Chp 792. Adios Pune

This will be my last blog update from Pune as I have to pack up my computer after this for the Movers & Packers to pick up. My first blog post after moving to Pune was this – "Of Pune and Blog friends" and man, just reading through it again brings back so many memories! (Daniel and Zodin, you have to read this and see how small your kids were back then)

I have written 235 blog posts since then, in a course of 5 years, and many of them will remind me of the magical moments I had in this great city. To be honest, as my friend Rami never fails to remind me, I did hate this city when I first arrived, but it slowly started growing on me, and by the end of my first year, I was already in love with this damn place.

My house :'(

Of course some of my Mizo friends say I love Pune only because I live in Koregaon Park. Well, living in KP, that too alone with no flatmates to split the rent and bills with may be expensive, but it has a lot of perks. Here are my top 10 reasons on why I love living in KP so much.

#1. First of all, I have complete privacy. I can watch TV shows naked or cook naked whenever I want because I live alone (though my dinner guests often complain about that so I started wearing at least an underwear when they come over :P ).

#2. Everything from the top restaurants and bars to nightclubs and spas are just walking distance away from my home.

#3. I can get everything home-delivered, from groceries and cigarettes to alcohol and even ready-made cocktails!

#4. No electricity blackouts or water shortages, like ever, along with seamless broadband service and mobile 4G data. Uber and Ola also arrive in less than 2 mins any time of the day.

#5. We also get soft water, unlike most of my friends' places across Pune where the water is hard. You know what hard water does to your hair and skin right?

#6. The crowd moving around my apartment are always awesome, cool and classy, even the beggars wear Gucci and stuff :P

#7. It takes just 10 minutes for me to walk to office and back home.

#8. No Temples, Mosques, Churches or other places of worship nearby, so there are no bhajan or azaan sound you can hear throughout the day. I know some of you may think that is not a politically correct thing to say, but I'm just being honest here. My apologies if you are offended.

#9. Have I not mentioned about the number of awesome eatery joints and roadside snack vendors below and around my apartment? It's not just the number of different eateries, they also keep changing! I have seen at least 20-30 different joints setting up and being replaced with a new joint during these past 5 years itself. And I am only talking about the shops below my apartment.

#10. "This is KP, mannn!" :D

I mean, living in KP is like living in paradise, and that's what some of my friends in Pune assume I am doing, living the Mizohican dream.

But actually, it is not always happy happy for me. I have never told anyone this, so I'm just going to mention it here in my last post for the first time -> Living in KP can get very lonely for a person like me.

I have a lot of awesome Mizo friends here in KP. They all live like 5-10 minutes walking distance from my place. But the thing is, except for a few students, around 95% of Mizos living in KP work in the Service industry. They're all here working their asses off at various hotels, day spas, shops, parlours, restaurants, pubs etc. And so, the two days that I am free from office - Saturday and Sunday, are the two busiest days for them instead. Hence there's nobody to hang out with in KP during the weekends, and so I would just stay at home alone, watching yet another TV series marathon. I even started hating the weekends because of this.

Yeah, like I said, loneliness can be deafening.

Of course I have a lot of other wonderful friends outside KP too, but then again, there's the distance, and another thing is, most of my age-group friends in Pune are all married, with many of them having kids and stuff. You understand what I'm saying. We still chill out together and have lots of fun, but you can never chill out like bachelors again because of so many commitments. But nevertheless, I will miss each and every one of them.

There are so many things I would like to mention in this last post, but I think I have already said most of them in my past blog updates. The shortest goodbyes are the sweetest.

And so, as I close yet another chapter of my life, I thank all my friends here in Pune who have made me enjoy living here so much. Thank you all for so many wonderful memories. I will miss all of you dearly, and hope that one day, our paths will cross again. I wish you all the very best, take care everyone. God bless you all.

Mizoram, here I come home, with my entire life's belongings. I've been staying outside the state since class 3, so be good to me Mizoram, be nice and gentle to me.

Signing off for the last time from Pune, Mizohican out.