JM Road
Jangli Maharaj Road which is conveniently known as J.M. Road starts from Sancheti Hospital intersection opposite to COEP hostel at Shivaginagar and it concludes at Garware Bridge. It runs parallel to Mula Mutha River. It is one of the busiest streets of Pune. It is said to be very well maintained in terms of cleanliness & hygiene. The highlight of the lane is Jangli Maharaj Mandir which is one of the reasons behind the name of the street. The lane continues at a distance of approximately 3 km. The crowd at J.M. road is focused at families and college students. The families are attracted to this area because of the excellent variety of restaurants present here. Classic restaurants like Barbeque Nation, Chinjab, Mathura, China Gate, Gandharv Restaurant, Shubham Pure Veg, Top in Town, The Bridge etc are some of the all time favourites. There are a lot of options to grab in terms of fast food as well, like KFC, Pizza Hut, Smoking Joes, Dominos, Copper Chocs, Mc Donald's, Shiv Sagar Fast Food, Naturals Ice Cream, Eatsome and so much more. The fast food junctions like the R Deccan mall are mostly crowded by the young crowd from the nearby colleges and universities.
J.M Road is considered as a tourist lane due to a few historical landmarks. One of the most recognized landmarks on this road is the statue of Rani Laxmi Bai from Jhansi. It is located in front of Bal Gandharva Rangamandir (Bal Gandharva Auditorium). There is also a very well known public garden called as the Sambhaji Park which over a decade old. The garden is enormously spread across a wide area thus it covers a very large section on one side of the road. Every year there is a cause related Blood Donation Camp held at Sambhaji Park by the Deputy Chief Minister. Keeping the shopping aspect in mind, J.M road provides several brands like Woodland, Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Peter England, Black Berries, Zodiac, Adidas, Reebok, Inc, Mark & Spencer, etc which give you a variety of items overall. From foot wears to pencil heels, formal shirts to casual T-shirts, pants to skinny jeans, wallets, bags, belts and a lot more all at one street. The ladies can also find variant cosmetic stores which can lead to them spending a lot of money.
The lane is known to celebrate both traditional as well as western cultures and festivals. You can see the street being extremely crowded on Ganpati, Diwali, Dashera etc. But apart from this, the street is again the highlight of the city during New Year's night. The lane stops all vehicles at 12:00 and people literally come out to party on the street. From J.M road to FC everywhere you see people enjoying to the spirit of New Years. Most of the residents of J.M road are not properly from Pune. In fact, J.M road is known to have a good amount crowd from Mumbai and southern region of India. The Modern College is a well reputed college which pulls the young crowd to the area. People can use all times of transportation to get to the lane. Transportations like busses, cars, bikes, and even bicycles move about in the locality. "J.M road is definitely a place to keep on your check list if you visit Pune" - Mumbaikar. "J.M is also known as 'Jaan Meri' (meaning My Life in hindi). It is a very special street to the people of Pune; especially the ones who have seen the street grow so much over the years."- Punekar J.M road has everything you want in a package. From everything you want to everything you need. No wonder that the Jangali Maharaj Road is given 'The Most Amusing Name' title by The Times.