Al Pune - All That Has Been

The Pune Side of the Pastures brought me from the land of Butter Chicken and Lassi to the land of Vada Pao and, well, Butter Chicken. My initial apprehensions of the things I’d get on my platter in this part of the country were far from accurate. I had come to a land where you’d get anything and everything to eat; literally. Pune has indeed been a foodie’s paradise. Well, if you’d be ready and willing to explore all that’s there to be. Home delivery is not very popular here ;) Allow me to introduce you to ‘Al Pune’.

The almost eight months I have been in Pune, have been an opportunity to explore and implore an array of foodstuffs available. I have been left disappointed at times but all in all, it’s been a worthwhile experience. But that is not the point of this blog; you’d get better and more accurate feedback of eating joints in Pune from elsewhere; this blog entry is to re-live all those moments spent here, with all those people who have made the Pune Side of the Pastures worth re-living. We are a hungry country and any occasion has a food link with it. Cheers to all ye folks!!

FORMAT: Name of joint (almost chronologically arranged); Location; with whom been there – why special

@PunePeople: ‘Ctrl+F’ your name (by which I call(ed) you by) and go through places and re-livable moments we have shared. I’d warn you in advance – it’s my version of the thing!

Sayaji; Wakad; The entire on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Mondu, Avya, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Tej - Well, quite straightforwardly put, I had no freaking idea that you all folks would become such an integral part of Pune after-office life by just being made to spend those 5 days together. But for a starting-off place, the food here had definitely been something that got us to sit and talk together (begin talking, I mean). The last evening’s get-together and the full night chitchat at the roof of the hotel were actually where, I recall, we kicked off – and have been ever since!

The Coronet Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Bit of the on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Vandy, Phooly, Jalebi (and Bond Saab & Naveen) - Those two weeks were amazing for many reasons, firstly because we were on the streets of Pune with no idea of where / how to go and secondly, the food was free! I remember gorging on loads of butter chickens and chilly paneer, as some of us used to count what day of the week it was to indulge or not to ;). Sharing eating space was how we got to know each other’s preferences and that did go a long way. The Classical-est moment had to be Vandy’s reaction when she got the after dinner finger bowl with a feather of a piece of lime, and hers & Sid’d constant fighting. Leaving the Coronet somehow had the same gut wrenching feeling as leaving college did, that’s how much we got used to each other. Geesh! Those days.

Shreyas Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy and Phooly & Jalebi – First let me laugh, laugh my heart out! Sid and Vandy, dudes, this was legendary. The way you guys reacted on being put in this hotel and the reaction you had when you saw how our Coronet was, was indeed rolling-on-the-floor-laughing material; but the mood then didn’t let me do so openly. Moving you and your belongings from Shreyas to Coronet to Royalty – Bwahaha material. Oh! And the food; let’s forget that for now ;).

Royalty Hotel; Bandharkar Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy, Swarnali – Free food and a pleasant change from the constant butter chicken and chilly paneer at the Coronet, The Royalty had been and is a good place those taste buds. The comic scene of Sid & Vandy moving all over the place to get their belongings in place and “Swarnalini’s” warmth in feeding us was the take back.

Yana’s; FC Road; Sid, Munni, Vandy; Gulabo, Logan – Hahaha!! Sid lost his mobile before this meal and was pissed off and in no mood to come for dinner. As was Vandy. Initially it started off with me, Gulabo and Munni. Vandy reached belatedly; and Sid brought along Logan as a surprise entry. The meal was full of teaching Logan some classic Indian (almost) cuss-words; and of course a platter of awesome sizzling chicken. The sizzling brownie with vanilla ice cream was a killer. Then the point when Gulabo was cussed for I gave MadB the credit for having us to go to such an awesome place. All for the laughs ladies, it had been worth it!

Mirch Masala; Kothrud; Sid, Munni, Vandy, Phooly, Gulabo, Jalebi – This experience stands out to be the first time Phooly went beyond her inhibitions and had a chicken meal with us; Gulabo, Munni and le moi. It was a part of the plan to stay in touch and eat together even after leaving The Coronet. The other awesome bit of this experience was a little prior to this meal, when Sid and I ran for the first time on the Pune roads leaving Vandy with Munni (poles apart people- one who can’t keep shut and the other who prefers to be silent)

Shabri; FC Road & Shrikrishna Juice; Balgandharv, JM Road; Sid, Mukul, Vandy, Gulabo, Avya, Mondu, Priya, MadB & some other girl – This was the we got Mukul introduced to the rest of the ‘gang’ that was formed in the 2 weeks before he got to Pune. Can’t recall much about the food at Shabri, but the juice at Shrikrishna was indeed very filling, very filling. And Mukul’s persistence with long phone calls had him declared a test batter (and hence his nickname STD); with Gulabo was the T20 batter.

Shabri (Part 2); FC Road; Sid, Mukul and three-ladies,-whose-identity-I-have-sworn-to-keep-secret – Well, the least I say about this meal the better. As with the previous meal at Shabri, there was nothing much to write home about the food. Though there was more to this meal than the food, much more. I have Mukul to testify; the feeling of waiting on a road side bench in the middle of the night with one friend’s unknown whereabouts brings all sorts of messed up thoughts. But the laugh we had back home at 3 in the morning was hearty. Sabka Katega Na became infectious (and literal) from then.

Horn OK Please; FC Road; MadB, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Vandy – The name is a definite reason why anyone would like to give this joint a try, and it is worth it. A major turn off was the fact that it’s a pure vegan restaurant, though the theme used in the menu card is unique. Nothing in particular to write back of the experience, this was part of our fortnightly plan to meet each other for a meal. Those were indeed the fun times, when anything and everything was part of a joke or of getting under the skin of each other!

