PUNE:The history of Pune city goes back a long way even beyond the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The city of the great warrior King Shivaji Maharaj, Peshawas and freedom fighters like Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar ,Jyotiba Phule and many others, it has been a seat of learning and is aptly called as the ‘Oxford’ of the east.It has a repertoire of leading artists in the field of music, dance and other forms of arts.To just name a few stalwarts in their own field Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi,Pt. Kishori Amonkar, Pt. Hirabai Badodekar, cricketer Chandu Borde, Nandu Natekar, scientist Jayant Narlikar are some of the illustrious Puneites.
City of Pune ( earlier known as Poona ) has a history of having the famous Empress Gardens , Chhatrapati Sambhaji Park, Peshwe Park where regular flower shows by Western India Agri-Horticultural Society and Pune Municipal Council were regularly held. During the flower shows like minded enthusiasts met and under the able guidance and support of Hon Mr. Jayantrao Tilak, grandson of Lokmanya Tilak decided to formulate them selves into a exclusive society dedicated to the most popular flower in the world, ‘The rose’. That was in the year 1961. But the idea could not take root then because of the disaster following the burst of the Panshet and Khadakwasla dams. The resulting floods wiped out nearly half the city of Pune and it was only in the year 1962 that the actual foundation of the Rose Society of Poona ( Pune ) was laid. The small seed of The Rose Society planted by MR. JAYANTRAO TILAK and his fellow founder members has now grown into a giant banyan tree which boasts of having approximately one thousand members. The main object of the society is to sow the seeds of love and affection for the cultivation of roses in the hearts of people. The society encourages, guides and helps members to grow rose plants on their own, on however small scales those may be.
