The first thing that will strike u as being unique abt this place.. esp after livin in Mumbai for most of my life, is that ppl in this place are really not business minded.
Where else will u find shops closed on public holidays, in the afternoons and after 8pm..??
Bargaining is “effort wasted”..they quote a price.. if it doesn’t suit u.. sod off. No1 will entertain you beyond the customary 2 mins it takes for the shopkeeper to size u up and quote u a price he knows will not be agreeable to you.
After that, it definitely has to be the roads. And I used to think the situation in Mumbai was bad..!!! here the ride from point A to point B… will def feel like a moto cross..
In fact the jokes doin the rounds are:
Theorems of Pune Roads:
1. Between any two potholes there is always a road.
2. If matters get worse, one pothole is always smaller than the other.
3. Never follow a car when you drive, follow just one tyre of the car.
4. The depth of a pothole is inversely proportional to its visibility.
5. The probability of a passing by lorry splashing mud on you is directly proportional to the importance of the occasion you are dressed up for.
6. No matter what you wear you will get wet.
7. No matter what you do, you cannot avoid a pothole; avoiding one will lead you into another.
After the roads, it has to be the ganesh chaturti festivals.. which like in Mumbai.. is immensely popular in pune too..!! similar “XYZ mitr mandals”.. similar “ fund collections”..similar “colorful idols and décor”… but wait.. ONE thing is different..
Back home in Mumbai.. the loudspeakers outside any of the idols wud be crooning..” jai mangal,jai mangal, jai mangal moorthi”..
N here in pune..its an “in ur face”…”BRAAAAAAAAAAAASIL…. Lalalalalalalala”..
Wow.. talk abt culture shocks.
N finally wat wud this post be without a mention of the beloved auto wallahs.. these fall into 1 of the 2 categories.. the 6 seaters… or the regulars.
The 6 seaters..( I have no idea y they’re called so).. seat atleast 10 adults (excluding the driver).. n if by chance the adults resemble stick insects from Rwanda.. then increase the grand total of passengers to any integer value you want. Some run on ancient diesel technology that I suspect the british must have abandoned behind considering it too cumbersome to carry along. Offcourse.. to their credit.. I will say this.. it’s the cheapest mode of transport around..and a lot safer than the “coffin on wheels” service a.k.a PMT. Pretty sad tat these are only allowed to ply on the outskirts of pune city..n not IN the city.
The regular auto guys.. hmm.. they’re a class apart. U will find them in plenty at almost every nukkad..but strange rules govern their usage. Some of which I reproduce below, verbatim from “the ignoramus bible of autorickshaw wallas”.
1. the meter in the auto is for show.. ignore its presence at all times.
2. for any distance..take ur favourite number..( funny how most auto wallas like 25).. and multiply it with another of ur favourite nos.( again funny how most like 5).. n voila..!! u get the fare..!! simple.
3. if its dark, then immediately invoke the spcl right granted by “ the lord of the dark side”..and claim half return.. night time charges.
I could go on here, but copyright issues prevent me from quoting the more sinister and outrageous rules from the book.
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2 comments:
Talking abt business mindedness!
In Glasgow all shops, except the 24-hr ones(which r like 1/2) close down by 5:30 max! And they open at arnd 10 or so..
on Sundays it is even earlier than tht!12-4 max!..
We were told tht ppl here like to party!
Not suprisingly hence the only thing tht is ever open is pubs..
May i direct you to this http://hopethisaddressisnottaken.blogspot.com/2005/10/about-rahuls-thought-on-pune_11.html ????
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