Finally, I am here! A new city, new job, a new life:). Work will be exciting when it starts, but as of now, I am having a blast! I have been visiting various places of interest. Have made a long list of places! So far, been to the ashram of Rajneesh, but was not allowed entry as one has to buy a ticket a day in advance. Costs just Rs 10. I plan to go back again this week. But I didn't forget to pick up a book on Osha and the Zen. Rs 200. Though I could have avoided buying, considering I have loads of them at home and had read many.
Next, I went to the film institute . It's the oldest and the best in India. This week itself a student hogged the local headlines for having won the golden bear at the Berlin film festival. Next on my list (there's no plan, just random selection) was the Aga Khan Palace. It's at Yerawada. Took me about 40 minutes to reach. A ticket that cost just Rs 5 gave me entry to the jail where Mahatma Gandhi was jailed for nearly two years after his arrest during the Quit India movement. It is here his wife Kasturba, who was with him, passed away. At one corner of the fort her samadi has been preserved. The whole place is quiet and one feels at peace as one walks through the sprawling lawns, after one has seen the rooms exhibiting historical photographs of Gandhi and the freedom movement. I was glad I came. I was also glad I left my old job, or I wouldn't have had this experience!
Today, was a sunday, and quite a tiring sunday. I went to visit someone I know at Magarpatta, which is quite a distance from the main city. But the people were really nice to me and I was glad I made the trip.
But all this is just the beginning. I hope to see a lot in Pune and there's a lot to see and discover! A lot. As I said, this is just the beginning...
Places apart, I have been walking through the streets and taking in the sights and sounds of the place. It's beginning to get to me slowly...charming is the word to best describe the place...though it is nothing like it was even just 5 years ago. It has lost a lot of its green to construction and modern malls and multiplex halls. But it still has a lot of quiet charm and a lot of history speaking from every corner. As i take the auto for pffice, I pass by such beautiful old buildings, very old, very historical, all of which i hope to visit. I will, by and by. I have just been here for five days!
I have also been surprised by the number of book stores and libraries at every street corner. Though I wonder why I should be surprised. It's a student town, after all! As a city it is young and vibrant, and let's say, it rocks! Everywhere there are trendy coffee shops and eating places, well extended on the pavements as well, a lot like in Europe.
Girls are pretty and fashionable. Guys are, well, ok. And the girls keep their faces covered with scarfs when they ride scooters or when out in the afternoon sun. Very much like Arab girls. It's to keep their skin protected.
Office is nice. But on that, later...
Next, I went to the film institute . It's the oldest and the best in India. This week itself a student hogged the local headlines for having won the golden bear at the Berlin film festival. Next on my list (there's no plan, just random selection) was the Aga Khan Palace. It's at Yerawada. Took me about 40 minutes to reach. A ticket that cost just Rs 5 gave me entry to the jail where Mahatma Gandhi was jailed for nearly two years after his arrest during the Quit India movement. It is here his wife Kasturba, who was with him, passed away. At one corner of the fort her samadi has been preserved. The whole place is quiet and one feels at peace as one walks through the sprawling lawns, after one has seen the rooms exhibiting historical photographs of Gandhi and the freedom movement. I was glad I came. I was also glad I left my old job, or I wouldn't have had this experience!
Today, was a sunday, and quite a tiring sunday. I went to visit someone I know at Magarpatta, which is quite a distance from the main city. But the people were really nice to me and I was glad I made the trip.
But all this is just the beginning. I hope to see a lot in Pune and there's a lot to see and discover! A lot. As I said, this is just the beginning...
Places apart, I have been walking through the streets and taking in the sights and sounds of the place. It's beginning to get to me slowly...charming is the word to best describe the place...though it is nothing like it was even just 5 years ago. It has lost a lot of its green to construction and modern malls and multiplex halls. But it still has a lot of quiet charm and a lot of history speaking from every corner. As i take the auto for pffice, I pass by such beautiful old buildings, very old, very historical, all of which i hope to visit. I will, by and by. I have just been here for five days!
I have also been surprised by the number of book stores and libraries at every street corner. Though I wonder why I should be surprised. It's a student town, after all! As a city it is young and vibrant, and let's say, it rocks! Everywhere there are trendy coffee shops and eating places, well extended on the pavements as well, a lot like in Europe.
Girls are pretty and fashionable. Guys are, well, ok. And the girls keep their faces covered with scarfs when they ride scooters or when out in the afternoon sun. Very much like Arab girls. It's to keep their skin protected.
Office is nice. But on that, later...
