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Ramblings
Pune: Down Memory Lane
by Vikram Karve
September 12,
2006. I turned 50. After traversing the length and breadth of the
country for almost all my life I’m back in my hometown Pune. I am
overcome by nostalgia, for the Pune I once lived in no longer exists.
Then, in the early sixties, when I was a small boy, Pune was called
Poona, and I used to live in my grandfather’s house on Parvati Chowk on
Tilak Road opposite Madiwale Colony in Sadashiv Peth. A hugely bearded
man prepared the best bhel in town (Kalpana Bhel) just below our house;
today the bearded man is no more, the stall is there, but the old tasty
bhel is missing – today it’s just run of the mill stuff. And there was
Santosh Bhavan opposite for Misal, thali and yummy snacks.
In the evenings we ran to Talyatla Ganpati, to pray, and Peshwe Park
zoo, to see the animals, play on the swings and slides in the park, or
ride the toy train Phulrani. Now there is a beautiful Saras Baug
surrounding theTalyatla Ganpati Temple and the zoo has gone to Katraj.
If you wanted to have Non-Veg, there were Asara, Jeevan, Poonam, Good
Luck and Lucky in the city, otherwise you had to go to Camp. Asara has
closed down, Jeevan has become Grahak Peth departmental store, Poonam a
pure veg place, Lucky demolished; only Good Luck at Deccan is going
strong. There was Poona Coffee House at Deccan, and Irani joints like
Ideal, Regal and Volga, for tea, coffee, bun maska, omlette, kheema pav
and samosas. In Camp there was the famous Naaz serving delectable mutton
samosas and the Coffee House on Moledina Road serving delicious
breakfast.
Naaz hasbeen replaced by Barista, and it’s other avatar, the Maha Naaz,
a veg place, is also going to close down. Most of the Irani joints and
the Camp Coffee House have been transformed into Udipi eateries serving
Dosa and the like, and Poona Coffee House, which underwent an up-market
transformation, may also close down as per a report in Sakal. Yes, Sakal,
my favorite Marathi newspaper, is still going strong, but the Poona
Herald (called Herald now) has The Times of India and the Indian Express
to reckon with.
In camp Dorabjee & Sons is still there for scrumptious Biryani and Parsi
food, but the inimitable Kamling on East Street, where I first tasted
Chinese, has disappeared and in its place stands a veg thali place which
I must visit.
Bhanuvilas, where I saw Marathi films, New Empire, which screened
Hollywood stuff, and Hindvijayat Deccan have vanished, and the old world
West End with its unique chairs and soda fountain has been replaced by a
modern hall minus the soda fountain and the relaxed ambience. Now there
are Multiplexes.
I can go on and on in this vein, but that will make me melancholic.
Solet’s look at the positive side – Ganu Shinde, Kawre are still there
for pure ice cream and mastani, but Bua has gone. Ramnath and its fiery
Misal still stimulate, and so do most of the Amrututulyas like Ambikaand
New Ambika and Badshahi Boarding is still unchanged. In camp there is
George, Kayani, Kwality, Marzorin, Mona Food and Budhanis. And all the
sweet shops like Chitale, Kaka Halwai, Karachi and Bhavnagri are
flourishing from strength to strength. And many new places have come up.
And all the bookstores like Manneys, International, Popular and the ones
at Appa Balwant Chowk are getting better and better, and there is
Crossword too.
And of course, “Yours’ truly” is still going strong at 50. So I’m going
to celebrate my half century - Happy Birthday to me!
September 17,
2006
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Ramblings
The Week of September 17, 2006
Fighting Terror: Musharraf's Offer Too Little, Too
Late! by Rajinder Puri
Clash of 'Words' not 'Civilizations' by Col.
Rahul K. Bhonsle
The Last "J" that Broke Bush's Back by Gaurang
Bhatt, MD
Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Sept 06
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Social Rocketry by J. Ajithkumar
Are China's Rulers Illegal? by William R.
Stimson
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India II by
Ashish Nangia
Dating the Dunes at Sam a Photo
Essay by Sutapa Chaudhuri
The World is One Family by TA Ramesh
Arguments for including Bhoti Language
in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian Constitution by Stanzin Dawa
Understanding Mahabharata: A Woman's Fury, Soft
Skills and a Hero by Satya Chaitanya
And, the Clock Stopped ! by VK Joshi
Ustad Bismillah Khan: The Shehnai Maestro by
Yamini Ayyagari
Search Engines: Technology Behind Searching
by Ruchi Gupta
In Feline Company by Bijoyeta Das
Friendship Never Ends by Wazhma Frogh
The Night of Ten – La Noche del 10 by Dibyendu
Ghoshal
The Coast of Mendocino by Walter Durk
A Hope by Arya Bhushan
Ganga's Daughters by Julia Dutta
Investing in Women by Stephanie Hiller
Insurgency: The Long Way Down by Nava Thakuria
The Dark Side of Media Hype by Anuja Agrawal
On the Fast Track to Growth? by Usha Kakkar
Struggling to Make It: A Mother's Dilemma by
Rajesh Talwar
Arun Kumar Das: A Beam of Hope by Amarendra
Kishore
Pune: Down Memory Lane by Vikram Karve
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