Surya; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Sid, Vandy, Munni – By and large a forgettable experience, but still finds its place here for being a dingy place to have a non-vegetarian meal; where we ended up having a Veg Thali.

Sweekar; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Sagar, Akash, Ishan, Birbal, Pappu, Gulabo, Phooly, Vandy, Jalebi, Deepu, Prateek, Sher, Harry (I think that’s it) – unarguably, absolutely unarguably, the place where I’ve had more meals with someone or solo, during my stay here in Pune. Being cheap in cost and decent in quality (not necessarily prioritized in this order) Sweekar has always been a favorite. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, awkward timed snacks, out of office meals; you name the meal, we’ve had it here. And there have been loads of scenes that we have all been a part of during the meals had here, any or all of which I’d rather not begin to mention.

Abhishek Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Vandy, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Munni, MadB, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Shipra, Ishan, Harry & ABU Team – Like Sweekar, I’ve happened to visit Abhishek Veg many times and most of them have a story attached to them. Most strikingly, this is where we got together for Vandy’s birthday treat and had the one and only picture clicked of all of us paltan here in Pune! Then the time we hopped over for lunch after a disaster of a Bodyguard. Sometime in December 2011, the first and only meal I had with my boss here in Pune was a delayed lunch after a customer meet. Then there was also our highly anti-climatic New Year’s Eve meal. The buildup to this night and the epilogue of the following morning is something you’ll (Sid, Mukul & Vandy) never let me forget ;). And more recently the after Lohri dinner meal, last order at Abhishek and the followed bike ride are worth re-living.

Chaitanya; FC Road; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Vandy, Sid, Mukul, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, MadB (& maybe someone else I am forgetting) – my tryst with Chaitanya was quite late during my time in Pune, more like after Diwali 2011, but once addicted there has not been a place where you’d get better Parantha’s in Pune. I mean, even the dhaba’s at Moorthal & Karnal would fight to hold their title for the best Parantha’s. The Chaitaya experience stands out for being one where we (new flat-mates) have had endless bickering and leg pulling; and for being the cheapest and best place for the most filling meal in Pune. Other occasions to dine here had been with Vandy to give her the making-up treat meal, and dinner on Jalebi’s birthday.

Anand Veg; Nal Stop, Karve Road; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Prateek, Harry, Bhalachandran, Manu, Seema, Kanchan, Ankita – The first experience here was just after the Parvati trip with office folks we had sometime in September. And since then there has been no looking back (conditions apply). The wide variety of parantha’s offered here were an instant hit with Sid, Mukul & Munni; that’s before we experienced Chaitanya, FC Road. Being farther away from home than Sweekar, Anand Veg lost out on being the one place where we’d have dined the most at.

The-Restaurant-That-Was-There-Before-Dominoes; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Manushree, Kanchan, Seema, I-told-u-na, AD, Sher, Munni, PB, Ankita, Su, Rishita, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Vandy – Nothing much to write back about the food. Though the dandiya session we had prior to the dinner meal, where we manufactured our own steps (correction, Sher did, we just joined in) and did the bhangra during garba was classical. The only other and last time we visited this place was on Sagar’s salary treat. ;)

Nirmal’s; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Sher, Harry, PS – A welcome relief. Finally a decently priced and equally relishing eating joint right outside our house and office as well. This place could have overtaken Sweekar for being the most visited eatery but it opened quite late. The new self made nimbu soda with Ishan and the countless sensible talks of nonsense with office folks as well as the cholle bhature and chholle samosa are indeed re-livable. One fact was coined here that is pretty much applicable to all sweets joints: The quality of the samose they make depends how good they will serve the rest of the stuff, and yes, this place got top honors in Pune.

Abhishek Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Birbal, Mukul, Munni, Sandy – not so re-relishable chicken; though the nearest place to get almost decent butter chicken was the only reason to visit this place. The last meal had here before going for Kahaani was a déjà vu feeling which got Birbal into some problem.

Kohlapur Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Mukul, Munni – A forgettable experience! Ideally located joint, but not up to our mark. I have never gotten used to the type and quantity of servings served, as well as the concept of a NonVeg Thaali.

Sweet Affairs; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Sid, Munni, Sagar, Voh – Yes, the name does send the wrong message. The first place we went out to eat after taking possession of our flat here in Pune. Forgettable sandwiches, though when the going used to get tough, this place had always been the place to visit for a quick urgent snack. But, the only reason we kept re-visitig this place was for the rum balls. Geesh! At 10 bucks a piece they were a cheap way of expressing kuch meetha ho jaye.

Pavitra & Tapri outside CSS; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Vandy – the morning we dropped Mukul at the airport, glum and in a reflective mood, the tapri outside CSS got us to thinking on what and for how long do we want to be doing whatever in Pune. The meal at Pavitra was a classic one with Vandy as she had been left behind as the other kids went for the excursion and I had to have her entertained.

