DAYS 95 TO 97 – PUNE
Day 95 – Wednesday, 29th Jan 2014
Day 96 – Thursday, 30th Jan 2014
Day 97 – Friday, 31st Jan 2014
It’s Tuesday night 10 pm, our AC sleeper bus to Pune has picked up all its passengers from Goa and is on the main highway heading to Pune. The driver has dimmed the aisle light and Khyati and I call it a night soon. The sleeper beds are 5’5” in length and for me, that is no good. The roads are in quite a good condition and we slept sound. Our bus experience was good but if I were to choose, trains are more comfortable in comparison to buses, hands down!
It’s Wednesday morning 6:30 am, we are woken up by the bus conductor who walks along the aisle announcing the next stop – Katraj. Katraj is about 10 kms outside of Pune. Some people alight here and rest of the passengers are packing their stuff and starting to crowd the aisle area. We alight at Pune Swargate and take a prepaid auto rickshaw to our friend’s place in Koregaon Park. It’s 10:30 am and post breakfast, we walk from our friend’s place to Osho Park. This park is in the quaint part of the town and the park is nestled in acres of lush greenery. We enjoy our walk in the park and then next, we head to Aga Khan palace. Aga Khan palace is where Gandhiji, his wife – Kasturba and his personal secretary – Mahadev Desai were held captive when he launched the Quit India movement against the British in 1942.
Gandhi and Kasturba
Legend has it that Kasturba ji and Mahadev Desai breathed their last at Aga Khan palace and they are buried here. Gandhiji himself carried out the last rites of these two dear people in his life.
Samadhi
On our way back from Aga Khan palace to the railway station, we notice a road sign for KFC. Anybody notice the irony in this picture? Kentucky Fried Chicken and pure veg?? haha
KFC and pure veg…
In the evening, we dine at our relative’s place in the old part of the city. It was good to meet with all of them and enjoy a lovely meal. In the photo below – Harish Masa, Jyoti Masi, Sanket and us.
relatives in Pune
It’s Thursday morning, 7:30 am, Khyati and I are at the dining table with Chaitali and Dhanish enjoying some hot breakfast. Both of us are not movie buffs but we have wanted to catch up on a film for a long time. We have booked ourselves tickets to the “American Hustle” for the 9:30 am matinee show at Inox Leisure cinemas, Pune. The movie is worth a one time watch. It’s noon, we head out from there and plan to explore Katraj. Katraj has a beautiful Jain temple on top of a hill and a zoo and snake park. We take the local city bus to Katraj bus stand and hike up the hill to the temple.
Katraj Jain temple
It’s 3:30 pm, we walk down the hill and take a shared auto rickshaw to the zoo. The zoo is huge and very well maintained.
at the Pune zoo
It’s 6 pm and we are meeting one of our other close friends from California over dinner. I have known Prashant and Dimple for over 7 years now. They were very hospitable and were inquisitive about our entire trip. It was the first place where we gave an interview of sorts. Prashant has been kind enough to jot down our interview and post it as a blog item on KutchValley – http://www.kavita.kutchvalley.com/?p=4362
It was really good catching up with him and his family.
with Prashant, Dimple and the kids
It’s 11 am Friday, Khyati and I are visiting the Tribal museum in Pune. It’s not a known tourist attraction which is why there were hardly any tourists here. The museum is small but great. It gives us insight into how the tribal folks of Maharashtra lived and worked back in the days.
at the Tribal museum
In the afternoon, Khyati and I visit the War Memorial site in Pune. The War memorial site is well protected and within the complex, it’s walls are adorned with great stories of the various battles Indian soldiers have had to fight over the years. We enjoy reading these real life experiences and are in awe of the immense contribution Indian soldiers give for us to lead such a smooth life.
In the evening, Khyati and I are meeting my work friends over dinner at a local restaurant. It was nice of my friends to come out and meet us on a Friday evening. We enjoy a good meal and catch up on old times.
with old Yardi friends
Three days in Pune went by in a jiffy. We had such a good time, thanks to all our friends, relatives and our host – Chaitali and Dhanish.
with Dhanish
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Best wishes,
Paras