The one good thing about
my job, apart from the obvious fact that it allows me to afford my grub, is the
umpteen travel opportunities that it bestows upon me ever so often. This
weekend I packed my bags and prepared myself for a journey through time. I was
headed to a city which had acted as the backdrop for one of the liveliest and
most exuberant phases of my life. Pune has always been my favourite city,
second only to Bhopal which also brings back truckloads of memories.
Omnipresent groups of college kids hovering around timeless neighbourhoods and
streets are reminiscent of times when I was one of them- hard-pressed for money
but with a rich cache of time.
Zipping past various
familiar landmarks in Pune, the exhaustion owing to an unexpectedly long flight
slowly vapourised as I was transported back to simpler times of studenthood.
The rundown Gunjan talkies, Yerwada bridge- still standing tall over a dried up
Mula Mutha river, Koregaon park teeming with dread-locked, pot smoking hippies -
were just the beginning. The next 48 hours were to bring me face to face with
many many more old haunts.
With my mind already
fixated on places to revisit, I rushed through the presentation that I was
slated to deliver to a bunch of boring corporate types. Feigning a migraine
headache, I quickly excused myself from the venue which was luckily right in
the heart of the city. First stop on my itinerary was Vohuman Café- a typical
Parsi all day breakfast joint which used to be our favourite as it served
delectable cheese omelettes and fresh, homemade buns slathered with oodles of
delicious Amul Butter at very affordable prices. I found the tiny café parked
just where it used to be amidst buildings soaring heavenwards. The old marble
top round tables and the brown wrought iron chairs were the same, the cat which
we suspected slept in between the loaves of warm bread was still there albeit a
little fatter and the board with the menu neatly stenciled on it was
still hanging proudly on the wall. What surprised me the most were the prices
which were also the same as they used to be 13 years ago. Recently acquired
‘burrrp’ certificates declaring the cheese omelettes as the best shared the
wall space. However, the old Parsi uncle who used to man the billing counter
seemed to have been replaced by his younger son. Reading the dismay writ large on
my face the son quickly reassured me that his father was still alive and
kicking. How many Sunday mornings had I spent here with long lost friends
laughing at uncle’s hilarious versions of Hindi expletives, how many classes
had I bunked to sit here and relish cups of sweet, milky chai with equally
jobless classmates, how many times had we landed here in the wee hours of the
day after having sneaked out of the hostel for an all night party. The vows of
eternal friendship that were taken over cream plate and toast and the dreams
shared over masala bhurji and bournvita came rushing back to me as I devoured
my regular order of single cheese omelette and bun butter with chai.
Tearing myself from the
coziness that had engulfed me, I bade farewell to Vohuman Café and caught up
with a dear friend who was willing to relive old memories with me. We drove
through the Cantonment catching glimpses of our hostel and the rundown eateries
which were once our source for many unhygienic, yet tasty quick bites. As we hit
Koregaon Park, we encountered street vendors selling Osho chappals -jute
chappals in a multitude of colours and styles. The original velvet strap now
accentuated with beads, sequins and similar fancy add ons were a treat to the
eyes.
A vacant spot where the
two decade old German Bakery once stood scared me as it emphasized the
vulnerability of Indian cities as well as life’s uncertainty. Images of the
wooden benches which lined the edges of the erstwhile edifice, thick slices of the
‘Truthful chocolate’ cake at what seemed to be an exorbitant 40 bucks a slice
then and the eclectic mix of people from all over the world who crowded the
bakery all day long played in front of me like a slideshow. Pune is the
city for food lovers. Chocolate cheese sandwiches at A1 Sandwich cart and
Kapila’s double chicken kathi rolls, paranthas at Nandus and Chaitanya, Custard
Apple milk shake at Fantasy juice bar and Special Chicken Biryani at Blue Nile,
a dessert called Fruit funny at Good Luck Café followed by a tall glass of cold
coffee at the road side ‘tapri’ in Deep Bangla Chowk……..you can take a pick
from a variety of options. So, if you are a foodie and plan to visit Pune, it
would be a good idea to start fasting a few days in advance to brace your
stomach for all the food action that it will inadvertently have to brave. A
good appetite and guts of steel are all you need and Pune would metamorphose
into heaven right in front of your eyes.
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