DTC Tapri; Near Mangeshkar Hospital; Prateek, Sher, Harry, Paaji, Nitin, PS, Su – let’s not elaborate all about the tea-after-lunch outings we had, for they were just loaded with crazy and almost meaningless stuff. The lousy game of matching birthdates with the number plates of cars parked on the roads (Yes, it was THAT lame) was classic, and got many people like Chaitanya to avoid hanging out with us. And of course ‘The Future of India’ Force Traveller – Number plate: 2020. Epic

Aryan Veg; FC Road; Gulabo, MadB, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Sid, Mukul - A treat by the girls in exchange of the unprecedented hospitality we guys showed during the treats we had at our place ;). Anyway, this was Sid’s farewell dinner and that’s what it’s going to stay as. Can’t recall much about the food, but laughing out loud on the good old lousy jokes were re-livable

Punjabi Rasoi ; Koregaon Park; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – the awesomest chicken we’ve had in Pune (that’s saying too much, but definitely one of the best). The ambience was truly Punjabi; not so much so, but because of the background score humming at the joint. It was raining outside and the delicious chicken meal, accompanied with the truckloads of nonsense talks we had mastered by then. This meal was I think just before the Diwali break; where we walked all the way from Central Mall to KP in the light drizzle with Ashwani – and as we did end up getting a nice drench as I got a nice piece of everyone’s mind for suggesting walking in the rain ;).

Naturals Ice Cream; Koregaon Park & Near Magarpatta; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – Paaji & Bhabhi took me took the branch near Magarpatta and had the place introduced as Juhu’s special famous Naturals Ice Cream. Dunno if it is actually from Juhu (I know it is!) but the ice cream is sure damn special; Coconut something being my favorite. The Punjabi Rasoi meal was followed by dessert here.

The Burger Barn; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Munni, Gulabo, MadB – Dinner treat with Paaji and Bhabhi and got introduced to the WTF. Made a point to revisit this place; and managed to do so at a dinner treat with Munni and farewell treat by the girls. My wish to have my pic on the wall of fame still lives on. A must visit place.

11 East Street Café; East Street, Pune Camp; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit, Vandy – Yes! This is an awesome place to visit, that serves awesome food. With Amrit in town, the Sambi’s hit off to the famous café for a dinner meal. Then the second time was for a farewell treat, this time from Vandy; in exchange of all the bike rides I had to give her. Hang on! Hang on! I paid for this meal, this wasn’t my farewell meal. Oye hero, treat pending from your end.

The Bounty; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – Phew! I finally got Paaji and Bhabhi to let me pay ;). This was a meal of nice sizzlers, pasta, drinks and ambience, possible only because Amrit got down here.

IndiJoe, Koregaon Park – Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi – Farewell from Pune dinner treat.

Magarpatta Parantha; Magarpatta internal market; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – I cannot recall a time when I had been more desperate to gobble up any parantha and drop dead asleep. This was after the EPIC Sinhagad trek early morning sun rise catching trip. A crazy build up, at 1 in the night, hitting the roads at 3, beginning the trek at 4, witnessing sun rise at 6, Pakoda’s and afeem wali chai and sleep till 8, the rickety drive ride down and the drowsy drive back to Magarpatta at 10. This was indeed epic.

Sinhagad Tapri; Sinhagad fort; Gulabo, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Phooly, Vandy, Sher, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Parag, Chaitanya, Sachin Bhai – the first visit here was just at the fag end of the rainy season, in a rickety Tata Sumo. Laughing and leg pulling, witnessing the sunset among the hill is a sight that is ever so vividly captured in mind. The other visit down here was with the bwoizz from office. Early one Sunday morning we drive to the base and trek up the mountain. Amazing serene weather conditions at the top of the fort. Absolutely beautiful and fun filled morning. And of course there was the ropeway crossing experience to cherish.

Geesh! This is now getting too much to type in detail. I’ll just keep it in brief

Dominoes; Erandwane & Karve Putla – DBU ki fauj, Gulabo, Munni, Phooly, Jalebi, Machau, Ishan, Office ki janta – Being the unknown guest at Pappu’s birthday treat with Sid and Mukul. Munni’s farewell treat with the bandiyaan. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. And chilling for Sher’s birthday, Prateek’s engagement party and Paaji’s promo party ;).

KFC; JM Road; Munni, Sid – Nothing left to be said. The heavenly chicken burgers and chicken bucket!

McDonalds; Karishma Society, Karve Road & Aundh; Office ki janta, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Sid, Mukul, Ishan, Pappu, Deepu and some CA’s – Kanchan’s surprise birthday treat. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. Deepu’s Pune visit.

Hyderabad Spice; Karve Road; Home Treat – the day the guys decided to play host, and how! A spicy takeaway meal. The awesome part of playing host was the re-livable piece.

Konkan Express; Kothrud; Vandy, Tezz, Phooly, Jalebi, Gulabo – Reunion dinner meal with Tezz with the janta. Obviously Sid and Mukul missed out on this; but great fun catching up. Hey wait! What happened the night before this one??!! ROFLOL

Swargate Terminal Chai & Snacks Stall; Swargate Terminus; Machau – the nearest place to home to grab a quick cuppa tea and pakoda’s as Machau had his sutta


HRC; Koregaon Park; AD, I-told-you-na, Sher - Yes! This is the Hard Rock Café, Pune. Period. Finally got to know what is and why is the hype of the HRC chain. The ambiance, the clutter and clatter, food! And drinks. Wow! Ticked off the bucket list.

Some-Nice-Looking-Restaurant; near SGS Mall; Jamshedpur team, Vandy, Sher, Pappu, Birbal – Showing our team from Jamshedpur Pune! And how! The complexities of dining with 15 people in a decent restaurant. The plan, that didn’t materialize and then CO2…!!!

Anand Tiffin Hall; Nal Stop; Sid, Mukul – One time dinner meal, cheap food. No fun getting here again.

