“I got the call ”
“Me as well”
“Me tooooo”
From that very moment three final year college students, who got into the same laboratory in Pune for their internship began building tiny castles in the air. And like an icing on the cake came a news that the internship was paid. And so we were forced to research on better methods of spending since we had more money coming in .
Now, five months was a long time to stay away from family. Especially for two hosteller girls who ran to meet their family once in every month and a lad who always made a point to pick his educational instituitions not more than 500 metres far away from his home.
One fine Saturday morning, three pairs of feet flew from Kerala and landed on Pune . The very thought that the jollylife and the mini-scientist life that we had been dreaming for almost a year, were just about to happen danced in our heads.
Except for the continuous standing in the laboratory, everything else was fine. Well, finer than whatever any intern could wish for.
Since we had pledged to leave no stones unturned, every weekend was set aside to explore the nooks and corners of Pune , the city proudly called as The Queen of Deccan, the Oxford of the east, the most favourite city of any youth who has spent a small part of his or her life over there.
Pune is neither a metro city nor a fashion hub, but the place has its very own vibe that makes people celebrate and adore the days of their lives spent there. Pune has the finest to offer for all ,be it the rich ,the poor, the crazy ,the foodie,the traveller and even the spirit in search of the truth.
A very useful favour from the Puneiites’s side for the three of us was that they spoke Marathi and not Malayalam. And hence pure Malyalam, our very own mother tongue was frequently used whenever we wanted to make fun of people right under their nose and to “shout out” for our “justice” when we felt that the cab driver cheated us by riding the long way for more money and to speak loudly on anything under the sun sitting right in the middle of the crowded bus stand .And since most part was devoted to cracking jokes , our teeth were always out,laughing .
Post release of the movie Bajirao- Mastani, visiting Shaniwarwada was a must – do. The palace was all torn down by a fire that happened years ago and the mortals and the stories of the palace being haunted were what remained .A camful of pics were clicked and my friend tried really hard to make us believe that he got a snap of the ghosts too.
Shaniwarwada : King Bajirao’s fort built in 18th century
When it comes to food pune has a collection of themed restaurants with exotic cuisines from around the world. A bigger part part of our Pune life was dedicated to exploring the Maharashrian cuisine. The locals loved different types of “paav” and “puris” and so did we.
The Osho garden was something we had longed to visit. Just like what Osho wanted the garden was forest-like. No pruning , no trimming. The trees were allowed to be themselves. As we walked through , we could hear birds chirping and stream flowing. And to add joy to the air, two boys were singing and playing guitar.
A click from Osho Garden, Pune
From Pizza hut to music night, from open garden birthday parties to movie watching, weekends were busy. Roaming around the shopping street,riding on trucks, trying out the taste of the very same fruit from different street vendors,eating our favourite “meetha” wherever we could afford to find it, simply bargaining for things and then stealthily running away from there when the shopkeeper tries to settle for the price of our choice were all our favourite timepass.
It was so much fun exploring a land where we had never been to.Neither did we know the language, people nor the places. Within no time, the day had come for us to leave Pune.With still more places left to visit and fun left to enjoy , the three of us flew back. One hundred and fourty four days of absolute fun is what we had.
On the way back all I could feel was a sense of accomplishment , not just for having worked in one of the best biotech labs , but because I enjoyed these days like no time before.
Kudos to the three membered team for making the words that always reverabate in my head come alive… “AFTER ALL, LIFE IS TO ENJOOYY!!”
Twinkling Star 