A weekend in Pune ... EVERY weekend in Pune

If I tell some one that I enjoy going home on weekends from where I work ... firstly people might just say - "So what's the big deal? Anyone would want to". But when say I work in Hyderabad and go home to Pune on almost every weekend eyebrows do go up!!

Its almost a year and a half now since I have shifted to Hyderabad but I still go home religiously on every possible weekend. The seasons of nature, the means of transport, lack of company at times ... nothing has enough potential to cause me to rethink about going to Pune on a weekend.

I agree that train is the best possible means of transport for this activity. Actually the best means of transport would obviously be a flight. But as I iterated it is not a "Possible" means of transport in India and more so there are no convinient flights between HYD and PUNE. The flight from HYD to PUNE which should have been in the evening (so that I could have reached home Friday evening) is actually in the morning and the vice versa is also (most unfortunately) true. So unless there is a real emergency, flight is out of question.

Coming back to Indian Railways ... Second Class travel in a train can be real fun if you have company. Also you can get some (much deserved) sound sleep. But trains between HYD and PUNE take a longer route as compared to road transport and hence take a little more than 12 hours for a NORMAL journeys (normal because you can expect unexpected delays ). Instead if you take a bus you can travel the same distance in almost 9-10 hours. So if I start from HYD at 8.00 pm on a Friday evening, I am home for breakfast on Saturday morning (morning as in 6.30 - 7.00 am). By train its almost 10.00 - 10.30 am to get home. On the way back too train departs from Pune station at 7.15 pm on Sunday evening. So I have to leave home by 6.15 pm which mean I have to blow off the entire of my Sunday evening AND a dinner at home. Else if I take APSRTC volvo I can be at home till 8.30 pm on Sunday and yet reach Hyderabad before 6.30 am on Monday. The train reached Hyderabad after 7.30 am ... so bottomline is "APSRTC VOlvo is THE best and most economical means of transport to travel between Pune and Hyderabad".

Those 36-38 hours that I get in Pune - there are soooooo many things to do ... So here's an account of what I would TYPICALLY do in these 36-38. Saturday mornings begin with my especial cup of water-less pure-milk chai and good गरम पोळी-भाजी (if भाजी it is ready, else with anything available from तूप-साखर, sauce[tomato/tamrind], jam, any चटणी ... almost anything ready at home). I specifically said GOOD गरम पोळी poli because I do get गरम पोळी in HYD too This is usually followed by a hour long of phone calls to a few close friends (typically Shantya, Bhushan, Amol, Samy and/or Paatya) deciding on plans of how we can utilize the 36-38 hours the best . Morning time was spent in the laboratory with mom, trying to see what all happened in the last week and helping mom to plan things for the week to come. Late afternoon, I usually spend at home with my Grandmother. I have started collecting VCDs/DVDs of old marathi films/plays lately. So we usually watch a play/film together. The satisfactions she gains by seeing me home is worth all the trouble it caused to be at home. This is usually followed by a visit to maternal grandparents and then to the शनि-मारूती देऊळ (since its a Saturday). More than faith or belief, I look at it more as a discipline that I need to follow every saturday.

Saturday dinner is usually out, may be at some family friends' place or with my friends !! And if dinner is NOT with my friends I have to meet them at Relax/CCD for a late night coffee. The issue is Shantya has his CAT classes in the evening on Saturday so this imperative meeting has to be in the night. Thus my saturday actually ends early Sunday morning because after going home at almost 1.00 am in the night, I just cannot keep my hands of the comp to check my mails.

Despite the late night home-coming I am up early on Sunday morning. If there are plans like Sinhagad, its really really early , else its usually around 7.00 am. If Sinhagad does not happen, there is some nice breakfast at home or at my mama's place. After some lazying around, TV etc. its time for a अभ्यांग स्नान . Sunday lunch is usually later because of the heavy breakfast in the morning. And it HAS TO BE followed by a good (and well deserved, well justified) nap because if you haven't realized yet, I miss sound sleep on three nights of a week - Friday, Saturday AND Sunday ... Sunday evening is a nice time since usually friends drop home just in time to see me off. The plan is usually to enjoy some पोहे-चहा (IT IS NOT चहा-पोहे you see) or भेळ or उपमा.

Then comes the most difficult phase. Packing and preparing to get back to Hyderabad. But its almost a routine for me now ... yes ... even the sad feeling of leaving home for just another week is also a routine. Home is home and ... Pune is Pune!!! Come what may ... NOTHING in the world can EVER substitute that.

For the first 3-4 months in HYD, I was staying alone and so not many people in Microsoft knew about my weekend trips. But ever since Kushal has joined my team at Microsoft "Oh my God, Alok travels to Pune every weekend!!!" is a normal gesture that I get from people around .

Ask someone who does this every weekend - its not an easy thing to do. Believe me, a seat in a bus (a semi-sleeper bus ... ya rrrrite) is not an ideal place to spend two nights in a week. But look at the incentive for doing so ... satisfaction that my grandparents and parents get on seeing me, spending some good moments with some really close friends, home cooked food (in addition to Relax पाव-भाजी, भेळ, पोहे, कच्छी दाबेली at times) ... I think the pain is all worth it. End of the day, its something more than material comforts that make you happy ... isn't it!!!

आणि साक्षात पु.ल. म्हणतात ना की - पुणे आणि मुंबई सोडलं तर जगात बघण्यासारखं तरी काय आहे म्हणा ...