Kailash Bhel; Katraj; Harry, Sher, Sandy, Ishan, Birbal – The Awesome Drive Through The Katraj Tunnel. And the best bhel, pani puri & SPDP in Pune. Thanks Harry for getting us here!!

Manas Resort; Manas (near Pirangut); Paaji, Nitin, Sher, Vageesh, PS, PB, Rishita, Kavita, Prateek, Chaitanya, Harry – a truly surprise farewell treat. The go-karting was the cherry. Thanks folks. This was good!!

Latest additions as per memory recollection and the actual last few suppers in Pune.


Up & Above; Chandani Chowk; Mukul, Machau, Pappu, Ishan, Birbal, Harish, Sandy, Vandy, Monika, Fond - We came here one weekend before we dined, on a bike ride. Machau, Mukul and me decided to have my farewell dinner here, but as it so happened, the very next day Mukul got his shock relocation call and his farewell was planned, the next weekend. Getting all the folks together was a challenge. Food was good but the bonfire after dinner was the real saver.

Marz-O-Rin; MG Road; Madb, Gulabo, Vandy - MadB and Gulabo never let you down when you have to go to a good place to hangout. So too this time! After showing them the Gurudwara at Pune Camp, a nice quick dinner snack at Pune's famous shack was a cherry. Gonna miss having you guys around ;).

Asian MeLange; Kothrud; Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Vindy - Well, the farewell weekend just went on and on. This time with the remaining girls. Rooftop barbecue and butter paneer were killers, as always. Finally got to meet Vindy.

Kahwa; Karve Road; AD, I-told-u-na, Sher, Harry, Deepak Bhai - I am sure AD and Deepak Bhai would have better words to describe the food / ambiance / service here. The surprise of Sher and Harry popping up here was nice. A farewell coffee treat ;).

Kobes; Law College Road; Sir, Boss - The actual last supper in Pune this time. And looked forward to this like none other. A dinner with bosses is always something unique. Great sizzlers. A fitting farewell meal. :)

Phew....!! Not at all easy to write this!
Anyway, now said and done - and posted. Lets get moving!!

Cheers to All

PS: The epilouge of The Pune Side of the Pastures and the prelude of this one was Dum Ghutkuu. in retrospect, it does seem for all the better.

This is all that Al Pune was all about

Just for her killer wink smile ;)

This is a love story; been cooked up somewhere amidst the many unimportant day-to-day dealings that have monotonized life, in general. This episode might resemble some particular instances you have seen elsewhere, all unintentionally.

STATUTORY WARNING: This story is meant to have a male protagonist. It is in fast forward mode.

Both the above warnings are not co-related.

He was there in the crowd. Sitting in a gathering of fresh-from-school college juniors, he was all the very playful, exuberant and, if you may call him, the Cassanovic guy. She was the host for the function. She had the mike in her hands and was calling the shots for the program planned. And that was where they first met. Well, not exactly, met is kind of stretching it too far.

They never talked on that fateful autumn evening,

They had no idea what destiny had in store waiting.

That one day some years down the line

Their love story would pulp, in a manner very sublime.

It all began with something like this –

He = I, She = her

Fresh in college – with ball loads of guts

Albeit with more ifs and buts;

Getting a ‘jee-eff’ was one of the things to do

Before I had to bid college life adieu. (sic)

Testosterone levels rose to levels unknown,

Deficiency of progesterone in college was a major let down.

Man! This is getting lame

After testing the waters for more than a year

And getting to know about the fairer sex from both far and near;

This one girl struck a chord like no other,

‘Maybe this is it’, I began to ponder.

My friends said, ‘soch lein 22. Aivee puhade vich na payii.

Aashiqui de chakkar vich apna na katvayii’.

She had a face I recognized and a name that I had heard,

That the two were of the same girl; was a classic case of me, an awesome nerd.

We flirted on Orkut, or were it also on Hi5!,

Or was it endless mails on which our relation did thrive?

Social Networking had a major role in getting us together, on hostel's pathetic LAN;

As did Hutch’s late night talk time plan.

On one fateful New Year’s Eve I slipped the question.

She fumbled, stumbled and thought about her apprehension,

And said, ‘yes’; a moment captured vividly in my head;

A vision of all corridors in college scrambling for space in my head.

That I was officially in a relation, on a high with glee,

Many people tried to get myself a hang of me.

The first six months, I don’t recall much about the rest,

I missed out on hostel nights and screwed up my tests.

Even when two suppli’s banged my balls blue,

I was still a bit glad, coz she had got them too.

Sense prevailed after the first major fight,

And we began to bring back things in light.

Still,

We studied, fought and tried to make the most of now;

The bike rides, movie dates and coffee chats were well wide scattered, and how.

Though the moments shared together are special and well preserved.

She had been the more daring one, and I the more reserved.

There are loads of moments that we look back and fondly remember;

Moments, encased ever so monumentally of myself and of her.

There is something about these love stories. Sometimes you just wonder that is it actually a love story or am I just fooling myself. Sometimes the sense of ultra super belongingness crops up and sometimes the chains of confinement make a mess in your mind. Sometimes you think that ‘this’ is what life is meant to be and sometimes you curse your balls / brain for having gotten you in this muddle. Sometimes you would want to and would do anything to get a smile on her face and sometimes you would crap things up on purpose. Sometimes all you need is a hug to get rid of all fears and apprehensions and sometimes, well; you feel it’s better to get it over and done with.

All these emotional traumas, if we may call them were not unknown to me. Some experienced people around had given their take on what is it all about to be in love, love and be loved in return. But, human tendency; to discover the taste of the fruit by tasting it oneself often gets the better of what wisdom is stored and shared in the mind.

