Today I am in reflective mood. A move is on the horizon. We will move cities, though this time, it is an encore. A metropolis that gave me wings as a single working girl and then a couple of years later cradled Trayi beckons again. Noisy, Buzy and still, strangely comforting. As if saying ‘welcome back.’
And yet, leaving Pune will be bittersweet. I went for a walk at 5.30 this morning and It was noisy - noisy not from sounds of humans or our machines, but from the sounds of nature - chirping of hundreds of types of birds calling out each other..and as dawn broke, I could see a clear blue sky emerging - a luxury I hear in Mumbai where Blue Sky is now just a business metaphor.
When we left Bangkok 6 years ago, our friends gave us a happy rousing send off - in the expat world we all understood that we were all travellers enroute to another rest stop. No matter how long you stayed, it was always temporary. Making friendships was a lot like speed dating. You evaluated friends quickly and became mates for life within months..because both parties knew that time was precious, in short supply.
Pune, on the other hand operates at a langrous pace. People here have lived on the same street for decades. They have family living a couple of streets away and friendships that have stood the test of time - since kindergarten or maybe 5th grade ! For for a city that has a poplutation of 3-4 million, it is surprisingly small. Everybody knows everybody, or can find a common friend in one 5 minute conversation. If you are a newcomer, it gives you a sideways glance and goes about its business. It takes its time to embrace you, so you take decades before it allows you to call it home. But those that call Pune home, return from wherever they have gone to, to be cradled by its warmth. Pune - old timers declare proudly - is a city with a one way ticket. Those that come here , can never leave. So every conversation with Puneri friends these days is tinged with a sense of betrayal ‘You didn’t like our Pune enough?’ they seem to be asking, almost suggesting that moving is somehow a personal rejection of their city, of THEM almost..
But nomads must do what nomads are wont to. Pack up our belongings and our memories, the sights and the sounds of this picturesque city-town, and move to where life beckons next. Our last few weeks in lovely Pune have well and truly begun.
And yet, leaving Pune will be bittersweet. I went for a walk at 5.30 this morning and It was noisy - noisy not from sounds of humans or our machines, but from the sounds of nature - chirping of hundreds of types of birds calling out each other..and as dawn broke, I could see a clear blue sky emerging - a luxury I hear in Mumbai where Blue Sky is now just a business metaphor.
When we left Bangkok 6 years ago, our friends gave us a happy rousing send off - in the expat world we all understood that we were all travellers enroute to another rest stop. No matter how long you stayed, it was always temporary. Making friendships was a lot like speed dating. You evaluated friends quickly and became mates for life within months..because both parties knew that time was precious, in short supply.
Pune, on the other hand operates at a langrous pace. People here have lived on the same street for decades. They have family living a couple of streets away and friendships that have stood the test of time - since kindergarten or maybe 5th grade ! For for a city that has a poplutation of 3-4 million, it is surprisingly small. Everybody knows everybody, or can find a common friend in one 5 minute conversation. If you are a newcomer, it gives you a sideways glance and goes about its business. It takes its time to embrace you, so you take decades before it allows you to call it home. But those that call Pune home, return from wherever they have gone to, to be cradled by its warmth. Pune - old timers declare proudly - is a city with a one way ticket. Those that come here , can never leave. So every conversation with Puneri friends these days is tinged with a sense of betrayal ‘You didn’t like our Pune enough?’ they seem to be asking, almost suggesting that moving is somehow a personal rejection of their city, of THEM almost..
But nomads must do what nomads are wont to. Pack up our belongings and our memories, the sights and the sounds of this picturesque city-town, and move to where life beckons next. Our last few weeks in lovely Pune have well and truly begun.
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