I came to Pune on the 4th and I will be leaving on the 17th. I really like this place way better than Chennai. The streets seem quieter because I live outside the city limits. I like the people because they are very helpful and friendly. The guest house I live in is a huge bungalow with a beautiful view of the hills beyond. As the evening approaches, the city lights begin to glitter like little stars on the hills.

Last week, I was submerged in work. I had planned to go to Mumbai on Friday and come back on Sunday. However, I had to work on Saturday. Therefore, I took a rick and went to a place called Wakad bridge on Saturday evening and booked a Volvo bus to Mumbai. I quickly got myself some food from a nearby restaurant and was all set for the journey. The bus took off at 6.45 pm and I sat next to a friendly North Indian lady. I cannot speak Hindi very well.. only in bits and pieces. Luckily for me, this lady could speak English. So we made some conversation. It was a super comfortable journey. I loved the way, the bus wound its way through the mountain roads and tunnels. The cities down below shimmered like a thousand jewels. My heart leaped with happiness because this was quite an adventure in my uneventful life. I fell asleep for about one hour. When I woke up I figured that the back of my seat had automatically lowered itself and I was being stared at by the man in the back seat. I was literally on his lap. Lol! I sat up and gazed around till the sleep left my eyes. We reached Mumbai by 9.45. I was supposed to get off at Chembur Amar Mahal where my uncle was waiting to pick me up.

Suddenly, somebody told me that Chembur had already passed by. I heaved my bag and everything and went to the door. I asked someone to enquire in Hindi if the bus had already crossed Chembur. This man said, “I cannot speak Hindi either”. I was like “Oh!” and he asked me “What do you speak?”. I said “Thamizh” and he asked me where I was from. I said “Chennai”. He was like, “Hahahah! I am from Chennai too. I am an orthopaedic surgeon. I came to Pune for a surgery and now am at Mumbai for a convention.” I was like “Wow!” and he started speaking in Tamil. The bus had stopped at a signal. I tried asking the driver if I can get off because I had missed my stop at Chembur. Suddenly, the driver started speaking in Thamizh. Hahah! He said “Idhuthanga Chembur. Erangunga.” (This is Chembur. Get off!) Rofl! I was like “Thank you!!!!!!” Then I got off at some random place. My phone had 0 balance. I had recharged it online in the morning but the amount had not got credited. I walked down a road and saw a Vodafone mini store (I know!!). I recharged my phone again and called my cousin. I told her that I had missed my stop. I planned to take a rick to the Chembur Amar Mahal and go home with my uncle. My cousin asked me to come home straight. My uncle had no phone.

I told my cousin that I would go looking for my uncle. I took a rick and went back to Chembur Amar Mahal. I looked around for my uncle and he was nowhere to be found. In the meantime, my cousin called me and told me that my uncle had waited for me for 1 hour and had got back home. I took another rick to a place called Pestom Sagar. That is where my uncle and cousin live. Finally, I got home. I went in and gave my cousin a bigggggg hug! Lol! I was seeing her after ages!

I went to the bedroom and checked my webmail to see if there were any issues at work. I had my dinner and watched some cricket with my uncle. A friend who I called, pissed me off. So I called my bestest friend ever. He made me feel better. Then I had dinner and went off to sleep.

The next morning I visited my 86 year old grandma (my grandmother’s sister) and a host of other relatives. I had a good time going around the place with my uncle. In 4 hours I visited 4 houses. By 5 pm I took a bus back to Pune. I made friends with a girl sitting next to me. There was a little baby girl in the front seat, who kept talking to me in Hindi! Hahah! I took some pictures of her and the lights on the road. Then I slept for a while. When I got back to my guest house it was 9 pm. I ordered some food from a hotel nearby, watched the first half of  ”Sweet Home Alabama” on Zee Studio and fell asleep. 

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