So, where were we?

We have had our share of long distances between us,

Sometimes, a bit more than our share, a fact that usually gets us to cuss.

Many mobile services provided have benefitted from our crazy-roller coaster relation,

Sometimes glum with distraught and at times sickly ridden with elation.

She has been there with me, through thick and through thin.

She’s seen me on the pedestal and also in the bin.

That I have not done justice to her love, is a truth staring me bluntly in the eye;

Words have been my pacifier; I know, I admit with a sigh.

I love her, well, I kind of do.

I am confused, what am I supposed to do.

Everytime I say ‘I love you’;

I question myself, am I even true?

She has made me realize the value of a sorry;

Of a please, and of forgiveness;

Of being morose and merry;

Of knowing her and her lion-hearted-ness

Such has been our topsy-turvy time together

That going to meet her on this wintery January morning, is a prospect I envisage with a shudder.

Having brought nothing much to gift her after these 4 months,

I think and hope this poem would suffice and make her chirpy,

That I spent some time to try to make her happy...!!

PS. I saw an episode of HIMYM last night that raised a new question – which amongst us is the reacher and who is the settler. Need some light!

Dum Ghutkuu

Sitting in the darkness, trying to get cozy in whatever cold the Pune winter has to offer, I conclude: this January has brought about an unprecedented turn of events. Period. Sitting eyes closed against the wall, with Arif Lohar and Meesha Shafi serenading within my newly purchased earphones (bragging rights earned), looking back at the last two weeks. With every reverberating beat of the electro-drum there is a pinch wanting to get me to write this, Dum Ghutkuu.


If The Pune Side of the Pastures was all about getting into the corporate world, and experiencing a plethora of new, candid, cherished, look-back-able moments, and rendezvous’ with new people; Dum Ghutkuu is about the inevitable fallout. It's the point where beginners luck begins to end and when it’s time to board the flight back to reality after a six month long ‘the-honeymoon-period’.

The Diwali week-off was a welcome break, and once we got back, on the job front, things were moving reasonably comfortably. On a personal front, life was on the ascendency on the sine curve it follows. Our daily room cricket matches, trying out endless option to satisfy our bellies, making the most of the weekday times we had, even tried hitting the gym, scavenging in autos and Pune’s much-more-look-forward-able bus service, Saturday cricket matches, Sunday house cleaning jobs and pretty much the Traveller-loads of bakchodi we carried on non-stop for a month to follow. With Shiela, Munni and STD, things were looking nice and bright.

Sometime in November, the four of us had our first spat – over cricket. That was a historic moment, because it hadn’t been experienced before, though, in retrospect, we did handle it nicely then, a lot to do with the senior statesmanship of Munni. Sometime then, as everyone was waiting for Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th hundred, we got to our first (and only) century in our home turf. Then the trip to Alibaug happened. And all fell back in place together. Needless to say, the Alibaug trip was indeed really awesome (So was the Matheran trip). Sometime then we also had our massive KFC gorge, before Munni pledged to give up chicken (for 2 months); and soon got deported from Lavish. Geesh that was one chicken farewell for my man!

Munni’s departure from Lavish in December was sad, though pretty much expected. His cricketing, and seniority mantle was handed over to Machau, as was his share of paying the rent. Among many incidents that transpired in the following weeks, one particular phrase is ever lasting. Once, while trying to make sense on a good yet economical meal for dinner, Machau questioned us, “Hum kama kis liye rahe hai?” A question that left us equally dazed as empty in the wallet; but yeah, well loaded in the belly.

In the mean while, Shiela and STD were fidgeting about prospects of their job postings. The part when they bitched and butchered almost everyone, I knew of, in the relocation-ing firing line, was hilarious. New Year’s Eve came by and after a classic case of health issues, auto issues, quarreling issues; the gong struck 2012 when I was in the company of 3 of the 4 best people I could have wished to be with in Pune, in the best place I could have been; and it was a pleasant experience.

Needless to say, the peak point of this period of the Pune Side of the Pastures was the moment I got my new bike’s possession. It was legendary. The GS150 had me spoilt, pampered and obsessed beyond anything I had experianced in Pune till date.

Shiela also came of age, and got a date for himself (herself). In the dying moments of his stay in Pune, before the relocation, he got his cherry on the piece of cake. STD was at his Cassanovic best, and I was well, let’s leave that for now.

The Fallout. A missed flight. A missed opportunity to make someone special feel really special. Sid’s Delhi departure. And the Order on Mukul’s relocation, like a shot of lightening, within 10 days, left us in a spate of shock and drilled in sensibility of what the demands of the corporate world are like. The original residents of Lavish were being pushed out, one by one.

In hindsight, I might not think too much about this a few months from now, but the wrenching feeling it left us in will last for quite some time. The one week how STD tried to make sense from the not so seemingly good looking opportunities he had and make a decision was a great learning experience for us.

Sitting here, in the dark, in whatever cold the Pune January has to offer, with STD trying to get a sound sleep, Arif Lohar and Meesha Shafi continuing their serenading, and with the wrenching feeling fading as sleep takes over, there is one conclusion that we talked about over dinner today; that pretty much summarizes this side of the Pune Pastures, Dum Ghutkuu: Never take a decision in a moment of extreme happiness or in a moment of extreme shock / sadness; because you are more likely to screw yourself up than when otherwise.

