Live from Pune

It has been one hell of a week. A lot of travel, packing, moving and unpacking. I was shocked to see how much of stuff we have when the Packers and Movers started putting together everything. It took them over 10 hours to assemble everything into 84 boxes. Yes 84! If packing was exhausting, then unpacking completely drained me out of senses.

The 1 hour flight from Bangalore to Pune last Thursday was uneventful. The landing however totally shook me. The runway was very slippery after the incessant rains. My first glimpse of Pune was not a memorable one. We plunged into total darkness outside the airport in a shady black and yellow Ambassador car that would have been easily more than 30 years old. It turns out that call taxis or city cabs haven't yet reached this side of India. So it is the monopoly of these pre paid cars at the airports. Take it or walk your way into the city.

The city welcomed us with wetness and darkness. Apparently, there are no roads in Pune. Only traces of concrete for more than a 20 Km stretch from the airport. Narrow lanes, congestion as you would expect anywhere in India. All those who claim infrastructure is a mess in Bangalore must visit Pune. There is none to begin with and get messy. The saving grace here is that the population is not as high as Bangalore. This is the Bangalore of 1999.

Thankfully, the area where we live is pretty good. Very spacious, a lot of open space and greenery. No congestion at all any time of the day given the fact it is on the outskirts. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm living amongst a retired bunch of people! I have started loving this side of Pune. Applying for a telephone conn that would have taken me more than a week in Bangalore took just a day here. Trust is still intact as in any town. The IT bug hasn't bitten this city in its entirety here yet. The bungalow we have rented is quite big and I'm having a great time decorating it. Taking out all the stuff that have occupied a corner of our lofts in our Bangalore apartment. In general, people are very accommodative and the transition into this city has been wonderful.

Tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi (festion of Elephant god). Maharashtra is very famous for this festival and we are quite excited to be here this year.

No luck on the job front yet! A product company turned me down yesterday citing I was no good. Suckers! Must have been one hell of a company! Quite demotivating.

More glimpses of Pune with some pictures soon....