Once upon a time, in Pune

              (Originally written in Sept 2016; edited in Aug 2017)

As I grew up in life, I learnt that good friends are hard to come by. And good friends at a later stage of life, very hard if not  impossible. Well, guess  what? I was proved wrong  in Pune.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon of November, 2011. I had found out the coordinates of this book reading club from the social meeting site Meet Up, coordinated by Rajesh Naidu and Palki Mawar. And so, with some trepidation , I stumbled into Costa Cafe, on F.C . Road, arguably the most chic location of Pune, to attend the Pune Book Readers' Club meeting.

They seemed formidable, from the range of activities and the books covered. Rajesh looked like an imposing chap, the body building kind.I was kind of hesitant, but then,desperately looking for a cultural outlet in Pune, I stepped in.

The  beginning  of the  journey- " Sharing your work"- 

Nov 25th, 2011, Costa Cafe

At the head of the table on the 1st Floor of the cafe, sat Palki and Rajesh, moderating the meet. And there were a few other people around.It was a session on prose,and I was looking for poetry actually (I fancied myself as a poet in those days !)But I hung on. And thus my journey begun.

There followed a series of Sunday afternoons as I got to know the gang. Hesitantly at first, but then speedily.Rajesh.Palki.Kajal.Ashish.Tavisha.Kaushik.Girish.Aditi.Rahul.Jodhbir.Rahul.Santosh. Bhavna.Dimple. Dipali.And many others who kept coming and going.

" Much  ado about nothing" ( William  Shakespeare)  , Dec 2011_ At  my apartment

This  was  in the  early  days- We  see Ashish,  Rajesh,  Palki and  another  chap who disappeared  after  a few  days.

" Much  ado about nothing_2" ( William  Shakespeare) ,Dec 2011_ My apartment

"Wine tasting  festival_Dec 2011_Koregaon  Park

We  spent  5 hours  in the  warm winter  sun happily  high "spirited" 

Red  wine, White  wine, Pineapple  wine,Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet- you  name it, we  had it!!

I was with the Club for a good eleven months.And what a rocking time it was !! From winetasting festivals at Koregaon Park to dinner at my place (cooked by yours truly). From  outdoor camping in Panchgani to the epic play "A midsummer night's dream " with endless rehearsals at Rahul's and Tavisha's place (William  the bard  would  have jumped  in his  grave  if he had heard our  cheeky  adaptation of  his  classic!) . From an impromptu midnight birthday party at Kajal's house to wild celebrations at Rahul' s house at Koregaon Park ( thank you, Rahul...wine never tasted better than at your place. And yes,I vividly remember Osho's picture in the lobby, put up by your sexy sanyassassin landlady).From jamming sessions at Rajesh's Place to munching at FC Road outlets, Polka Dots at Aundh,and  our favourite, Naturals ice cream parlour at Aundh.We got to know each others’ houses like the back of our hands. We came to appreciate each other as  friends  and comrades, sharing our happiness and sorrows. For me, it was a vivid experience in making friends, like I never had in the preceding many years. It was like a late rebloom of my College Days.

Drama-" A midsummer  night's  dream"_Pune_May 2012
One  great  big occassion where we all enjoyed  ourselves, with a wild party  at Rahul's place  capping  off the  final  show.Yours  truly  was the  scriptwriter, director  and  also  played  a double  role. Those  were  the  days  !
We  see Palki, Rahul, Kaushik, Ashish, Tavisha, Kajal, Jodhbir and Abhimanyu in this  picture.
In  hindsight,  it was  both  comical  and  educational !!
(Photograph by Ansar Ahamed)

Kaushik aka Theseus-  with  Kajal  aka  Hermia - " A  Midsummer's  Nightdream "
(Photograph by Ansar Ahamed)

Ashisk aka  the  ebullient  Robin-  " A  Midsummer  Night's dream"
(Photograph by Ansar Ahamed)

Rajesh  aka Demetrius- ol' chap  was  always  the  expressive  kind- 

  " A  Midsummer Night's dream"
(Photograph by Ansar Ahamed) 