Oh! And did I mention the phone call that changed the Pune perspective al-together? (Scanning the draft) No, I didn’t. There was this phone call, on one fine Sunday evening, that caught me alone on the roads in this crazy city, which when I answered blew the wind out of my lungs. Needless to say, that’s when Dum Ghutkuu began.

Crazy Cricket Commentary

Initially I thought of sharing this directly as a facebook status update, but due to its lenght and the sheer out-of-this-world nature, putting it in a blog made more sense. Also, in a attempt to raise the number of posts on Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. So here we go.

This classic is from cricinfo.com - direct copy paste. In the on going test match at the Gabba between the Aussies and the Kiwis, bad light has stopped play and Nitin (the online commemtator) pulled out this warfer of an imaginary commentary from a good old face-off. Jimmy Anderson v/s Ricky Ponting.

Read On!

While the storm brews in Brisbane, I am tempted to replug a piece of absolute gold in commentary feedback that came during Australia's tour of South Africa. This is an over of imagined (I think) commentary from Dello. Anderson is bowling at Ponting. (Reckon you can do some vivid ball-by-ball? Have a go, lets see if you can match Dello.. A single ball of imagined commentary please. Tendulkar to Martin would be prime!)

"36.1 Anderson to Ponting, no run, A JAFFA! Full, swings late, Ponting lurches like an inebriated pensioner on a skateboard, somehow the ball evades bat, gloves, stumps and everything.

After 45 balls, Ponting's still not off the mark. And he's not likely to be any time soon if Anderson keeps bowling these cluster-bombs of high jaffery.

36.2 Anderson to Ponting, no run, A SNORTER!!! Straight out of Snortsville, Carolina, Ponting is left fumbling around for his reading glasses by a short ball that reared up like a gay ostrich and pecked at his grill. (Bloody Hillarious) Anderson follows through with a few choice words. Lip readers among you might have made out "hermaphrodite".

36.3 Anderson to Ponting, no run, THE McGARNAGLE!!!! Oooh, Jimmy's delving deep into his box of tricks today! Ponting wrongly plays for the away swing and is left looking a real casserole of nonsense by the McGarnagle, which cuts him in half and then quarters and then just keeps on chopping until his mutilated corpse is nothing more than a squinty pulp. England appeal for something, but the umpire is too traumatised by what he's witnessed to react.

36.4 Anderson to Ponting, no run, AN ABSOLUTE CLINTON!!!!!! What is happening out there? Curves in awkwardly, almost at right angles, and Ponting wears it on the chest. Clinton residue all over his shirt. That'll never wash out. England still banging at the door, but so far, no cigar.


What an over this is from Anderson. Four balls. Four brutes. Four Weddings is on TV tonight, I noticed while reading the paper over breakfast. Slice of melon and gram of coke, in case you were wondering.

36.5 Anderson to Ponting, no run, A SCENTED PANDA HAMMER!!!!!!! WHOAHZERS!!!!! That seamed to swing in at least three directions. Is that even possible?! Ricky can't lay a bat on it and - oh, he's down! And up again! Staggering! And down again! And up! Completely bamboozled, he seems to not know where he is. OH MY GOD!! Ponting has taken off his shirt and one of his shoes and is just shambling around the field. Is he crying? Some of the England boys are trying to help him but he's thrashing his bat at them and growling. Hello, what's this? Ever the opportunist, Kevin Pietersen tries to take advantage of Ponting's walkabout by shying at the stumps but misses by three yards. And that's gone for four. But the umpires are signalling dead ball. It's chaos. The Aussie team doctor is on the pitch now, along with the physio and the mascot, Steve Smith. They seem to be calming Ponting down, showing him pictures of his family. Yes, there's some recognition there. His marbles are on the way back. WHOAHNNO, there they go again!! A picture of his kids has thrown him back over the edge like some kind of demented lifebelt. He's spinning on the spot (a nice homage to the Tasmanian Devil) furiously, screaming "little Ricky people!!!" from what I can make out on the stump mic. This is awkward. The team fertility consultant's on the field now. I guess he's about to explain where babies come from. This is going to get worse before it gets better...

The umpires call drinks.

And we're back. Apparently the website went down for the duration of what will surely be referred to in all the papers tomorrow as "The Incident", for which we apologise, but with Ian Bell having been taken into protective custody, the sacrificed lamb's blood mopped up from the square, the affected part of the Joe Mangle Stand quarantined and Dr. Susan something Greek-sounding now acting as Ponting's runner and/or life coach, James Anderson's at his mark ready to complete what has thus far been a very interesting over.

36.6 Anderson to Ponting, FOUR, BUM GRAVY. After all that, Jimmy loses his line and spaffs one miles down the leg side. Prior makes a valiant dive, but unfortunately in the wrong direction. Four byes, and a slightly anticlimaxtic end to the over.


And that's that! You wont find this bit of the article on cricinfo now. But, it was freaking hillarious shit reading this.
Peace!

In Aftermath

Oh well here we go again!


It has been a rather short interval since the previous post, but this one just popped out, out of the blue, and luckily for it, found me with my laptop on my lap and a sufficiently charged battery.

I’d rather not have written this, but frankly, something has to be done about the funny buzzing sound that keeps on going on inside me head, at this moment. Moreover, I don’t think I would have written this had I not been in Pune. It’s basically an aftermath of the incident that happened earlier this day.

Gravity has a funny way of working. While it brought the apple down from the tree onto Newton’s head in no time (and changed the way we have been made to understand physics around us), it took a good 5 minutes of reading to know the ‘gravity’ of what has just happened (and has changed the general social atmosphere for 5 hours running, now).

