India Lives On
In the southern pocket of Pune, a world of colonial bungalows, Irani cafes, and immaculate tree-lined streets offers a window into the city's British-era past.
Pune Camp: Where British India Lives On
South of the river, a world that the rest of Pune has forgotten still exists — measured in bungalows, avenues, and the scent of Shrewsbury biscuits drifting from an old bakery.
Category: Neighborhoods | Vibe: Heritage Colonial | Location: South Pune
Pune Camp — officially the Pune Cantonment — is where the British Indian Army made its home. Established in the early 19th century, the area was designed to the orderly precision of a military mind: wide streets, generous setbacks, parade grounds, churches, and officers' bungalows set in tended gardens. Nearly two centuries on, much of this character survives.
East Street: The Living High Street
The beating heart of Pune Camp is East Street — now officially MG Road — which remains the most elegant commercial street in the city. Here, Kayani Bakery (est. 1955) attracts pilgrims of the Shrewsbury biscuit, Café Goodluck serves the legendary Bun Maska that was an Irani café staple, and jewellery stores occupy buildings that have changed neither their address nor their signage in half a century.
The Irani Café Legacy
The Zoroastrian (Irani Parsi) community that settled here in the early 20th century left an indelible mark — the Irani café. Characterised by marble-topped tables, bentwood chairs, strong chai, bun maska, and an unhurried atmosphere, these cafes became democratic gathering places for everyone from British officers to Indian freedom fighters.
Most are now gone. But Camp preserves more than anywhere else in Pune: Café Goodluck, Dorabjee's, and a handful of others still serve the same menu with the same indifference to fashion.
Sacred Stones: The Church Heritage
Camp's religious landscape is dominated by its colonial-era churches. St Mary's Church (1825) and the All Saints Church stand as masterworks of Gothic Revival architecture, their towers visible across the cantonment. The Cathedral of the Holy Name in what was known as the European Quarter remains an active parish serving thousands.
Pune Camp does not perform its history. It simply lives it — in avenues, in aromas, in the slow tick of a clock above a marble-topped café table.
📍 Pune Camp (Cantonment) — South Pune, Maharashtra
