MY PUNE DIARIES

 

Hello dear readers. Welcome back to my blog. This time I am not penning down my opinions or ranting about something meagre, rather this time I’m sharing a personal experience.

In the month of June I went to Pune for a summer internship to a Data Analytics company called as Atgeir Solutions. This was the first time in my life that I would be staying away from home for such a long duration and that too on my own. My close friends would know that before I got admission in TSEC Mumbai, I had been to MIT Manipal. In fact I even stayed there for 2 weeks before I decided to come back. The reason, was homesickness. And that is the exact reason which I was going to tackle this June. Something which I was not happy with.  

A couple of days before the internship I went with my parents to Pune to hunt for paying guest accommodations across the city. My office was located in Viman Nagar so naturally we shuffled in and around that area only. Ultimately we locked in on one place which was close to Sanjay Park called as New MS Living. There, I had gotten my own room but the apartment I had to share with 2 other people. Even the bathroom. All of this reminded me of Manipal. As a result, in the evening while coming back home I was obviously not happy about it. I was distressed, I did not want to leave home and stay in another city, I did not want to work, and many other thoughts circled my mind. Eventually, I bit the bullet and told myself, “you gotta do what you gotta do.”

And then Monday came. My dad had some business to attend to in Pune so he graciously dropped me off. When I reached the office, I had a knot in my stomach. I was unaware of what was going to happen next. Who would my colleagues be, what work would I be expected to do, what kind of vibe would be there, etc. Little did I know that all of these feelings of anxiety would slowly fade away and I would actually have one of the best times of my lives.

I won’t go into many details, as I can’t reveal the names of my colleagues and managers due to privacy reasons. But overall, as the days passed the office grew on me. I had been given a couple of tasks related to the project that the team was already working on. I learnt a lot about big query, about postgres, and other database management related terms. And the best part was that I had a good surrounding. Colleagues turned into friends, I had a great stint with my manager and my H.R., and I realised that on day 1, my worries were simply impractical. I solved one of the biggest challenges of my life: making friends with complete strangers. Of course, being an introvert I still cannot strike up a conversation with random people. But now, if I am ever off to another corporate environment for an internship or job, I don’t think I would have trouble talking to people anymore.

Things were good at my PG too. My roommates were fun to talk to, the food was good, and I had no issues sharing a room with complete unknown people. Another challenge of my life solved. As a matter of fact, my mother even commented proudly that the man who went on day 1, versus the man who returned on day 30 had changed. For the better.

Let me also talk a little bit about my schedule. Generally, I would wake up in the mornings at around 7 or 7:30 AM. I’d go for breakfast up on the terrace of my PG. Then by 9 AM, I’d leave for office. It was actually around a kilometre and a half away, but I never took the rickshaw. I always walked. It would take me around 15 minutes to reach the building. Then, I’d work, chat with my colleagues, and around 1 PM, I’d go down for lunch. My lunch was the only part of the equation which was left unsolved. I don’t know how to cook, so everyday I’d have to order food from outside. Unhealthy, I know. But as the Punisher said, “you gotta do what you gotta do.” Then after lunch, a little more work, and finally by around 5:30 PM I’d leave. On some days I’d also play carrom with my colleagues. In the evenings, I’d get back to my PG, do some other work related to academics and then go for dinner at 8:30 PM with my roommates. Overall a pretty packed schedule. The view from my PG was actually really pretty so that was a plus point.

 

This was my weekday schedule. On Friday evenings I would return back to Mumbai and spend the weekend at home. Then on Mondays I would again take either a train or a bus back to Pune. To anyone planning a trip between the two cities, I recommend the AC Shivneri if you want to travel by bus. And the 12128/12127 Intercity Exp train if you opt for railways. The bus would take around 3 and a half hours in the mornings and around 5 hours in the evenings. It will also stop at the famous food mall on the highway in between the journey. But be weary as it only stops for about 10 minutes or less. If you’re taking the AC Shivneri then you get to go via the newly constructed Missing Link bridge. An infrastructural marvel for sure. It reduced my travel time by a great extent. But overall I’d prefer the train as it was generally on time and I reached within 4 hours or less. An even better experience if you get the window seat in the AC compartment. Although be sure to book your tickets in advance. I had to cancel one of my train tickets because it would not move from the waiting list. And to book the bus ticket, simply download the MSRTC app and book. It’s very easy and very quick.

 

Let me also talk a little bit about Pune. The day I had come to look for PG options, I went to the famous Phoenix Avenue of Stars mall with my mom. It reminded me a lot about the Phoenix Palladium mall back in Lower Parel, Mumbai. I really liked that place.

Then one of the days in between, I had stepped out in the evening to meet with a good friend of mine. That day when I took the rickshaw, I roamed around the Cantonment area. Again, a very spread out, peaceful and quiet area, filled with green lush trees. And I imagined a place like this in the middle of Mumbai. Impossible!

It was on that day that my friend introduced me to Dorabjee’s. I absolutely fell in love with that store. For the non Punekars, Dorabjee’s is a chain of grocery stores, kind of like Walmart. It had everything. I mean it. Everything. There was also an outlet near my PG and I regularly bought snacks from that place for quite a while. We also went to a mall and had dinner at 1000 Oaks.

I went out with him again on a different day wherein we went to SGS mall. Another beautiful place. We had dinner at Nonna’s that day.

I also visited a relative of mine in Pimple Saudagar area. Another great evening spent well.

The only complaint I have about Pune is the transportation. Hate me for it, but the transport options are way better in Mumbai than they are in Pune. Cheaper too. Here, we’ve got local trains (the heart of Mumbai), metro, underground metro, monorail (useless but still), rickshaw, the iconic kaali-peeli and buses. Arguably, our bus and metro network is also much better than Pune. And the one striking factor was the cost. Even for short distances, rickshaws would charge you a bomb and go without meter. But in my city, every auto-wala will take you properly by meter. And of course, we’ve got a sea. Always a plus point.

But then again, this is just my opinion. Every city has its own pros and cons. Pune has a lot of pros too. One being the pollution levels. As compared to Mumbai, Pune’s air was much more breathable. Even the weather was pleasant. No humidity, so less sweating. And as my uncle said, “for trekkers, it’s heaven.”

Ultimately, I came back with a lot of new experiences. As Tony Stark said in Iron Man 3, “And now, I’m a changed man.” A friend I was talking to, said that it’s a different kind of main character experience and I wholeheartedly agree with that. In fact all of my college friends reading this, I implore you guys; find an internship outside your city if possible. Explore a new place, make new friends, live alone, it’s fun. Even if you won’t like it at first, it grows on you.

Thank you!