It has been more than 10 days that I haven’t updated my blog. The reason is that I have relocated to Pune. I had some great experiences in the past couple of weeks. And I think these experiences are worth sharing with all the freshers who would come here for a job or search for a job.
Table of Contents
First Sight
If you belong to a small city like Jabalpur and you are moving to Pune for the first time, then the first sight of this city will mesmerize you.
It is a den of all the big IT companies with their Gigantic Infrastructures.
Accompanying this, you will find tall buildings all around with their beautiful eye capturing structures. I was staying at a beautiful house in a posh society (no I’m not filthy rich, the company provided me with a temporary stay). The first impression of the city was absolutely pleasant.
The Climate
Oh, you will fall in love with the climate. Everything is so pleasant here. The temperature is so cool and feels so perfect. I have been here in the month of June-July and the weather is so moderate with light drizzle throughout. I’m really happy with the weather here.
Exploring the City
I got a 3-day accommodation and in this period I had to find a permanent place to live… So search for a rented flat began…
As I started exploring the city, the first thing I found out about it is that the transportation of Pune sucks.
Though PMT runs a bus service throughout the city, you will have to wait for quite a long time for it.
I have a record waiting time of 1 hour.
On top of that, these are very costly as compared to public transportation in other cities. Roughly, I have to pay 20 INR to travel approx 10 km. As a result of this poor public transportation, people prefer their own wheels, therefore, results in traffic which causes jams and thus increases the average time required to reach a destination.
On top of that, half the seats are reserved for women. Men are not allowed to sit there.
Recently, I had an experience where two girls stepped up on the bus and asked an old man to move from the seat as the seats are reserved for female candidates. I’m not trying to raise a question here, but hey! what kind of equality is this. The concept of reservation for women is of no use and most of the time it is being used in the wrong way.
Finding places in Pune is really easy.
Pune has a really simple map and it wouldn’t take you more than a week’s time to understand it completely but then there are other things too. Although, Finding places is easy but reaching it is difficult as I already mentioned about the poor transportation system of Pune. You would need help from local people regarding the bus route. Nobody comes with their own means of transportation for the first time into a new city.
Therefore, at some point in time, you will have to face this problem.
So, if you are visiting Pune make up your mind for this because Pune is going to make you upset when it comes to transportation.
Rent a House
I had to find a place to live pretty soon. As I was the new boy in town, I asked Google for the rented flats.
I got many results, some were in the budgets and some were not.
As I started contacting each one by one, I came to know that they were the brokers.
Pune is filled with these brokers and the bad thing about them is that they raise the initial investment for a person to rent a flat.
If you are looking for a decent place to stay, it will easily cost you between 10000 INR to 30000 INR depending upon the place and locality. The rent is high and on top of that, there is an initial deposit that you must pay. It may cost you around 30000 INR to 1 lakh INR.
Not only this, these brokers will charge you 2 months of additional rent. Adding it all up, it will cost approximately 80000 INR initial investment before renting a place.
It also depends on the place where you will live, but to the minimum, a 2 BHK flat in Baner will initially cost you around 50000 INR. Make sure you have your friends around you to share the cost equally.
The dream of living in a flat all by myself broke in the first few weeks and I had to settle with a PG. Fortunately we all had a great camaraderie.
The Food
I’m a foodie and was expecting a lot of good taste from Pune (Maharashtra).
To be frank, I didn’t enjoy the food that much.
On the first day, my father and I went to a side restaurant and ordered their special Paneer Kadhai Masala, rice and tandoori roti. The food was way too spicy. I cried for water and sweet immediately. Somehow, we finished that meal (we were hungry) with the help of rice and a glass of water.
If someone would ask me to rate it on the basis of taste, it would be 4/10. The prices were way high for such a quality.
But don’t worry folks, there are loads of good places where you can fill your tummy. My friend made a list of all the great places where you must visit in Pune if you are a foodie. Download the PDF here.
The People
People make a big difference.
I have found good and helping people in this city so far. You will need their help and they will help you. Just make sure you are polite to them.
A very common scenario is when you are waiting for the bus and you need to find the right bus route to reach the destination. They will readily help you with this and you can trust them with that. It will help you if you know a few of the common Marathi words to interact with them. It makes them feel a little more comfortable. Just try to adapt to their culture as quickly as you can. It will help you in making good connections.
