Diary of a Weekend Puneite: Neighbourly Love!

Often when the husband and I are stuck in Pune’s traffic, we wonder how long it would take for an ambulance for a near and dear one to get by. In a city contrasted by its two diverse bits of population – the senior citizens and the college-going – it’s important to find infrastructure that suits both. The husband, in fact has a must-do on his list. He insists on checking any apartment we live in to ensure a doctor resides in the building or a hospital is close by.

I realised how important this is the night our neighbour had a heart attack and passed away in his sleep. Luckily, we had a retired medical professional as one of our neighbours and she was able to quickly help till the family doctor was woken up and we managed to get an ambulance in. The task of breaking the news to their young daughter was also left to us neighbours as the distraught mom took it all in. That’s when it struck me how important it is to have a strong neighbourly bond and how they remain your closest support at the oddest of times and beyond the sugar, salt, keys and couriers. That night made the bond even stronger and I now rest easy having ensured all their numbers as a mandate are saved on my phone.

In today’s world – some of these bonds need to be forced – into an organised process as societies get larger even in a warm and helpful city like Pune. A recent initiative that I have heard of is at Marigold Society at Kalyani Nagar, where an immediate medical support group has been created with multiple residents volunteering time on it. Their numbers are saved in every resident’s phone and also been circulated so they can be quickly reached out in the case of any emergency.

Sometimes, just the ability of helping a senior citizen in the building get the daily groceries and staples is a good way to continuously monitor his/her health, allowing for a quick chit-chat and also earn good karma. My most precious gift came from my neighbour – Rajesh who worked at ICICI Bank – who helped me bake a cake for my mom and held it as a surprise in his house till my dad got home!

So for all those young and old people who have begun to call the city a home, take two minutes out from your busy schedule and ring your neighbour’s door bell. You never know how a corridor conversation could change their and your life. Or you can take a cue from Marigold Society and get your own groups going! Share with us

Amongst other things this weekend, I am looking out for:

Must try: Check out Shizusan if you haven’t already been! The buzz about this East Asian Bistro highly recommended by NDTV and others refuses to die down. Can’t wait to try their Sushi!

Amazed: with how the husband’s friend (and mine too) Rasika Wakalkar known for her curation and impeccable taste in fashion spreads her creativity in multiple ways. From hosting Chivas with a fascinating music night to compering a live cooking show for Tiger Lilies with Master Chef Australia’s Rishi Desai, this mom of three wears her multiple gear with stylish ease!

Don’t Miss: The Puneri with the blue eye shadow and red balloons from DilChahtaHai has become a stylish social media swan too. Don’t believe me? Check out Sonali Kulkarni’s Instagram handle – she’s already 90K followers last week. I love her shenanigans with her daughter in the rain and her impeccable taste. Not to miss her new play Gardish Main Taare with Arif Zakaria. Keep a watch out for Pune dates!

Niddhi Taparia 04-04-16Nidhi Taparia has a day job as a senior executive working with a leading transnational. A weekend Puniete, Nidhi left the city 16 years ago to fall in love with Mumbai – but Pune still is her first crush. Diary of a Weekend Puneite appears every Saturday. The views expressed here are personal

Nidhi Taparia