Day 4 – 4 December 2024, Wednesday

This morning, I woke up at around 6:00am, eagerly anticipating the day ahead. After a light breakfast of coffee and biscuits, Dr J and VJ came over to Zen so the five of us (plus Dr J and VJ’s dog) went for an easy hike at 7:20am. The sky was overcast and the temperature was a cool 21 degrees C so it was very pleasant.

We hiked to the top of the mountain before turning back. If we had more time, we could actually hike to the next mountain, where an old fort was located at its peak. The morning air was fresh and there were no vehicles around, so it was a very welcome respite from the traffic congestion and air pollution in the city centre.

Upon returning at 8:30am, the sun was fully out so I had a better view of UJ and GJ’s Zen abode. It was dark when I came here last night so I couldn’t see much. It was really a nice villa, surrounded by lots of trees and beautifully landscaped gardens. The only thing missing was a swimming pool. GJ showed me around the compound, which contained many fruit trees and vegetable plots with bitter gourd and other edibles. UJ also showed me the recreation room and his favourite spot to read a book. Like Dr J and VJ’s place, Zen was a perfect hideout for self-healing, meditation and to enjoy life at a slower pace.

After a final pack-up, we left Zen reluctantly and drove to a place nearby called Canteen for breakfast at 9:30am. This cosy restaurant serves mainly the residents living in the surrounding forest homes and it was set in a garden so it was very chill. We had Poha, a traditional Pune breakfast made of flattened rice, onions, spices, herbs, lemon juice, roasted peanuts and curry leaves. The vibrant yellow of the rice comes from the turmeric. A generous topping of crispy sev (fried gram flour vermicelli) completes the dish. It was a simple but delicious and hearty meal.

With breakfast done, that was the end of our forest home retreat. We left Canteen at 10:00am and drove back to the city, arriving at UJ and GJ’s apartment 52 minutes later. GJ wasn’t feeling very well so she went to see a doctor. UJ started to prepare lunch so I went to the kitchen to watch. I can’t cook so I am always fascinated to see the preparation and cooking process. UJ is a fabulous chef and he whips up the most delicious meals. GJ also makes excellent bread so the two of them usually cook their own meals and they hardly eat out at all.

On the lunch menu today was Keema, which is minced meat curry, usually made with mutton. I watched UJ expertly chop the onions and ginger before crushing the sliced ginger with a mortar and pestle. He then finely chopped the mint leaves and washed the minced mutton before putting them into a pot to stew, together with an assortment of spices including turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, clove and red chilli powder.

The reason why Indian food is so tasty is because of the many different spices that go into the food. However, it is not just a matter of which spices to use, but when to use them. UJ patiently explained to me how each spice added to the flavour of the dish, and why it was important to add certain spices at different stages of cooking.

He also explained beautifully why home-cooked food tastes so much better than food served in restaurants. That is because when you cook for someone, you know the person’s preferences so you can customise the dish for them. For example, if you know the person has a low tolerance for spice or if he/she dislikes a certain ingredient, you can adjust the taste accordingly. Whereas in restaurants, the chef doesn’t know the intended recipient so the chef cooks it in a generic manner. Hence, cooking for someone you know is truly a labour of love.

At around 12:45pm, GJ returned home with bread she bought from a store so we had lunch together. I’m usually not a fan of raw onions but it paired perfectly well with the fluffy bread roll and Keema. And after watching UJ prepare and cook the Keema earlier, it tasted even better and I appreciated it so much more. Simply put, it was a heavenly lunch.

At 1:25pm, I left home to roam the city on my own while GJ rested at home and UJ went to work. I actually intended to head out much earlier but once I learned that UJ was cooking Keema for lunch, I just had to taste it so I delayed my going out. But it was so worth it. From the apartment, I walked to Nal Stop station and bought my physical Metro ticket from the manned booth. The ride to PMC station (four stops away) cost only 15 Rupees (S$0.25) and it took 8 minutes.

Upon alighting at PMC station, I was greeted by the sight of the grand Chhatrapati Shivaji Marahaj Bridge. This majestic bridge was constructed just over a century ago (in 1923) and it spans across the Mutha River, connecting the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters with Shaniwar Wada. The 370-metre-long bridge is made of black basalt from local quarries and the bastion-like structures connecting the arches give it a formidable appearance. The central arch of the bridge is slightly narrower and pointed. It is said to resemble the entrance of Shaniwar Wada, which functioned as the residence of the Peshwas.

