Tag: Pune

Posted on

Ganapati in the city

So Ganapati has gone after ten days of celebration. The blaring loudspeakers are silent.
I was late to the Ganapati party since back home we had no clue what the fuss was all about, other than what we saw in Hindi films and I always thought it was an exaggerated version of the real thing. It was in Pune that I got an up close and personal view of the festival.
The pandals are everywhere but the more revered Ganapatis are found in the old city. A bit ironic isn’t it? That some Ganapatis should be more revered than the others? Some more gracious about granting wishes than others? But then religion is beyond reason.
I try to visit the city at least once during the ten days, not for the blessings, but for the old world charm of the celebrations. No matter how huge the pandals in the scores of apartment complexes across the city, this is different. The buzz is something else and I love everything about it.
I do not find the crowds claustrophobic or the walk daunting. I find the small plastic toys on sale fascinating and the toy sellers even more so. Perhaps it reminds me of the melas of my childhood which were a bit of a forbidden treat or maybe it is my yen for roadside shopping. I do love it all.
This year I was a little reluctant after a friend had her bag cut through and her wallet stolen. The crowds hold all kinds. However I did manage a visit even though half my attention was on my sling bag.
As it turned out the visit was worth every little bit of it. To begin with the flower market is a treat. I loved the masses piled up by roadside. 

And I adore the lotus, perhaps because we don’t get to see them too often and definitely not in such profusion. It’s not much use getting it home because it wilts pretty soon but it does look gorgeous. Doesn’t it?

Check out the long winding columns of devotees. I didn’t venture to queue up but satisfied myself with the glimpse of the God from outside. Loudspeakers were booming out artis and instructions. At one of the temples a gentleman announced, ‘Don’t forget to take selfies with your favourite Ganapati’. 

Talk about keeping up with the times!

Oh and I love this quaint custom of whispering your dearest wish into the ear of the mooshak in the hope that he would conveyed it to Ganapati.

…age is no bar. All you need is to have faith.

Posted on

D is for Dogs.. stray dogs

I’m not a dog person, not even an animal person at all. They’re
messy and smelly and hairy and so demanding. And I’m talking about pets.

Add to all of that, a basketful of fleas, a bucket of
grime and a bunch of scabs and wounds and you have the strays. They really have
no chance of making a case for themselves.
So why am I doing a post on them?

Well that’s precisely why.

Nope this is not a sympathy post, though of course they
deserve that and much more. However this is not as much about them as us. In our country, we find them everywhere, right? 

So what do we do about them?
– We can ignore them (for how long, though?)
– Chase them away (they’ll only come back)
– Wait for the municipal corporation to do something (which
may take ages or not happen at all).
Even if the corporation does step in, all they can do is get
them sterilised and vaccinated and release them back. They cannot be killed unless they have rabies. At least that’s my
understanding of the law. If I’m wrong please do correct me, dear readers. There just aren’t enough dog shelters to take care of them all.

Dog lovers might suggest we adopt a stray. Not being
one myself I can understand how that might not be an option for all of us.

However,
here’s someone who found a humane yet practical option. Meet Kalpana. She
runs a library close to where I live. I’d watched her feeding these dogs and
hated the thought of navigating my way through a bunch of them to get to my books.
However, over the years I’ve learnt to see her point and their’s too.

Another friend takes a snooze
That’s Kalpana with ‘Tipu’

Kalpana looks after some eight dogs of our locality. She got
them sterilised and vaccinated. She feeds them everyday. The vaccination and sterilization is way more important than the feeding.

The canine friends have become an integral
part of the library and can be found snoozing among the books or happily
welcoming book lovers who drop by.

Once they know they have a regular supply of food they
turn less aggressive and more friendly. Come to think of it I’ve never as much
as heard a growl from any of those at the library.

What a compassionate solution, this is! Don’t you think?

In parts of Delhi the stray population went down drastically due to similar initiatives taken up by animal loving citizens. Go here for that story.

PS: If you’re a regular here this post might sound familiar. Yeah.. a piece of fiction I did recently was inspired by strays like Tipu. 

This post is done for ABC Wednesday – a fun initiative for bloggers.

