About us
A path, a course, a journey
Ayan (अयन) means a path, a course, a journey — and in the old almanacs, the sun's half-yearly passage across the sky. It is what we offer: not just a walk, but a passage through time.
Ayan Heritage Walks is the passion project of Dr Supriya Shelar and Kshitija Pande. We started in 2017, for the simple reason that we liked discovering Pune on foot — and kept noticing things that were not in any book.
How we work
A walk is not a lecture delivered on the move. We plan a route around one theme, read everything we can find about it, and then walk it several times before anyone else joins us — because a street looks different at seven in the morning than it does at four in the afternoon, and different again in the monsoon.
On the day, we keep groups small enough to hear each other. We stop often. We point at things: a bracket, a plinth, a door-hinge, a lane name. We tell you what is known, what is disputed and what is simply a good story — and we say which is which.
What we care about
Pune’s heritage is not only its monuments. It is the wada that someone still lives in, the temple a family has maintained for six generations, the bakery that has not changed its recipe, the festival that shuts a chowk for a day. Most of it is not protected, and a good deal of it is disappearing.
We walk through neighbourhoods where people are going about their morning. We ask before we photograph, we keep out of doorways, and we do not treat anyone’s home as an exhibit.
Who comes on a walk
Visitors with a free morning. Punekars who have driven past Pataleshwar for twenty years without stopping. Grandparents bringing grandchildren. Architecture students. Book clubs. People who came for one walk in 2019 and have been on eleven since.
We also run private walks for schools, colleges, offices and visiting family, built around whatever you are interested in. Just ask.
In the media
Written about
Walk with us
Bring your own group, or join the next walk
We run private walks for schools, offices, visiting family and anyone who wants a route built around their own interest. Registration is mandatory for every walk — a call or a message is all it takes.