Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Day 2 - Pune - News, nuisance, and festivities

(You’ll find links to all parts of this Maharashtra tour series at the end of this post.)

This morning started with notifications on my phone of news about India's retaliatory strike on nine locations across the border in Pakistan, a response to the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam last month. This was also the only topic of discussion on almost all WhatsApp groups. 

While India's response was expected, I just hope that this will be the end of it and that we won't see any further escalation. The thought of prolonged conflict is deeply unsettling.

Loud music

Thankfully, our night's sleep was undisturbed by anything other than a fellow train passenger's inconsiderate behaviour. 

While the children slept soundly, a man, probably in his thirties, decided that the entire compartment needed to hear his audio experience. 

Despite clearly possessing earphones (I had seen him with them earlier), he chose to listen to whatever he was listening to from his phone's speakers. 

In the quiet of the night, the volume was loud. After enduring this for about half an hour, I politely requested him to turn it down. He did, momentarily, only to crank it up again a while later. 

A second, firmer request finally did the trick, and he switched it off entirely. Some people, honestly!

Train on time 

Despite yesterday's hour-long delay, the train surprisingly pulled into Pune station right on schedule around 10:15 am. This is our first time arriving in Pune by train; our previous visit was via a much quicker flight. 

Stepping out of the station, we were immediately greeted by the usual throng of autorickshaw drivers eager for fares. However, we bypassed them and made our way to the prepaid autorickshaw counter.

Booking a ride to our hotel, which is about 20 kilometres from the station, was straightforward. We were informed that there isn't a prepaid taxi service available, but an auto was perfectly fine for us, given our minimal luggage.

We reached the hotel around 11:40 am, and the check-in process was smooth and efficient. Within no time, we were settling into our room, ready for a bit of relaxation after the journey. The afternoon, post-lunch, was indeed spent unwinding.

Bigger than Mumbai

Many Indian cities have had their names changed over time. Pune was one of the first I remember—its name changed from Poona to Pune in 1978.

Located in western India, it is one of Maharashtra's major cities in western India. If one takes into account the area governed by the respective municipal corporations, Pune is the largest city in Maharashtra by area.

Pune Municipal Corporation covers about 518 sq km after including 23 adjoining villages. 

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, governing Mumbai, covers approximately 437.7 sq km (including Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district). 

With about 70 lakh people, the city ranks as  India’s seventh-most populous metro region.

Known as the "Queen of the Deccan," Pune has a long history. It dates back to at least the 8th century under the Rashtrakutas, and later came under the Yadavas and various Islamic sultanates. 

In the 17th century, it became the centre of the Maratha Empire. After the Marathas were defeated in 1818, the British took over and developed it as a cultural and educational hub.

Not really Bengaluru's twin

It's generally said that Pune's weather is similar to that of Bengaluru. I felt that Pune was a bit hotter than Bengaluru. But during winter, the weather is probably comparable. 

Another similarity people talk about is the IT infrastructure. Pune is a major IT hub with a strong presence of service companies and opportunities, especially given its proximity to Mumbai. However, it lacks the scale of global tech giants and startup density found in Bengaluru, which has a more extensive IT backbone and enjoys better government backing. 

Education is one sector in which both cities are broadly comparable. Pune is known as the 'Oxford of the East', and both have several leading educational institutions. 

Family gathering  

In the evening, we joined the families of the bride and groom for a brief Sangeet ceremony in the hotel itself. 

It was a vibrant and joyous occasion, filled with music, dance, and laughter, culminating in a delicious dinner. It's a wonderful family gathering, catching up with relatives and friends.

Tomorrow is the main event – the wedding itself. It will be a day filled with tradition, love, and more joyous moments.

13 comments:

  1. Conflict is horrible and something I hope never to experience first hand.
    There are some inconsiderate people around when it comes to playing loud music and if they are drunk they can be rude as well.
    I hope the wedding goes well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.
      I hope the border issue is resolved for the good of everyone, especially people living in that region.
      Sometimes people can be inconsiderate.

      Delete
  2. When the kiddos pull that bit with the loud music on their phones, I threaten to confiscate. Too bad we can't confiscate phones from random people in the public when they are so inconsiderate of their fellow humans.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done on speaking up and dealing with the inconsiderate passenger. I spent my morning at a cafe with a friend and an old lady near us spent 20 mins on her phone on speaker - SO loud and SO inconsiderate of others. Old people need to remember that others don't want to listen to their very loud chats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leanne - It's unfortunate that some people are so inconsiderate.

      Delete
  4. Glad you are having a good time. Whenever we are in India we always travel by train. We enjoy indian train ride ...except the bathroom in the train.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad you are having a good time. Whenever we are in India we always travel by train. We enjoy indian train ride ...except the bathroom in the train.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Family get-togethers are always beautiful, and such ones are even more lively. The traditional ceremonies are rich and relishing. Our ancestors have made it even more meaningful. I recently took a train trip, so I have seen IRCTC has improved a lot. The irritating loudspeaker hearing is always troublesome, especially when one is trying to sleep. I feel trains are more relaxing than flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Water - All these customs have a meaning. Since they have a context that lies in the past, it's difficult to make sense of them now.

      Delete
  7. You did not have a sleeper room. I am not sure I could sleep while sitting up all night. I can think of a few names to call the music player.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was indeed a sleeper coach, in which each traveller gets a berth to sleep on.

      Delete

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