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Pune, described as the Queen of the Deccan, [1] is located in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a historic city associated with the Maratha Empire and seat of the Peshwa power. During the Colonial Period it was a British cantonment. Contemporary Pune city is considered as the cultural capital of Maharashtra and is also referred to as the Oxford of the East due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions. The old city of Pune is constituted by the seventeen Peths or localities. The wadas are a characteristic built-form that evolved during the Maratha Period. They were the residences not only of the Peshwas but also those connected with the administrative system of the times and are the manifestations of the culture of the period. They vary considerably in size and form. They have a characteristic spatial organization harmonizing form and space with distinct architectural features. They were once the seat of power, intrigue and grandeur. Now, they are the surviving witnesses of battle plans and palace intrigues at the height of glory of the Maratha Empire. After more than three hundred and fifty years the wadas themselves are waging a final battle for survival considering the apathy towards their woes and issues from both the civic body as well as their private owners. The objective of the paper is to explore the possibility of developing selected wadas as nodes in developing Pune city’s culture infrastructure as well as heritage showcase. It seeks site specific solutions of ‘Energizing the Future with the Memories of the Past’ in Pune city.

Karur, one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India, embedded with its rich cultural history and heritage of over more than 2000 years can be considered a key textile hub in present times. Being perennially busy with home furnishings and garment exports, like any other "Textile" town of India or other textile players of the world, Karur was pushed into lockdown one after another from March 2020 for a few undecided months owing to the pandemic outbreak of the disease Covid-19 with a new class of corona virus, known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) being responsible for the occurrence of this disease. With uncertainty and a lack of clarity looming over their heads, many owners with the backing of their employees of the textile firms and industries jumpstarted their lives trying their best in beating the odds laid on themselves in quite successful ways backed with technical innovations. Though it happened for few, it didn't realize for some. This paper attempts to track and research on some of the life stories of achievement and the unprecedented misery few were suddenly pushed into. While this town's success stories as a meticulous process of change in its people's mindset in desperate times toward themselves and those around can be studied to be implemented as a role model for other towns, the future lying in its unpredictability can never be ascertained thereby only making the successful solutions of those a base study of learning for the next. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]