Ten Good Things About Pune?

Well, the only thing I have done since coming to Pune is cribbed about it. The traffic, the roads, the dust and so on and so forth! So, probably everyone was expecting that I would write a blog saying how rotten Pune is. One guy even told me to write about how it should be nuked! I think he overlooked the small point that he himself would be evaporated along with the city, if it were nuked! And frankly speaking, with Mumbai so close by, why would one waste a costly nuke on Pune!

However, I decided to play contrary, as usual, and the devil's advocate and try to list down ten good things about Pune. You know, not concentrate on the negative, but find the positives.

1. Pune is supposed to be the cultural capital of Maharashtra. I know it doesn't seem all that different and people are not that different from any other part of the country, but I will give Pune the benefit of the doubt; On the assumption that I didn't have the good fortune to meet any of the more cultured people over the last two years.

2. It has a very large and high quality educational capital. Probably true. With so many talented students from outside Pune also making up the ranks, the quality of the general student has to increase. The competition will make sure of that. However, this is just a conjecture. As I have never studied here, I cant claim to be entirely accurate. This is what I have heard, though.

3. It has good job opportunities for people like me; That is to say, IT people. Which is also true. With so many MNCs coming and setting shop, jobs in Pune have been easier to find! And as there are a lot of non IT companies like Bajaj and Volvo, jobs are easier to get even for non -IT people. So the economy of Pune is really good. Well, if people can afford even the EMIs of homes costing 5-6 million, that must be true.

Okay... now I am stuck! I have been thinking about the fourth point for 2 days, but havent been able to! I don't want to talk about malls, or MG roads, or crowds (Though I can talk about Pune crowds ad nauseam) as they are same everywhere. You step in a mall in Pune, or Mumbai, or for that matter Duesseldorf, there isn't much difference. And beyond that, I am stuck. My problem is, I haven't been able to gauge the essence of the city. Understand the soul of Pune. It just seems this dirty, crowded, dusty and expensive city with no traffic sense. And I refuse to believe that that is indeed what the city is about! There must be something more to it. The city does a good job of hiding it though!

However, if anyone can think of any more good things about Pune, do let me know. I would like to make the list go to ten!