Bangalore to Pune - A journey

Where to start ? How to start ? Let me start with my arrival in Pune. After 2 decades I landed in Pune with my parents on 18th September 2015 morning. The difference was last time my parents took me here and now I was their story teller. After waiting for 13 hours in Bangalore Railway station due to unexpected delay in train arrival , we were little exhausted.  I saw the Pune Railway station either side. 24 hours before, I was complaining about Bangalore Railway station's cleanliness , corruption and the attitude of the officials. Here I have arrived in different state. Still Railways administration remains the same. I could write another story on Railways because here I want to write about the beauty of Pune.

Nagaraj and his family

We were supposed to stay in Nagaraj's house. Nagaraj is my colleague from mindtree. Along with Santhu, Sathish and Arvaind, we were deadly combination. For nearly two years, during lunch hours we used to have lot of fun. It was around 5:30 AM. I booked a Ola cab to Balewadi village. Since it is surrounded by Western Ghats, city is greener than other cities I have visited. Nagaraj had booked cab for us to Shirdi. So we didn't have tension to book cab. We visited Shirdi and Shani Sangnapur and came back at 12 in the night. Nagaraj and his wife were waiting for us. I don't wanted to disturb them but he insisted me to stay in their house. They were great hosts and we had great fun with his little cute son.

Nagaraj's wife made tasty jawar roti and Gulab jamun on saturday and packed the chapati and curry for my parents, the next day. While we were leaving to railway station, Chota Nagaraj was sad. I love kids and I get bonded with them easily. I will miss him for sure. My parents got the train at 12 : 20 PM. Arjun was supposed to reach Pune at 5 PM. After having long discussion on life, family and our memories, Nagaraj left. We missed Satish, Santhu and Arvind.

Pune connectivity

When comes to transport connectivity in Pune, it is not uniform. You will get buses to corporation. From corporation you will get buses to other places. I didn't find much difficulty in finding the routes.

Even from Balewadi village, we will get buses to corporation. To some places, there is not much connectivity through bus, but we need to take Auto or cabs.

When we returned from Lonvala i.e. on 22nd September 2015 , I wanted to meet Pavan. Since corporation was center of city, I thought it was right choice. But it was too far for him, that's a different story. We took bus from Ambedkar circle which is little distance from Railway station. Even last day, when we reached Pune bus stop, we took Uber cab to reach Railway station. 

Train facility is very good in Pune. There is frequent local trains to lonavala and Mumbai. If you take tickets for local trains it is valid for 1 hour. Even you can enjoy the chats in train. 

Language problem ?

You can manage with little Hindi in Pune. But when conductors used to tell the price in Hindi , I used to get confused. Except numbers I didn't find any difficulty in interacting with locals. Most of them know Hindi but even Marati I was able to understand to some extent. I always believe in philosophy be a Roman in Rome. So we travellers have responsibility to respect language, culture and environment of places we visit.

Shanivar Vada

This trip was poorly planned by me but I had friends who suggested some good ideas. Shanivar Vada is one nice place suggested by Ashish. Though we were little late but we spent some useful time outside the fort. It was built in 17th century by Peshwas and it is in the heart of the city.

A visit to Ashish's house

Ashish , my himalayan trek mate has invited me and my parents to their house. His father is one of the coolest person I have seen. He was 60, when he completed Chndrakani trek. He is an inspiration for all of us.

We were waiting near Shanivar Vada for Ashesh. Ashesh then took us to his house one by one in his bike.  It was a kind of get together and we really enjoyed the conversation. Then we had dinner together.  Then we saw some pics of Ashish's marriage and said good bye to the wonderful people. Uncle, aunty, Ashesh and his wife were wonderful hosts. I experienced the Maratha tradition and culture.    

With Pavan and Vijay

I and Arjun were waiting for Pavan and Vijay in Shanivar Vada.  When they came, they took us to streets of Dagdu Seth Ganapathi, some Ganapthi's of surrounding. Then they took us to the famous sweet shop where we bought Bakarwadi. Finally after having dinner they left us to the railway station. It was good time with Pavan and Vijay.

Ganesh Chathurthi in Pune

Best time to visit Pune is during Ganesh Chathurthi. The state festival is celebrated with grand celebrations. I went through many idols of Ganapathi near Shanivar vada and even Dugdu Shet Ganapathi which is famous in surrounding. 

I missed the last day procession which is the highlight of this festival. People say Pune's celebration is much better than Mumbai. Refer the link.

http://travel.india.com/articles/top-6-ganesha-mandals-of-pune 

Food in Pune

I tasted different kinds of food for breakfast like Vada Pav , Misal pav , Poha, Sabudana khichdi, I had Jawar roti with delicious moth bean seeds curry with Jamoon in Nagaraj's house. In Ashesh's house I had chapathis with channa masala and Dal. Even I had 5 jamuns.  Try to have chats in Ambedkar circle near Railway station. It was really tasty. Even in local trains you will get tasty chats. Lonavala chiiki is very famous. Bakarwadi and even jelly chocolates are popular. You find teas here with little more sweet and I found most of them love sweets.

Trekker's paradise

Pune is surrounded by western ghats and hence the prime spot for adventurous activities. We planned for Rajamachi trek. But since we were only two, we decided to go with Lohagad as suggested by Ashish and Pavan. Lohagad trek looked easy trek but the beauty of this trek is near the peak point. Lonavala and Kandala are very near to these trekking routes. Rajgad fort is one beautiful fort which you should not miss. There are plenty of forts, dams and caves around Pune. More you visit more you will get to know the beauty of Pune.

I came with plenty of hopes when I left Bangalore to Pune. This trip didn't disappoint me. I thought Chatrapati Shivaji and Ambedkar are the two highlights of Maharashtra. But I found the vibrant culture , hospitality, festivals, sculptures , architectures and lot many things. So it was a study tour where I learnt so many things.

Thank you Pune for all the love.

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