Unfortunately, the sight was marred by rubbish scattered across the riverbanks surrounding the bridge. There were also a few water buffaloes grazing and lazing on the riverbanks below. It is a shame people don’t take better care of the environment here because India really is a beautiful country and it has great potential to be so much more.

As I walked across the bridge, I saw a huge Indian flag perched atop a 45-metre-high flagpole fluttering with the wind. The flag stands at the entrance of Shaniwar Wada, which was built in 1730 as the centre of power in the Indian subcontinent. I hadn’t done much sightseeing in Pune yet so I decided to go in to Shaniwar Wada for a look.

I got a little annoyed when I found out there was no option to buy physical entrance tickets; only online booking was allowed. I felt the booking process was quite intrusive because the website requested for a lot of personal details like passport and phone numbers. I was particularly annoyed when I discovered that there was no option for Singapore +65 country code to select from the list of options. All the other countries were listed there except for Singapore. I was so frustrated that I almost gave up and wanted to give it a miss. As a final resort, I entered a random phone number and passport number, yet I could somehow still book the ticket, which proves there is a flaw in the system. The entrance fee is 250 Rupees, but an additional online booking fee was charged so the total price was 257.50 Rupees (S$4.10).

After passing through the impressive Delhi Darwaza main gate, with its massive doors adorned with 72 sharp 12-inch steel spikes (apparently to deter elephants from charging at the gates), I found myself staring at the wide, open palace grounds. It didn’t used to look like that, though.

Originally, the palace consisted of many buildings such as a Court Hall, a Dancing Hall and an Old Mirror Hall with exquisitely engraved arches and supported by pillars shaped like Cypress trees. The largest building was then seven storeys high. In 1758 A.D., at least a thousand people resided in the palace. However, a massive fire in 1827 A.D. gutted all the buildings and what remains today are only their plinths and fortification wall with five gateways and nine bastions that enclose the whole complex.

I climbed up to the Jharokha to get a good view of the entire palace grounds. Jharokha is a balcony or stone window projecting from the wall face of a building, on an upper floor, overlooking a street, market, court or any other open space. It is a common feature in classical Indian architecture.

As I stood at the Jharokha and admired the view, I saw that the palace grounds had a symmetrical layout within its rectangular complex. I could only imagine how grand it must have been more than two centuries ago, when all the fine buildings stood here and it was a hive of activity when the Maratha Empire reached the zenith of its power.

From the Jharokha, I turned left and walked along the perimeter wall above the ground before I took another staircase back to the ground level. As I walked past where the foundations of the original buildings stood, there were signs describing what the buildings were used for. Truth be told, there wasn’t much to see because almost everything notable was destroyed by the great fire, so I left Shaniwar Wada after half an hour.

I walked south along the busy main road and soon reached Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati, one of Pune’s most revered places of worship. Devotees from all over India come to this Hindu temple to pray to Lord Ganesha every year. The idol of Lord Ganesha in the temple is 2.2 metres tall and adorned with nearly 40kg of gold.  

Indeed, it was very crowded and there were many devotees waiting in line to purchase the Darshan pass to enter the temple. Darshan refers to a glimpse or view of a deity, and the pass allows devotees entry to the inner sanctum of the temple to receive divine blessings from Lord Ganesha.

Outside the temple were many stalls selling baskets of offerings comprising red hibiscus and rose, yellow marigold flowers, durva grass and coconut husk. These are favourites of Lord Ganesha. I decided against entering the temple because I wasn’t sure of the procedures for Darshana, so I just walked around to soak in the atmosphere.

I continued walking along the main road and soon reached the intersection with Laxmi Road, one of the busiest shopping streets in Pune. The surrounding roads were filled with Autos, motorbikes and cars honking away while pedestrians jostled on the walkways and crossed the road with aplomb.

I joined the sea of people walking forward and found myself in the heart of the action at Tulsi Baug Market. This open-air market is the place to be if you want to experience the real heartbeat of Pune. It was extremely vibrant and bustling with street hawkers peddling everything from flower garlands to pink cotton candy to rugs to kitchenware to clothing. Everywhere I turned, there was something interesting to look at. And the most amazing thing was that everyone was a local and no one batted an eyelid at me, the only foreign, Chinese face in the crowd.

I stood transfixed at the explosion of colours at the huge flower stall, with baskets of fresh flowers, coconut husks, banana leaves and betel leaves on display. I saw a man cleaning stalks of sugarcane before being juiced. Elsewhere, people were buying dresses, T-shirts or handbags. It was a fascinating glimpse into local life at Pune.

