ASI finally restores Shaniwar Wada murals lost to time & a fire. Historians say too little, too late

Murals drawn by Rajasthani artists employed by Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha empire in 1732. But even after restoration, one gets only a fleeting glimpse of their original grandeur.

One of the murals on the gatehouse walls of Pune’s landmark Shaniwar Wada, post restoration | Photo: Ranjeet Dighe | ThePrint

Pune: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has partially restored two Peshwa-era murals on the gatehouse walls of Pune’s landmark Shaniwar Wada that were fading fast, damaged in a massive fire about two centuries ago and corroded over the years due to pollution and neglect.

The murals were drawn by Rajasthani artists employed by Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha empire in 1732. They were part of the original Shaniwar Wada (The Saturday Estate) building, which was the palace of the Peshwas. Subsequent Peshwas made several additions to and alterations in the palace and murals continued to be an invariable item of interior decoration.

In a post on X last month, the ASI said its science branch had “finally restored” the murals through “careful scientific preservation using organic solvents”.

It described the murals on the main gate walls as “delicate Maratha masterpieces, hidden for years beneath layers of lime, dust, dirt and smoke—showcasing flaking paint, chipped edges and faded colours”.

Lime deposits were removed meticulously, and areas with flaking or bulging paint were reinforced. Finally, a protective preservative was applied to safeguard these treasures for the future, the ASI stated.

Built in the year 1732 by Peshwa Bajirao the First, Shaniwar Wada, located in the heart of Pune, holds significant historical importance.
It is a large building with rooms around an open courtyard, balconies, carved pillars, classic timber supports leading to stairways and… pic.twitter.com/8NXED5UvYx

— Archaeological Survey of India (@ASIGoI) March 23, 2025

Speaking to ThePrint, Guruprasad Kanitkar, historian and author of six books on Maratha history, described the murals thus: “The original paintings were of Lord Ganapati, Riddhi, Siddhi (believed to be his consorts), Sheshashai Vishnu, that is Vishnu sleeping on the Sheshnag, Laxmi, Garud and Hanuman. On either side, there were paintings of Dasha Avatars.”

Even after their restoration, however, the murals give only a fleeting glimpse of their original grandeur.

Facing the entrance, Ganapati’s head is better preserved along with the upper parts of the drawing. Garud and Hanuman are still barely visible. The Dasha Avatar frescos on the horizontal stone bands on either side are in bad shape. The pictures on the panel facing east get direct sunlight and have almost disappeared.

Pune historians believe the ASI’s preservation effort, undertaken over the last three months, has come too late, and closer attention a few decades ago could have helped salvage the murals more effectively.

“These murals should have been restored much earlier, because beyond a point you will not even be able to find the actual size of the picture,” Kanitkar said.

The problem of conservation

A retired official from the ASI who has done much restoration work in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra told ThePrint that conservation experts had performed Raman spectroscopy to identify the original pigmentation materials used in the murals. But the effort was not successful.

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive analytical technique that uses light to identity chemical structures and composition, almost acting like a molecular fingerprint.

The former senior conservationist explained that conservation is a painstaking exercise wherein small patches or square inches of murals can take months of work.

“When Bajirao II lost to the East India Company, the first collector of Poona (now Pune), Captain Robertson, assumed office and started working in Shaniwar Wada itself. He was working out of Ganesh Mahal, the Peshwa’s durbar,” Kanitkar said.

The historian added that the British Raj treated the heritage building with disdain, with a report on “sanitation” in 1863 asking it to be demolished.

On preserving the murals, which remain exposed to the elements, Anant Gadgil, Congress leader and former member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, also an architect, town planner and teacher, remarked that “there is a difference of opinion on whether such paintings should be covered with glass”.

“This has been a topic of discussion in Europe. If you put glass, then some art lovers say you lose the beauty or charm of the original painting. But on the other hand, how are you going to protect it?” he asked.

Pune-based Surgeon Commander (retd) of the Indian Navy Uday S. Kulkarni, who has written 12 books in Marathi and English on Maratha history, including The Era of Baji Rao and The Maratha Century, also responded to the ASI’s tweet saying “there is much more that can be done”.

History of the murals 

The Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 with an iconic main entrance set between two towering stone ramparts, symbolically named the ‘Delhi Darwaza’.

It is a classic example of a bent-axis entryway, reflecting the Maratha empire’s deep-rooted emphasis on fortifications. As fate would have it, the stately building lost its grandeur not to enemy invasion, but to a great fire in 1828. The murals drawn by the Rajasthani artists were also damaged to a large extent in the same fire.

Kamal Chavan writes in 1978 in Maratha Murals, a seminal work on the subject: “The family deity of the Peshwas was Ganapati and it is quite obvious that they would have thought it auspicious to have ‘darshana’ of Ganapati right at the time of their departure from the palace or at the time of entry into the palace.”

The Peshwas while leaving the palace would have seen Ganapati in side-profile with Riddhi and Siddhi standing by his side.

The lower portion has a representation of Sheshashai Vishnu. “The figures are executed on a plain background, that is, without any setting. The empty space is filled up with flower sprays and bird motifs. Human figures are in profile with handsome appearance,” writes Chavan.

Indirect sources like painters and visitors from the time have described other murals in Shaniwar Wada, prior to the great fire. Today, only the two near the entrance survive.

Chavan noted almost half-a-century ago: “The colours of these paintings are faded but enough remains to enable one to make out what the painting represented. Remains of red (crimson) green (which, turned almost all black) and white could still be persistable on the walls (sic).”

Ranjeet Dighe is an intern with ThePrint.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)