My ed informs me it’s time to end this series on the amazing kinks Pune offers. In other words, time to rest my tongue, firmly in cheek.
No, Pune isn’t all wrong. In fact it’s absolutely right about all that it does an doesn’t. We are finally getting our act together.
Off late there are discussions on cleaning up the city and making it truly smart. Well, smart doesn’t necessarily mean everything has to be right. It’s also about efficiently camouflaging your inefficiency.
Camouflage is an art that a lot of us will never learn. You have to hand it to some of these city folks and departments. It’s done with much élan and encompasses all things small, big and humongous. Unlike many other cities of our country, Pune is very organised with its garbage. You don’t see much of it lying around.
The enormous trash mounds are consumed by bright yellow vans and trucks all fitted with a megaphone blaring the ‘best of disco’ music. As you may have figured, besides this being a great stressbuster for its pilot, it works well in attracting attention of the public. I often stand and watch this strange van enter our housing society and make its rounds blaring ‘main asa kyun hoon’ and if I am lucky, ‘It’s the time to disco’.
What unfolds after that is much out of Bollywood; People fat, thin and anorexic, surface from their homes carting buckets, garbage bags and cartons. Sprints happen after that in order to catch up with this amazing genius of human engineering called the ‘Ghanta Gaadi’.
I wonder how they could even think of such a name. Coming to think of it, it’s not easy being this creative with names and Pune takes the cake. I mean where else in the world would you find a ‘Sri Namaste Bear Shoppe’ or a ‘Twinkle Ladies and Born Baby Fancies’ ??
Since most of my readers are Pune-based, these shops selling beer and women and children fancies (!) needn’t be described. We are after all much enlightened in this city. So much so, that we have a view on almost everything in this universe.
Quite recently I overheard this animated conversation between two mature looking ‘gents’ who were waiting for their dose of pan: “Nahin Bhai, newton toh found out about gravity but then that hawking professor ( apna chairwala) did some big experiment. Actually gravity nahin he. Some crash happened and then everything fell down..! ”
I thought this was brilliant and reminded me instantly of famed rhyme ‘ RIng-a-ring-a-roses’. Nursery is apt, rhyme even better..
Creative excellence aka Pune, It grows on you much like the dust on your furniture. Before you realise it, its all pervading and yet invisible. The only other thing I know that is all pervading, heady and yet invisible is ‘Ether’ the first generation anaesthetic.
Maybe it is ether after all.. We live in this wonderful city almost tranquillised by its wonderful eccentricities. Pune is life.
Jd also consults in Consumer Neuroscience and Neuromarketing, both of which are integral to his brand interventions.
- #Pune365Travel – Romancing The Hills - July 21, 2019
- The Drone Of It All – Am Simply Loving It! - July 12, 2019
- On Building Igloos On The Moon And Matters Such - June 28, 2019