As I walked past a makeshift stall selling classical Indian folk tablas, the young male hawker caught me looking and he rapidly pursued me. Sensing my interest, he quoted me an initial price of 700 rupees for a drum. I wasn’t that keen because it would be quite cumbersome to carry it around, but he didn’t give up and kept slashing the price as I walked away. Finally, he quoted me 300 rupees (S$4.95) and I decided to reward him for his persistence. It’s not a very well-crafted drum but it looked nice, so I ended up with a little souvenir from Tulsi Baug Market.

At about 4:00pm, I decided to go to a CD/DVD shop called Ministry of Music. It was quite far away so I booked an Uber Auto to get there. The ride took 23 minutes and it cost only 83.27 rupees (S$1.33). It’s so affordable and much better than haggling with the Auto drivers on the streets over the fare. Having discovered the ease and affordability of Uber in Pune, I would use it a few more times the next day.

After alighting from the Auto, I saw that the shutters for Ministry of Music were down. Before coming here, I checked Google Maps but there was no indication that the shop would be closed. I’m not sure if it’s permanently out of business or it just happened to be closed that day, but it was disappointing nonetheless. I walked to the nearest Metro station, Ruby Hall Clinic, and took the train back home. By then, I was already an expert on using the Metro.

Before going back to the apartment, I had a cup of special masala tea (60 rupees/S$1) from Aapa Filter Coffee at Nal Stop station. There’s always time for tea. Once back home, I showered and waited for UJ and GJ to return. They had gone to the airport to pick up their daughter PJ and her family, who had just arrived after a long flight from Canada. They would be staying at PJ’s mother-in-law’s place in Pune, so I wouldn’t be meeting them today.

This evening, we were going to Dr M’s house for dinner. Dr M is a close friend and cycling buddy of UJ’s. I had met Dr M twice before in Singapore, when he first came in 2019 with his wife SK, and again in May 2024 when he came alone. We had gone cycling on both occasions. Now that I am in Pune, Dr M has graciously invited me and the rest of the cycling gang to his house for dinner.

UJ, GJ and I left the apartment at 7:06pm and headed north to Dr M’s house in the suburbs, well outside the city centre. The evening peak hour traffic was heavy and we moved slowly. However, UJ is a very patient driver (and person in general) so he just drove steadily, not using his horn even once. You do need a lot of patience to drive in Pune because the traffic is crazy. There’s no point getting frustrated because it won’t change anything. You just have to accept it and be zen about it.

After more than an hour on the road, we finally arrived at Dr M’s house at 8:18pm. The other invited guests – RK, UK and NC – were already there. NC had also just arrived in Pune the day before so it was my first time meeting him since our cycling trip in Laos earlier in 2024. So good to see NC again!

SK is a terrific cook and she prepared quite a feast for us. Honestly, everything was so good. I couldn’t stop eating the Pakora (vegetable fritters), partly because I was hungry and partly because it was so delicious. She also made Modak, dumplings made of rice flour and sweet coconut and jaggery fillings, with strands of saffron on the outside. Modak is said to be one of Lord Ganesha’s favourite dishes, and it is usually prepared only on special occasions. The Puran Poli (sweet flatbread made with lentils and jiggery) was also very yummy. I am indeed very honoured to be able to taste such authentic and special Indian food, and I thank SK for cooking the meal.

Besides catching up with everyone else, I also had a good chat with Dr M and SK’s son. He’s considering to further his education in Singapore so he’s very keen to learn more about Singapore. All in all, it was a lovely gathering and I felt very grateful and honoured to be so warmly received in their home.

We left Dr M’s house at around 10:30pm. However, I wouldn’t be going back with UJ and GJ because I would be staying over at NC’s place tonight. The reason is because RK and UK have invited the cycling gang over to their house for breakfast tomorrow morning, but UJ and GJ won’t be able to join in. NC lives in the same apartment building as RK and UK, so it made sense for me to stay over at NC’s place for the night so I can pop over to RK and UK’s place for breakfast tomorrow morning. It was so fun, like a sleepover party, running from house to house.

The drive to RK/UK/NC’s apartment took around half an hour. It was faster for the drive back to the city because the peak hour traffic had already eased. I followed NC to his apartment, which is two floors above RK and UK’s unit. I was so tired I headed to bed right after taking a shower. End of yet another fulfilling day in Pune!