The Language
“malaa tu avadates” this means “I like you”
Okay, the language is a bit of a concern. This is a Marathi state as you already know. There are a few things that I really didn’t like about Pune. Many signboards and hoarding are written in Marathi too.
It is very frustrating when you cannot read the message on the signboard.
I think that people here are emotionally connected to their language – Marathi. In fact, they initiate their communication in Marathi knowing that the person they are talking to doesn’t understand it. I really couldn’t understand this type of mentality.
In my opinion, if they know Hindi and they know that the person they are speaking with knows Hindi then they should speak Hindi.
Learning a few of their common words will really help you in making connections with them quickly.
The Traffic
Ugly. People do not know how to drive here. They only follow 2 driving rules,
- Stop at the Red Light
- Drive on the left-hand side
That’s it. They have no respect for the pedestrians here. There have been a few incidents with me where I was about to cross the road. Seeing that the vehicle is far enough, I started crossing the road. Watching me cross the road the driver accelerated his vehicle in order to hinder my path and block me from crossing it. I was like “What dafuq”. Trust me, It took me more than 10 minutes just to cross the road.
If somebody ever told you that people drive fast here, just to make it very clear, it is not fast driving- it is rash driving. So, if you are ever walking on foot in a high traffic area. Pre-plan your destination and cross at the red light. This way you will stay safe and avoid waiting for long.
UPDATE (10 months later)
It has been almost 10 months when I first came to Pune. Here is what else I have to talk about this city. The experience has been quite new lately. I have explored more places and learned more things about the city. Here are a few things that I would like to share with you guys.
Restaurants & Cafe
This place is filled with restaurants and cafe with a good ambience. Although I found them a little pricey. But not to worry… if you are going out with your friends then it certainly becomes an awesome place to hangout.
There are many places to go for dinner with friends (if you want I can help you with that).
If you are a small gang with a bunch of good friends then it certainly becomes a fun place to be. There are some of the images that I took while enjoying the dinner.
Update (19th April, 2021)
It’s almost been 5 years from the day I first visited Pune.
I still remember that feeling… Positive. Ambitious. Large.
That smell… sound… taste 🙂
There are so many things that I have learned, realized… understood so much that I use to take for granted.
I use to think that being independent is fun. But when I really got the chance to be independent, I understood how difficult it is to protect myself from losing.
So much pressure.. hardships.. pain… And you standing there alone fighting all of that. Sure it sounds dramatic now but that’s the reality. It takes a lot to be on your own.
Frankly speaking, Pune has given me a lot but that didn’t come easy. I had to fight at every step (not like a physical fight, that would be stupid, but a mental and emotional one).
I’ve seen fantastic growth, the kind of growth that people dream about… that I imagined at one point. And now that I got that and look back, it’s like eh… anyone can do it.
Anyone who is willing to put their blood and sweat on it. But yeah it is easy.
Adaptation is a important skill
The one advice that I can give you is this,
“Never ask your parents to help you financially in your bad time.”
It is too easy till we live with our parents. They provide us so well that we don’t even see the hard part. And I’m telling you, you will face problems. In fact be thankful if you face such problems.
You won’t have relatives to help you and the obvious choice will be to look back to your parents for easy money.
Trust me! don’t do that. Instead, find a way to deal with that situation. Do whatever it takes and this will teach you another important concept of “Adaptation”.
Your friends are your family
This is necessary. Your friends are your second family and you should take care of them like you would take care of your brother or sister. When you are so far away from your home, your friends keep you on track. And you do the same for them.
I remember my friend had an allergic reaction in the middle of the night. Her lips swelled up 3 times the normal size and that time you would want someone to be with you, hold your hand and take you to the doctor.
My other friend had an accident, and he went in shock. All he remembered was my phone number (thank god). And there was no way a family member could come from 500 KM to take you to the doctor.
A friend went down a bad breakup and I made sure I was there every day to make fun of him (literally :D). You need a friend, I’m telling you. I won’t share when I needed friends to take care of me because then it would get personal :p and I’m very serious about my privacy.
All you need is good friends. And once you have found them… don’t leave them… please 🙂
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