Pune Diaries - Day 3

Supposedly the final day of my saccharine sojourn had dawned – 20th May 2007. I had to pay tribute to my sisters and B-School Mates – Pooh (Dipika) and Pooh –2 (Lisa). Anyways 11 AM and I was all set depart Mickey Mouse’s (Nilesh) apartment leaving Giraffe (Pramoth) behind, not before a splendid breakfast.

Noon-ish and I was at Pooh’s residence – the colony is idyllic, endowed with verdant cover and blessed with an old-worldly allure - slothfully entrenched in a sofa in tête-à-tête with Pooh-2, who had camped there over the weekend. Pooh was….err..helping auntyji (her mommy) to concoct what would be nothing less than ambrosia. Yes!! Pooh was actually cooking! She in fact made dal and sev puri – all be herself and so that world would not mistrust my statement – I made a video of the same. She was in to a groove in the kitchen among the culinary – indeed, roll back time a couple of months to the B-school days and you would have been aghast by these revelations!

Lunch was nicely served and set (again by Pooh) – as Pooh-2 and myself only devoured over the sev puri,paneer sabzi, dal and gulab jamun. Lunch served as a deterrent to any lateral movement of the corpse and enhanced earth’s gravitational pull – as was witnessed in case of Pooh –2 – gravity was particularly being mean to her eyelids. I expected the afternoon to be bashing session, for myself, amongst Pooh and Pooh-2, but both the Poohs seemed to have spared me and were more ponderous than anything. Anyways Pooh once again articulated her command over the kitchen by serving us finely prepared tea that we slurped up!

Dusk was settling over Pune and as the sun was sanctifying the city with a crimson drape– it was time I set my foot out and head back to Aamchi Mumbai as Pooh-2 headed back to her accomodation– or I thought so. Swaargate ( Pune’s M.S.R.T.C terminus) proved callous and an hour’s wait in the queue proved futile as buses to Thane/Mumbai seemed to have been booked till 10:00 PM. Pune had incarcerated me. Anyways, I decided to make the most of it.

8:30 PM and a rendezvous was set at a place near Mac Donald’s. This was preceded by pillion seat ride with Pooh – who rides her scooter as if it is reincarnated Hayabusa. Roopa greeted us and the first statement that came to me was ‘ I dink I daw a Puddy Cat’ – indeed she was a human reincarnation of Tweety! Her expressive eyes (owing –as she avers- to her dance training) and unbolted beam eased me in to a conversation with Tweety – another addition to my list of sisters.

Sid Ghaisas aka Placomm guy aka Ronald MacDonald Jr was perched on a bench and seemed to have been in a profound conversation with Ronald MacDonald seated beside him. Differentiating between the two was quite a undertaking! After the usual vacillations over the venue we decided to stick to a desi restaurant (Ronald McDonald must have been extremely peeved over Junior’s conduct!). Over dinner Tweety went about interrogating me..err.. pulling my leg as well Ronald Jr’s leg as both Pooh and Tweety giggled away their time!

Post a not so auspicious dinner (the food was below par) the four decided that the soothing Pune air deserved a saunter. Chocolate milkshake – that would make my stomach linings dance to the tune of its magic – beckoned. Tweety went about explaining the galaxy of stars that stared at us and with consummate ease. After a few more rounds of leg pulling and interrogations– it was time to part ways. I would venture again on the Hayabusa, as Pooh showed me her old residence before I retired for the day, only to head back to Mumbai the next day!