Posted on

The food convert

Kebabs to Vada Paos
Biryanis to Bhakris
Dal Paranthas to Puran Polis
Tunde to Bedekar
Lucknow to Pune. It was quite a gastronomic shocker. And a confession ..I found the grandest Maharashtrian food too plebeian, compared to even everyday Lucknowi cuisine. 

First there’s the pao factor
Everything has to be eaten with the quintessntial pao (bread) – vada pao, pao bhaji, misal pao, keema pao and if you’ve got nothing better there’s maska pao.

Then there are the names
The nomenclature did me in. I mean why would you call a simple chhole tikki – ragda pattice (Yes Pattice NOT Patties)? And there was the weird sounding kacchi dabeli, which had nothing to do with Kutch. What a complicated name for a pao (again!) with some filling! and Jhunka Bhakar.. oh it was absolute gibberish.

And then …
…very slowly, like most things simple and unpretentious, Puneri food wove it’s magic. Before I knew it I was standing at a raodside stall watching the vendor deftly throw in ruby red pomegranate seeds and crunchy peanuts into my kacchi dabeli. When it rained I craved the vada pao. The December nip in the air drove me to the city seeking out famous misal joints. I’d sit there sweat pouring from my face despite the cold, nose running as I dipped into the devilishly hot misal served straight from a boiling cauldron… and then I would be done for the day.

The most famous Bedekar Misal is served with bread. and you can add that gravy to make it spicier. Whew!

Finally there’s the thali.
What stole my heart completely, was the Maharashtrian thali. To begin with I love the concept of food without frills. At the thali joints food is served in a very Puneri, very no nonsense manner, none of the Awadhi formality here. By the time a Lakhnawi would get over with his ‘tashreef rakhiyes‘ and ‘naush farmaiyes‘, the thali joints would have welcomed, served and sent off a a bunch of customers and very happy customers at that. 

A typical thali joint would look like this. The plates are already laid out so food comes on as soon as you’re seated. You don’t place a order since the fare is standardised. This picture is taken at Durvankur.

Of course there’s the issue of finding a place to sit. It’s like you’re the enemy till you’re seated and then you transform into a cherished guest. Your plate fills up miraculously and you’re plied with food in a typically Indian ‘ you-must-eat-till-you-can’t-move’ manner. The ambience is nothing to write home about but the food is right up there at the top.

Sample this…

The accompaniments.. Meethi chutney, teekhi chutney, nariyal chutney, shengdana chutney…. take your pick
The basic stuff

What you cannot see is the many kinds of chapatis.. Bhakri, missi roti, puri, along with the wheat rotis, and there’s rice.. masala rice, khichdi, plain rice topped off with dollops of ghee.. no skimping here. You cannot even sample them all let alone have your fill of each. 

So if you ever come to Pune my advice would be skip the biggies, go for the traditional fare to feel like a true blue Punekar.

I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words 8th – 14th December 2013. Today’s prompt is ‘food’. For some scrumptious entries click here..

Posted on

Ten things you must do …

… on a rainy drive through the Pune-Bombay Highway

1. Look and be awed.. the scenery’s absolutely breathtaking.

2. Watch as the clouds come down right on to the road… and this isn’t even Nainital.

3. Look out for the transient waterfalls rushing down the hills.

4. Count all the different kinds of clouds in the evening sky… (remembered only cirrus and cumulus.. you can try more), then count off the colours.. scarlet, salmon, orange, amber, amethyst, black, silver.

5. Fight about who has the window with the better display. Then fight to sit at the others’ window. Finally try to unseat the poor mother sitting in the middle because “you always get to see the best through the dashboard”.

6. While at the window.. race the raindrops with your fingertips as they trickle down the panes on other side.

7. Argue noisily about whether we’ll crash into or safely cross the car in the front till the rattled driver shushes you as he tries to drive through the pouring rain.

8. Go wheeee……… as the car does those turns on the ghats.

9. Watch out for that single patch of sunshine on the hills, like a spotlight, as the sun struggles to show up from between the clouds (seriously amazing!).

10. Count how many times you drive in and out of rainy patches… here it’s raining, here it’s not.

Can’t end without this one even though it upsets my predilection for round numbers..

Stop for a hot ‘cutting’ chai and a fiery vada pao.

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress