Vasooli
Like I mentioned in the previous post, here I will be mentioning some memorable and adventurous incidents which took place during my stay in Pune. The first one was not so good but still something to remember was recovering my Rs. 2000/- given to the previous room mates where I stayed for one night.
It was almost the very next day I called up that guy to return my money as I was not going to stay in that room anymore. And to that he replied, he wont be able to give the same as he used that money for some of his personal purpose. Officially, it was his money the moment I gave him. So he can use it as per his convenience. But I was not in a position to accept that practical thinking as I was desperately in need of money. So I asked him to give me a tentative date when he will be able to return the amount. I had prepared a rough budget while coming to Pune. And I had considered the maximum possible expenses plus few amount as buffer. Hence I was not going to fall in any pit if this recovery is delayed. But I didn't wanted to withdraw money from bank. Plus, I couldn't trust a stranger with my money. In case I don't follow up regularly I might end up losing my amount. So I use to regularly ping him to remind about my dues.
Now this is one the biggest trait in me. When you know one cannot change a situation at the moment, we have no option than accepting the same as it is. But that's what I fail to do most of the times. And this spoils my daily routine. As that thought occupies my mind all the time and I become restless by each passing day until the status quo changes Ofcourse this attitude was at it's peak when Pune was Live i.e. in 2010. Lot of things have changed in the past 5 years. And today I feel I have learned some skills of accepting the situation rather than cribbing on it.
When my calls and messages were going in vain, I finally involved my friend Mane into all this. We both once went to his house so that Mane could see my debtor. That day he paid me Rs. 500/- and further asked time for paying the balance amount. I took that amount as a token of trust and gave some more grace days. But my mind was not able to give those grace days. After a few days I lost patience. So finally me and Mane decided to talk to our roommate Nagesh. On a normal day we leave for library before 6am. But that day we both stayed back to chat with Nagesh. I told him the entire situation. Final 2days of his extended grace were pending. Nagesh assured me that if now he defaults I will intervene and talk to him directly. That much of assurance was enough for me. Those final 2 days my mind wasn't occupied by that thought since I knew that now I wasn't alone in the battle ground.
On the final day when I called him, he said he ready to pay the balance amount but for that I had to come to a certain location. At that moment I only wanted my money back so I asked Mane if he could accompany me to that place. He readily agreed for the same. I told Nagesh all this. Prakash was also there listening. He said that, the place you are talking is quite far from here. I have a friend there who stays at the exact location where you have to go. So if you don't mind I can tell him to collect the money on behalf. I readily agreed as at the end the money was going to come in our house. So officially the Vassooli chapter should have ended when the cash was transfered from my original debtor. But I didn't receive the cash immediately. The amount was with Prakash but maybe he forgot or I don't know but I still wasn't in receipt of the cash. Follow up with the stranger wasn't a big deal as there weren't any strings attached. But here it was different case. Already they had did a big favour on me by allowing me to stay with them. So it was a bit complicated. But after a few days of biding my time, I finally gathered some courage and asked Prakash to give the money as I had to pay the Mess Allowance. It was then that I finally received the cash and the chapter came to an end.
Dance Session
My regular day use to kick off at 6am and will go until 9pm. Our dinner use to arrive at 845pm in the library. So we use to have our food and then leave for the day. By the time we use to reach home other room mates would also be home from office. So now it was time for talks, discussions and fun. One such day we all were sitting and enjoying some videos on a friends laptop. Please don't overthink, they were related to Raj Thackeray and not other stuff. Common factor among all of us was the MNS. Everyone followed this one political party and hence this topic always dominated our discussions. But that day suddenly we started playing songs and dancing to it's tunes. After one took the initiative other too joined in and it was one helluva event. Unplanned but awesome. This happened in the very initial days. I was not completely involved in them. So I preferred to do the video shooting. Even today when I see those clips, how carefree were those days. I had many reasons to stay alone, secluded and keep cribbing on my personal problems. But instead I chose to enjoy the moment and find solace in this dancing session.