Consequentially, repercussions were expected. Realistically, we still have to wait and rely on tomorrow’s newspaper and online feed for the exact nature and extent of repercussions. Precautionary, we still have to be on the watch for a few more days. Idealistically, I resent. In motive, I agree. In namesake, I rejoice. In brotherhood, I am disgusted. Personally, I admit, I’m scared.

The hand (and the shoe) of the commoner has long extended its range from the voting ballot, voting machine, temple steps and chest and groin of other commoners. And how! With this afternoon’s slap-gate doing the rounds of all social and anti-social media, it’s obvious that the domain of this range is far from visible.

The latest one was, admirably, fast and flashy. Maybe the television news channel crew should take a leaf out of SlowMo pictures. Whatever; the initial excitement about Mr. Agrinister’s whacko couldn’t last longer than the reading time of three news bulletins, a blog post and cricinfo’s live match feed. And that quickly drained the momentary living sense out of me. Come on HS Paaji, not cool.

You slap Agrinister. Okay. You chose to represent the vent in the general public. Okay (as long we know who and how we are generalizing). You do it fearlessly. Okay. Wow. But for the love of God, you don’t speak out of turn in that moment of venting anger and you don’t, with a big D, brandish your kirpan and threaten people. Not cool paaji, not cool.

Firstly, the thumbs rule – you don’t take your kirpan out of its miaan, just to threaten someone. Either you use it for what is was meant for or leave it packed snugly by your waist. So, basically, you have just undone my 3 months of explaining people around me what this 6 inch ‘knife’ is doing hanging on my belt. (And NO, it’s not a knife) Sigh!

And yes, you have done that one thing that makes us typically Punjabi. Speak out of turn. In that fit of rage and run of adrenalin the words you blurted and that ibn captured somehow puts us Sikhs in a tight spot. Not because they were fundamentally wrong, but because a threat like that doesn’t normally go down well with elements. And it would take some time for the elements to get over the hype and listen to their wives complaining about the increasing vegetable prices.

The last time a Sardar raised an arm (and a gun) on a Congressman, modern India’s history was left scarred. I don’t see such an after effect now, though I do pray for the wellbeing of your family and yourself paaji. I don’t know how tomorrow and the upcoming weekend would turn out to be but it would be an interesting pot-pourrie of emotions, expressions, words and exchanges. One of them, I saw before calling it an early day in office today; the expression that said, “I am glad it was one of you who did it, rather one of myself.” Gosh, some trying times ahead!

And for the record, Maggie hasn’t gone a bit cheaper, eggs are still at their same price and milk powder has gotten dearer by 8 Rupees. Just to be on the safe side with the proposed bandh tomorrow. If it needed a Harvinder Singh to ‘thanks-give slap’ a Sharad Pawar to shake the system and lead to a more organized outburst on the price rise issue, so be it. Whether it’s the way we want to go about fighting corruption? Well for starters, it’s an expression. But, no its not! Either you do it the Bhagat Singh way or you do it the Gandhi way.

With winter session of parliament in progress, following how other Agrinisters’ fight out the price rise and the black money issue would be the prima facie for the weekend. And yes, also to be followed would be next-to-God’s hundredth hundred. I have gut feeling he’ll nail it this time.

And Anna dude, you too, not cool! For a crusader of your stature, seriously uncool.

Almost as an afterthought, while proof reading the entry, another thought was plucked. One should, more often than always, align his actions and outlook in a way that would not put others of the same ethnical background, same region, same religion, similar looking face, or same name in a fix. It further reiterates the fact that we don’t represent just ourselves wherever we go and whatever we do; we represent a whole lineage of people with something similar to us in them.

Period.

Please Hold On

I have always wanted to tell you. No, I mean it. I may not be best equipped to express myself in a way that I want to, in a way that I know you want me to be doing so. But I mean it, please hold on!


I have realised that things are not always bad. Not always as bad as they used to be. In fact, look at it as how we have managed to come out of those days of darkness, fear and uncertainty and are now more settled than what we have been in the past decade. That does speak volumes of your resilience and faith you had in what you knew you were doing, and also about luck. I know there was nothing much I could have done back then, without being a superhero in the books I was reading at that time. But now that the time has come, or as I see it, is ever so near than ever, I beg you to please hold on!

The picture you painted in my head that autumn evening, of your dream, has somehow been etched in my memory. It has merged into my goal and is the one thing I want to get, I want to achieve, I want more than anything ever to let you know how much I admire and am proud of you.

How whatever I am going to do is going to effect my future and of those around me is a thought that would always put me at the crossroads, with a series of difficult decisions to make. I don't know how prepared I am to make the right choice out of these difficult crossroads, but its one thing that I want to push forward and let the results be as they are deemed to be right.

Please hold on. I am almost there. And once together we can kick some fine arss. I know it and so do you. So, please hold on. I want to live the life I saw in the books I read. But more than anything I want to live and love my life in a way that I want to, in the way I projected in my own book. You've taught me to be firm in what I have always wanted to do. To be a good human being and leaving the rest to The Power we call the Almighty. I will do that. But, you please hold on.

From the second storey balcony I saw what happened down on the street. I remember the lights and the look on her face. I don't think I realized it back then, but this weekend the jigsaw puzzle showed itself. I don't know how to feel or react, laugh or cry, be hysterical or be myself, react on impulse or work on the planned path.

It wont be long I realise, but it will be long enough to have our own little world accelerated in our own little spaceship that will ever remain in the ascendancy.

Yours'

The Pune side of the Pastures

Well, this is purely extempore.


