The city of our land I resided for the last 22 months does not have many subcontinental wonders like those to which travellers crave to visit, but has an idiosyncratic pizazz of its own. This 'city of virtue' has brought me my first job, longest stay in any part of India with the best climate I have ever come across, many new good friends, a completely different culture and a Marathi tradition rich, old and sophisticated.
In this magnificent world, with nature's extravagant continuance we have witnessed very few of the world's wondrous locations. Apart from being the world's most populous democracy, our subcontinent also holds the first rank in having the most diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds of all. One one hand, we have 'God's own country', one wonder of the world etc., to boast of... and on the other we have assets like Ajanta-Ellora, Jantar Mantar, Bodh Gaya, Mahabalipuram, the Sunderbands, Kaziranga, Red Fort, Khajuraho etc. which reminds us of our rich cultural heritage which can make any immigrant or diplomat or visitor fall in love with our own motherland... its called the first impression vis-à-vis love in first sight!
The bakeries, the foggy water splashes over algae-clad spruits at Lonavala... the dry heated roads of Hinjewadi or Swargate or along the Paud Road... ice-cream at Jacarendra's, the burger n vadapao stall at the Deccan crossing, the ceiling-zero misty roads to Lavasa... the capering magic shows beside Station road, Camp, the furnished bliss at the Ashram of Osho... Inorbit, Cinemax, E-Square University Road etc. ...all hankering to take me back away to the small yet ever-fizzling city...it has indeed made me, a lightweight observer of her nature and her manifold pristine surreal bedroom-eyes... !
Now when I feel my hair rustling in the dry sweet evening breeze under the sequoia waiting for the bus to arrive, I see through those memories blowing in, slowly seeing out my trails of her chants. Unlike metros in India like Chennai, Mumbai or Bangalore, if you place your ears along the cold nights of urban clamor, you'll not be able to hear much clatter of the trucks, the midnight bashes of the 'shaadi'-s of well-off families- not because Pune accounts for 0.27% of India's population, for the solaced gushes of winds streamlining over your ears or pushing and punching your cornea across the nights of tranquility here; provided your house is not situated along any NH.
Nonetheless, its also a great place to learn from- specially when you have one of the oldest hubs for bookworms to turn up in masses; "ABC", the colloquialism for Appa-Balwant Chowk is a well-accessible location for such sanctity. All in all, you will bubble with business all the day's hours if you are located for a job at Pune or higher studies from prestigious colleges like Symbiosis or IIM or IIS or Welingkar etc., and yet there will be no blemish on your fun of retro life as well. This city is the whole ball of wax if you're looking up for a constant momentum rolling up your life..
Staying couple a Kms from the Kharadi village, I was able to see the city holding emotions in good and bad- playing pranks and getting caught, an all different work culture, carom at Zensar and last but sloppily not the least, the sleepless nights of bewitching Counter-Strike...
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