Finally...A Bed
I had assumed that I will be getting a bed in the hostel. But since I was the extra member there wasn't any bed allocated to me. The owner used give me a new reason everyday, but I had guessed it on first day that I won't be getting a bed. I remember the first two weeks, I used to sleep on the floor with one bed sheet below. Since I didn't carry any pillow so I used to use my bag as my pillow. The room partner did allow me to use his bed sheet, fortunately. Else I had no option but to literally sleep on the chilled floor.
Finally in the end of September, my family decided to drop a visit. I did tell them to please get one pillow and one folding mattress which we were having back home. So now I can have my own bed at last.
Birthday
Never in my life I had celebrated my birthday at 12 midnight. What Mumbai didn't do, Pune did it for me.
The thoughts which were there in back of my mind before I reached Pune were finally receding. I was almost in a different world in this new city. The change in location was surely working. It was mid October by now and I had almost settled in the city. Normally this period is the most exciting time of the year, as its my birthday. But this year I didn't sense any such excitement. I wasn't looking forward to that day or had made any grand plans. Only thing I had decided upon was that I will surely treat these new friends with a sumptous dinner in our regular restaurant. I don't know what is there in me that even before someone asks I am ready with plans to celebrate achievements may they be big or small. As one thing I have realized in life, happiness isn't any material thing, its just a state of mind. So never ignore a moment to cherish.
Dabang & Night Walk
The day I came to Pune, I was having a feeling of homesickness. To a very large extent. N most of my talks, I was speaking about going back home. Mane realised this. So he planned for a movie in a multiplex near to our library. I am not at all a fan of any actors in that movie. But somehow that movie break did help me cure my homesickness. After a couple of weeks, roommates too decided for the same movie. We also had a sponsor so no reason to deny the offer. It was a late night show. Fortunately it wasn't pouring that day, so we took our bikes and rode to the theatres. We all had our dinner. So once the movie was done we reached back to our houses by 12. No one couldn't resist the temptation to have a night walk. If my history is correct this was my first night walk. Those quiet streets, the starry sky is something one should surely experience. You realise the true meaning of peace. Just our sound echoing around. Ofcourse a sense of fear also grips you sometimes. But that togetherness gave us a great memory, for every first thing is special.
Ganpati Dance
No Mumbai kar is stranger to this term. All we need is few beats either coming from the drums or the DJs woofer else out very own local banjo party. Every one becomes Shiamak Davar or Ganesh Hegde. But if one needs to enjoy Ganpati festival, it's rich history, culture then you have to visit Pune. Whoever comes to this city, from whichever corner of the country a visit to Shreemant Dagdu Sheth Halwai Ganpati is on everyone's list. This time I visited during the festival. Normally during visarjan, idols are immersed in the lakes or seas. But in this special case, they don't. It's just taken near the river and brought back in its original temple. On visarjan day, we left our rooms at 9pm and parked our bikes in a safe distance. The most popular place to be on the Visarjan day in Pune is Laxmi Road. As that's the main route to the river. You get to see so many idols. The best part is to watch the Dhol Pathaks. The scenes are truly worth watching. Wherever you hear music you can just loosen up. Dance. Shout. After I left college in 2008, this was the first time I was dancing and enjoying the moment to the core. Already I had come to this city with lot of baggage. This was the perfect occasion to get rid of it. I still remember I had danced my heart out like a maniac. Might have cried loudly inside to get rid of that baggage. Feeling reborn. I couldn't feel more thankful to all my roommates for that evening.
Diwali
The biggest festival in our calendar. And first time I wasn't home for the same. Every roommate went home, but I preferred to stay. So nothing special happened as such and it was the most dull festival for me. But our library did a small gesture for us which was worth remembering. They brought sweets and snacks for all of us to share the he festival excitement.
It's been six years now after that epic 3 months trip. I thank my luck that I got great people. And that is what always matters to me. Be it outside or inside, in professional life or personal life all I need is good people. Rest whatever may be the problems, together we can overcome. I started writing this blog almost 3-4 years after that trip. So already a lot of memory has been diluted in the sands of time. I am still in touch with a couple of my those room mates. One of them is still in Pune while one is currently in USA. After that 3months stint, I could only visit them once. But the memories and the friendship is forever.
-SR