On the last working day before we close for the Diwali break here in office, with nothing motivating enough to do, and with an internet server down, thoughts lead me to write ‘this’. Oh! What timing, here comes the morning dose of (wake-me-up) tea. Great, we can move forward on this.

Back in Summer of 2011, May, when college got over, the sinking feeling was imminent. No more of the callous carefree attitude to all that I was a part of. But, since this fact had been drilled well into me, overcoming it was not that difficult after the first week. More-so, because this was the longest time I had to spend at home with mom, dad and Deepu in the past 4 years and for don’t know how many years in the future. Sitting at home and involving myself in the little things that made home, ‘home’ had been quite an experience, although the fact that Mission Pune was round the corner kept me from getting too complacent. I would have to admit, getting out of the cocoon at home and coming down to Pune was something I had been dearly looking forward to. Having no idea of what to expect and what not to, it was more like stepping into the dark; knowing that a lot can go wrong, and a few things should have to go right.

It began on the morning of 7th August. I call it ‘Al Pune’.

You know, the feeling of entering a new city, with a new job, with absolutely not even a known stranger to look forward to, with no baggage of people from the ‘old’ world and with the spirit to explore all that one can be involved in; is overwhelming and at the same time goose-bump material. And since, I had pushed myself into and pulled myself out (with new friends, new places explored and new experience) of similar situations, Al Pune definitely looked bright in prospect.

Flying out from the land of butter chicken and lassi into the land of vada pao and, well, butter chicken was how we got started (Geesh! Food obsession) And hands down; I have always claimed this ever since I got here, the weather is a sure super hit in this part of the world. Though I didn’t get to experience the place during the first week, being lavishly spoilt at the Sayaji with an entire new lot of freshers kept the initial nerves and excitement under control. The company On-Boarding session had been as interestingly sleepy as the college lectures got. But getting known to new people everyday and building rapports was the cool part. Every subsequent training session had always had the same genre about them; interestingly sleepy, new introductions, rapport building with existing colleagues and friends.

Work culture has been unbelievably relaxed and not that stressing; kind of an anti-climax of what I had been looking forward to. Though, yeah! Post Diwali break I know what to expect. In college it was always, you study, you get yours marks, you clear the cut off for the companies, you clear the test, you clear the GD, you clear the PI, get placed and then give-a-shit. But in the Corp. its an entirely different ball game. Its not a big deal whether or not you know how to speak good and fluent English, your seniors don’t expect you to address them as a Sir or a Madam, its okay if you stand up on your desk and ask your neighbor out for a stroll. I mean, the entire thing of corporate ‘this’ and corporate ‘that’ is kind of blown out of proportion (the voice at the back of my head sticks out the pacifier saying; ‘at least for now’).

Pune, as a place is genuinely worth exploring and indulging. I mean, it has its share of micro mini’s, hot long legs, sinking cleavages, crazy rush, maddening traffic sense, open roads, scenic hills, pulsating Lamborghini’s, simplistic Luna’s, rustic loons and yeah, genuinely beautiful girls. It gives you a feel of Delhi (no offence please; my Marathi brethren), minus of-course the Metro, the obvious Punjabi presence and the insecurity. Unlike what I have grown up on, Pune does really badly miss out on a decent public transport system within the city. For a Tier I city, this is a big turn down. I have mentioned the weather, and I should mention the traffic sense, no hidden fact, it sucks! Delhi, Ludhiana, Surat all have been unkind altogether; but nothing explains what is wrong with people when they get their ass behind the wheel or the handle. Though, in the same breath I would also have to admit, Marathi’s are kind people, genuinely (or it could be a case that I picked up the kind ones in sample size; whatever, I'll still buy the fact). Like, a shopkeeper would take time out to tell you from where to catch a bus to your destination, where to change lines, how much would the ticket cost; and if you push him further, he’ll also ask an auto driver to drop you to the place you want to and insist to pay by the meter.

From a foodie perspective, I have been made to believe that Pune is paradise, though yet to confirm it. Generally though, I’d buy that fact from whatever little I have seen around. The city has style, standard, oomph effect – and thus has to have a good foodie paradise to support all this. Again, the Delhi comparison! On a 100km radius from the city, Google baba (plus MadB, Gulabo, Mondu, Avinash and other people in office) claims that there are interesting places for excursions, trekking, long drives and weekend outings. From what I have seen, the Western Ghats have their own scenic beauty, very distinctive from the foothills of the Himalaya’s back home. Maybe it’s because of the time of the year I got to witness all of it, but the green layered hills and cloud capped peaks have been worth every ounce of their beauty depicted in all the guide books and travelogues I have come across.

The people with whom I have spent these three months have made Al Pune all-the-more worth looking-forward-to after the Diwali vacation. Siddie is a very balanced flat mate, STD is the mazze lene aur dilane wala flat mate, Munni is our silent man from the south land, Vandy is among the interestingly weirdest people I have ever come across, Gulabo has got me to learn more about myself, MadB deserves all credit for reviving my blogging habit and helping me around Pune, Phooly keeps me on my toes and Jalebi has the best “whaaaat!!??” ever! Sagar, Vijay, Manish have been people to look forward to meeting and chill during and after office hours.

Well, with that, that’s an hour and a half eaten away. The wake-me-up tea has become ice tea. Crap! Still no net connectivity. Well, I’d have to hijack Vijay to load this then. Thanks in advance dude.

So long till after the Diwali vacations!! Peace and happiness to one and all!!

PS. 'Interestingly Sleepy" is not a derogatory term.