Every year around these months, thousands of students migrate to Pune to pursue their higher studies and fulfill their academic ambitions.
Settling in to a new city with new people make be a breeze for many, yet, a lot of young students find it both physically and mentally strenuous..
We spoke to a cross section of students who spoke their heart out to us on their own experiences of an alien city..
Shravani Pattnaik, a student from Orissa says, “I couldn’t cope up with Pune very well initially. Shifting to an entirely different state, I was skeptical about the people I would meet here. Everything around me suddenly changed. The surroundings, the people, the environment, language etc.
“You no more find familiar faces around and that’s when you realise that you have to work at it on your own and adjust to the situation and the people around. It was very stressful psychologically but eventually I did wrestle my way out,” she adds.
Palak Singh, a business associate says, “This was the first time I was going to live on my own. I was excited at the beginning but sooner realised, it won’t be easy. Although I had dozens of friends, I still felt incomplete. I was missing my family a lot. After two months of staying in Pune, I was homesick. Every time I talked to my family on the phone, I would burst into tears.
“I tried diverting my mind but that too didn’t work. Eventually, I went back home. It was only after this ten-day trip that I realised I have to survive. I came back to Pune. It’s been two years now, I meet my family every six months, I still burst out, but it’s only the city that keeps me going,” she adds.
Radhika Parashar, an aspiring journalist says, “Pune was a pleasant city to come to. Although throughout my stay I had one constant issue which was the language. Somehow, I felt that the people of Pune were not open to people of other languages.
“I couldn’t even buy tomatoes here since I didn’t understand Marathi. And no matter how much I requested people around me to speak in Hindi, they would refuse to do so, and that too in Marathi,” she adds.
Talking about his problem dealing with a fixed monthly budget, Akshay Solanki says,“Coming from a well to do family in Mumbai, I didn’t face any monetary issue to start fresh at Pune. Since I am only three hours away from my home, I was very stable emotionally as well. But it was difficult for me to manage my expenses in a fixed monthly budget.
“Initially I did it quite well but sometimes it also happened that towards the end of the month I was cashless. I would wait for the first of every month when my bank account was credited again. Not a penny except for emergencies did I ask for in two years,” he adds.
Speaking about her sweet and sour relation with Pune, Surabhi Vasan says, “Pune was on my wish list since forever. I always wanted to pursue my advanced studies in one of the prestigious colleges of Pune. And here I was, staying at the campus hostel of a renowned college. I was very nervous on meeting new people here. But Puneites didn’t treat me like an alien.
“Though getting around in terms of the navigation was difficult for me. Since my hostel was on the city’s outskirts, I had to travel an hour or more through public transport to reach the center of the city, that should barely take 30 min. Tracing my way to any specific destination was difficult and the fact that language was a barrier, it added to it,” she adds.
Yet, If there is any one thing that binds the youth here, it is undoubtedly the sheer vibrancy of Pune that caters to every taste…
#All views expressed in this article are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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