It’s been a long time since I travelled by train, so long that I don’t even remember. I’m on my way back from Pune after a short visit with my parents. I amoat cancelled this trip because my brother warned me of traffic snarls, slippery roads, landslides and generally rash driving that caused horrendous accidents particularly during the first few weeks of rain when the roads get slushy. So keeping this in mind, I decided to return by train.
The Deccan Queen is my train of choice but today I have to make do with the Pragati Express as all train tickets for the Queen are booked.
sitting in the seat next to my alloted seat a co passenger seated comfortably in his seat
The first round of vendors have already made their way through the coach , selling tea and newspapers. I have already armed myself with reading material and given the tea a miss as I can’t bear drinking tea out of a tea caddy clenched tightly between the vendors thighs: when he opens the tap, I can’t help feeling it looks like he’s peeing into the paper cup! ( yuck!!!)
The train has left on schedule and now I will settle down to my sandwiches made by my mom and a nice read.
People who associate orchids with tropical rain forests will be surprised to know that they can grow in an urban setting. There are several people in the city of Pune alone who grow orchids
One of them is my father who counts orchid cultivation as one of his several hobbies. This was a natural offshoot of his passion for gardening which has yielded many a tender green salad and tonnes of avocado which my parents have had to distribute after consuming them in diverse forms including avocado icecream.
Unfortunately his garden is pretty shaded so he doesn’t have much luck with regular flowers like zinnia and balsam. But he has just the right amount of sunshine for his orchids .
an orchid growing on a bamboo suspended in the back verandah
Most of the orchids he has collected from his various trips and you can see them hanging all over the place like this one in the back verandah.
anothe plant growing on a tree
He even has some of them growing on trees like this one and though I’ve never seen them all in full bloom at the same time, they keep him busy and out of my mom’s hair.
Of course this is quite a messy business and my mother gets annoyed with the bits of husk and coal that he uses to grow them but she is pleased when he allows her to use a flowering stem as part of a floral arrangement.
Orchids are hardy flowers and have an exotic beauty that I personally find a bit creepy but they are great ornamental plants to have in an urban home.
Poona is just 120 km southeast of Bombay .The best way to get there is by road especially during the rains when the hills are green and waterfalls abound.
There was. long line of cars waiting at the toll booth on the sea link
The new road to Poona
Back in the day when Pune was Poona, the drive was a small 20 ft road with a perilously steep mountain road that took my family all of 8 hours to navigate.
This was largely because we stopped on the way to eat a dosa at Matunga. More often than not we’d visit an Uncle or aunt in one of the suburbs on the way. We’d stop at Khopoli for a a cup of tea and a batatawada at Khopoli. Invariably we’d stop for a bit to cool down the car just after throwing a coin at Shingroba’s temple half way up the hill road.
Entering the first of the five new tunnels on the Expressway
The new Expressway changed all that and today we make the trip in under 4 hours even if we stop for tea and pee.
Emerging from the second tunnel before the first food mall
After the second tunnel, most travellers stop at the first food mall which has two huge HP pumps that dominate the landscape.
The new HP pump
Going up the road towards Lonavala is another tunnel which brings the downhill traffic to the coastal plains.
Driving up can sometimes be difficult if a landslide has clogged up the road.
The old tunnel before Khandala still has a signboard advising all motorists to “remove their goggles”.
As a child I used to get mortally scared of this tunnel !
Approaching the fourth tunnel
getting closer
Inside tunnel 4
and at the other end
Driving down the straight stretch of road
Approaching the last small tunnel before the end of the Expressway And finally on the home stretch as the Expressway comes to an end .
At one time the road passed through farmland with paddy fields that gave way to sugar cane as we came closer to Poona.
Today there are houses all the way through and billboards announcing even more homes and houses for people looking to live in the ‘countryside’!
Getting to Poona
There are numerous options of getting to Pune. Government and private bus operators offer a regular service with buses leaving every 15minutes , stopping at various points along the way.
For those who want more privacy, you can go by taxi.
To enjoy the scenic journey to and from Mumbai to Pune
Pune rains are a pleasant drizzle for the most part and it’s a fun place to visit in the rains
The Race season is the main reason for avid race goers who actually maintain a residence for those few months
Pune in the summer is a killer and in the winter it can get quite chilly so this is really the best time of year to visit.
For a completely relaxed de-tox in a very urban setting . Somehow Poona still has a laid back feel and is perfect for frenetic Mumbaikars who want to get away and still not get away.
