What I love about Pune in the monsoons!

I am very fortunate to live in a city like Pune where the weather is pleasant all the year round as compared to other cities in India (except Bangalore probably). The weather in Pune becomes all the more awesome during the rains - moderate rainfall that lasts for a few hours, the trees around look greener, canopy of dark clouds that blocks the harsh sunlight, cool breeze throughout the day. It's great fun to be in the city during this time.

But apart from the weather, there are certain things in / around Pune that makes me wait for the monsoons to arrive. I have tried to recollect and write down some of them:

Misal Pav:
It is a traditional Indian dish sold in the streets of Mumbai, Pune and parts of Maharastra, India. It consists of spicy curry usually made of chick peas and chilly powder gravy. The final dish is topped with Punjabi mix or sev (Indian noodles), onions, lemon and coriander (cilantro). It is usually served with bread. Sitting on Bedekar's wooden benches eating the d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. and spicy missal paav that makes your eyes as well as your mouth water for more is an experience to cherish!










Kanda Bhaji:
Onion fritters, one of the more popularly consumed Maharastrian dish. It commonly sold by vendors on every street in Mumbai / Pune. Sitting in your car that is parked near the kanda bhaji vendor with the sound of rain on your car roof, rain water on your wind-screen and eating piping hot kanda bhaji with green chillies and tea is a typical Puneri style of welcoming the rains












Wada Pav:
This is a popular veg fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. It consists of a deep fried potato-onion-ginger-garlic-coriander cutlet sandwiched between two slices of a bread. This is the poor Indian man's McDonald's burger. Standing under the makeshift roof of a wada-pav vendor to shield from the rains and savoring a bite of the spicy hot wada pav makes the reveller sing - ta da da ta da - I'm lovin' it!











Khadakwasla dam:
Khadakwasla is a small calm and quiet place which is situated 20 km from Pune. This dam is one of the main sources of water for the city of Pune. Synonymous with rains, a trip to Khadakwasla is a must during every monsoon. Eating the bhutta (corn), sipping tea, walking barefoot on the mud, playing in the water - is a perfect way to spend an evening during the monsoons.












Drive on the Mumbai-Pune expressway:
The expressway is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 93 km (58 miles) connecting Mumbai and Pune. Driving on the expressway after driving on the pot-holed roads of Pune during rains is a big relief and a welcome change!













Treks:
Various treks are organized to the forts built by the Peshwas - Sinhagad, Torna, Pratapgad, Rajmachi, Rajgadh, etc. The trek to the top of a fort during the rainy season with your friends is an ideal way to spend a rainy weekend.

Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-Mapro Farms:
Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are famous hill stations near Pune well known for their strawberries. Mapro farms in Panchgani is an ideal place to spend a couple of hours with friends to have cheese-burst pizzas / cheese laden sandwiches and strawberry with fresh cream ... slurrp! Sitting at a corner table at Mapro's that overlooks the pristine green valley and catching up with friends is a perfect way to unwind the week's hectic schedule.











These are some of the things I love about Pune during the monsoons. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I shall enjoy doing them :) I would also appreciate if you add your own list of things that you like about Pune in the monsoons!

Cheers!

An evening on the race course ...

I frequently jog at the Pune Race Course ground to lose that extra flab ;) Today evening too I went to the race course. But, I was too lazy to jog today, so decided to stroll instead. The weather was just perfect - not too cold, not too hot, a pleasant breeze, a bit cloudy... To complement the setting, my iPod was loaded with soulful Rahman melodies, enchanting Rahul Sharma instrumentals and stirring Bryan Adams compositions. With the wind in my hair, sand under my feet, soul stirring music in my ears and a lot of unanswered questions in my head, I was all set to spend a Saturday evening on the Race Course.

I walked past a pretty plump girl strolling with her poodle, a teen couple muttering sweet nothings in each other's ears, a bunch of school kids playing foot ball, a toddler playfully running behind his dad to catch him, an old couple sitting on the bench, a hot girl jogging in her black spandex suit...

At the time of sunset, I stood at one side to marvel at nature's beauty when I saw the sky changing its hues. I have captured the pics below in my Nokia XpressMusic Phone with a 2.0 MP camera (so please excuse me for not-so-good quality pics)



















While walking along the race course, one cannot miss the beautiful St Patrick's cathedral :















The entire stretch of Race Course is about 2.4 kms.. it is roughly a circular ground. The outermost ring is for the horse races and there are two inner rings... the middle ring is an undulating ground suitable for walking and the innermost ring is covered with black sand and is suitable for jogging..




















While walking along the long, circular roads, the following thoughts came to my mind -
"Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when,
I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again!
No straight lines make up my life, all my roads have bends;
No clearcut beginnings; but thankfully, so far, no dead ends!"
















Well, I think, today evening, I just had a perfect date with myself!