End Of A Bright Day!

A Lovely Evening

Memories of a lovely evening at the Phoenix Mall East Court with a very close friend...

Pune Heritage Walk

I had the privilege today to attend the Pune Heritage Walk, organized by the Janvani (Pune Virasat) group every weekend in collaboration with the PMC. I was accompanying former Mayor of Adelaide, Stephen Yarwood, who is in Pune as part of the Smart City efforts. We were escorted by the very helpful Nitin Deshpande from PMC's vigilance department and Arch Shirish, our guide.

We started at 815, ending the 2.5 km or so walk by 10, with refreshments and some folk performances.

Heavily recommend you do this once, whether you are a tourist in Pune, or a localite just wanting to know a little more about your beautiful city! Here are some pics from the walk...

Swacch Bharat - PMC Gets Into The Act

Came across this cute attempt by the PMC to contribute to the Swacch Bharat mission - a modified truck trying to sweep the busy Karve Road in rush hour.

Expressway Tales

A couple weeks back... we were in Nariman Pt for a meeting. We left by 445, took a 30 min break for an early dinner, and were home in Aundh by 815 - can you believe that? All thanks to the amazing Eastern Freeway and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which has brought the sister cities together like never dreamt possible!

We had another amazing experience on the way. A self proclaimed VIP was arguing with toll booth staff and refusing to pay toll. The attendant refused to give in to the pressure to open the gate, and after a couple of minutes, with the VIP unrelenting, he simply closed the lane, asked other cars to switch lanes and left the VIP fuming, the toll barrier blocking his path, while everyone went along their business. Absolutely commendable!

Pune Monsoons

A few days back...

Abhimanshree Society is an absolute delight with the tree canopies and newly laid out concrete roads with well maintained footpaths

No rainy day outing is complete without the bhutta!

Raindrops on the windscreen

Be Careful - Big Brother Is Watching!

Pune now has an extensive set of cameras for security, which are now also being used by cops for catching traffic offenders. More than 50 drivers were issued challans on the first day, using the cameras and software to trace the addresses of the offenders.

Be aware, the cops are now watching you even when you cant see them hanging around in the dark corners!

Paan Masala!

All That Glitters...Is So Pretty

A friend captured these leaves glittering in the glow of the street halogens in Pune...

V V Freshhhh

A street market right outside our home... a veggie's delight!

Happy Streets in Pune

It's been a great weekend so far, and there was no better way to celebrate Sunday than spend the early morning driving away the Pune chill at the amazing Happy Streets event in Aundh. Starting today, every Sunday from 7 - 10, most of ITI Road and DP Road will be out of bounds for vehicles, and instead be a carnival of sports, dance, and lots of other activities for kids and elders alike!

This "no vehicle zone" movement is spreading fast, and many other cities have had similar initiatives already. Look forward to this really catching up - no better way to promote health and social bonding, really!

Here are some pics from today morning in Pune...

The early morning chill provided the perfect ambience for Happy Streets

Hop, skip and jump!

The cops kept a watchful eye, was reassuring to see them providing all the necessary support!

Wanna ride and don't have a bike? Happy Streets provided them rent-free!

Get on the floor, everyone, for some Zumba classes!

This poor chap wondered what the hell was wrong with these people - what happened to peaceful Sunday mornings?

Zumba never looked better!

The Happy Streets provided ample opportunities to show off your badminton skills

...as well as painting!

Some just loved the idea of sitting down on what is usually a VERY busy road!

While others spent the morning in more beneficial postures!

Reminded me of Amsterdam - never seen so many cycles at the traffic signal!

The elders preferred some exercises

But others preferred to hit the ball!

A lovely carnival atmosphere - Happy Streets indeed!

Hmmm.. this doesn't really qualify as a vehicle :)

And this, a goal? :)

Vegans had a gala time too campaigning for animal rights

Football kicks were on display

And the Surf mom at home will definitely have some work to do today!

Budding artists campaigned for animal rights

Zumba had the crowd breathless but clamouring for more

Finally the winding down...

With some stretching

Unarguably, the cutest couple on Pune's Happy Streets!