From 'Hello Dilli' to 'Kasakai Pune'

After a long long break, it feels really great to be back to blogging.. The past 50 odd days of my life were all about a new phase, a phase of life away from home, away from internet and blogs, exploring new places, new people, new languages..I can go on writing about it all, describing a plethora of emotions, but this blog particularly talks of the city where my second home is, the city that brought a new phase, a drastic change into my life, Pune, Pune (Pimpri Chinchwad) to be precise!

You know you are living in Pune when:

• Every other area of the city has a hopelessly weird name.. Chinchwad, Pimpri, Nigdi, Chikhli, Talwade, Kondhwa, Wakad etc to name a few.. Trust me when I say this, some of them actually sound like swear words.. “Bhosri” tops the list.. Imagine speaking this out, “Bhosri mein jane ka hai”.. For one moment, you would actually feel that you are abusing someone!
• Wherever you go, you’ll find manufacturing firms, plants, IT sector companies, ABC companies, XYZ companies.. In short, this place is a hub for all engineers and MBAs.. You will find young people all around and this is what makes this city so lively!
• On every fucking road, after every 100 odd meters, you will find a hoarding/board that says, 1BHK, 2BHK flats for rent..You will find the same advertisement during commercial breaks of all radio shows..
• The most lovable thing about this city is the incredible weather..Your day would start with the sun shining bright, you’ll find clouds and clouds in the afternoon and you’ll be blessed with “halki halki barish and tez hawa” in the evening..You might keep on walking and you would not get tired at all..You would feel like going out for a long drive, singing out loud, you would discover how weather can affect your mood.. Now that the rainy season is over, I really miss those early September days.. nevertheless, even the October heat is better than the extreme temperatures at Delhi..
• Even outlets like McDonalds and Dominos have their signboards in Hindi/Marathi..You'll find funny Marathi signboards on roads that say, "vaahan hallu chala, kaam chalu aahe" (Go slow. Work in progress) but the irony is that only chaat walas and pani puri walas have their list of items written in English, with abbreviations on top of that..Yes, every pani puri wala's long list of snacks has an abbreviated term called S.P.D.P. included in it, which stands for Sev Puri Dahi Puri..
• Almost half the girls of the city walk with their hair, their face totally covered with a Dupatta..I took a week to understand the logic behind this.. Unfortunately, air pollution is a major problem in the city, and apparently, the most noticeable consequence of the same is hair fall.. Girls are forced to adopt the daakoo style.. Sigh! 
• Even if you are a hard core Delhite, even if you do not know how to speak in Marathi, you develop a tendency to talk in the Marathi-ish tone..Phrases like 'barabar hai', 'aane ka hai', 'jaane ka hai' become a part and parcel of your vocabulary..
•  If you take a direct auto from one place to another, you’ll have to spend 200 bucks, while if you change 3 shared autos for the same distance, it will cost only 15 odd rupees..The same shared autos would never agree to take you to the place directly even if you offer them more than 100 rupees..
• When you come to Pune from a place like Delhi, all of a sudden, you taste freedom that you could never even imagine.. No matter what you wear, no matter at what time you go out, you would always feel safe, nobody would even stare or look at you, leave alone eve teasing.. For this very reason, I not only love this city, I actually respect its people.. Sometimes, I feel like settling into this city forever..Jai Maharashtra!!

Pune has been an awesome place so far and no matter how much I like Pune as a city, whenever I have to travel in shared autos and six seaters, I miss Delhi Metro badly.. I miss metro stations, I miss Cannaught Place, Kashmere Gate, I miss the way I used to read novels, observe people in metro trains.. 

When I say, "My name is Sonia and I am from Delhi", people can never attach any religion, any language, any caste or community to my identity, and this happens to be the best part of being a Delhite! I miss that feeling when people attach religions/communities/languages to different places..

Whenever I have to eat tasteless food at office, I badly miss Delhi’s unbeatable awesome food and above all I miss mom ke hath ka khana.. I miss Delhi’s style..I miss my college, I miss my home! 

Dilli Meri jaan, I will be back soon! 

This is a new chapter, a new life for me..

#StartANewLife

Guys do check out this link here..

Every city is special, and the house where we live in is even more special.. I am in love with my new house in Pune..It is my second home..On that note, do check out this video from housing.com

Cheers!!

Next blog soon! 

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