Bottom aka  Kaushik  with Egeus aka  Abhimanyu    -

 " A  Midsummer  Night's dream" 

The  audience and  the  crew- " A  Midsummer Night's dream "
Santosh the  videographer is in action. Jodhbir is  "pataoing" Tavisha (  in reel  life, not  real  life!!).Aveek, the  intellectual  kind, looks  thoughtful .And our  Wing Commander  is all smiles as always.
(Photograph by Ansar Ahamed)

Rajesh & Aditi - at Balaji Temple (a replica  of the Tirupati Balaji temple) , 30 km from Pune.
We drove in the rains , stood  in the queue for quite some time and hugely enjoyed  the  outing.

 Aditi & Me- at Balaji Temple near Pune.Just  fooling  around.

Panchgani trip-  April  2012

We had  a hell of  a  time on  this trip. Some memorable  takeaways- Abhi the ghost, Kajal  the  photographer, Rahul  the stud. And the allegedly (only allegedly, ok !!)" Dostana"  jodi of Abhi and Rajesh.
Rajesh, Abhimanyu, Rahul,Jodhbir, Kajal, Palki, Tavisha and Bhavna ,with  the  owner  of the ranch, the hotelier- turned  farmer and rancher  from  Bombay- Tathagata ( a  very  dignified  person)

Camping with  the  gang at  the Panchgani  Trip- April  2012.
All  for  one, one for  all !

Of course , group dynamics meant that a few people were upset a few times, some hearts were broken at times, and we had our fair share of gossips and sniggers. But it was all in harmony and good sense.

I left Pune in Oct 2012, and had a chance to meet the gang only one more time, in May the next year , when I stepped into Pune for some work.

Catching  up with  the  Gang-  May, 2013 ( after  I moved  from  Pune)

Though we are connected on WhatsApp,I guess life has now taken us all in different directions.   Rajesh ,Rahul and Palki have moved to the US. Ashish is now in Hyderabad. Jodhbir has got married to  Ruchi ( who had her owngood times  with  the Club) and moved to Bangalore. Kaushik the CEO has his own company, big man !! Aditi , a lawyer now, is in Bhilai. Tavisha has moved  to Mumbai with hubby and kid (there were n number  of times  when we ate Anuj’s head with our Book Club gatherings). I am holding fort in Ranchi, battling the chaos of Jharkhand. And Kajal is keeping the flag afloat in dear old Pune (well , Rajesh, you said you and Kajal would grow old in Pune, but you ditched the city, ol'chap?)

I forgot something. The books!! It was the original reason why we met, but eventually, it became a secondary reason!!The Meluha trilogy by Amish. Frankenstein.Plato.Animal Farm. To catch a mocking bird. Highbrow to lowbrow, we covered it all  with gutso. As the days kept progressing, and we consumed the calories at Costa Cafe ( and later Cafe Coffee Day when they closed shop temporarily for  renovation), our little grey cells kept growing with each day, and wilder with ideas. 

"Animal Farm" (  George  Orwell) _  Costa Cafe (  FC  Road)
Interesting  discussions  on politics  and  Sociology centered on this  classic novel which  took a  swipe  at  Communism  and  Socialism. We  read  out  as characters  from the  novel. Bhavna  was the  vainglorious  mare  Mollie, true  to her  taste  for  sugar.

" Rock n Rolla" (Discussion on rock music_Costa  Cafe)
This  one  was  chaired  by the inimitable and serious Santosh Dwivedi. Fascinating  discussion  on music.

" The  Notebook" ( Nicholas  Sparks) _Costa  Cafe. Supposed to be  one  of the  super- romantic novels/ films of all  time.
After  the  discussions, we  opened  our hearts  out, narrating  our  own love  stories.Quitea few eyes were moist.

" The immortals of Meluha" ( Amish)_ Costa  Cafe.
Amish ruled  supreme  in those  days and we  had  great  fun  analysing his work.

" To kill a mocking  bird"(Harper  Lee) _Costa  Cafe.
Lovely  novel, lovely  discussions. 
Dipali brought  her  kid  along,adding  to the flavour.

Come to think of it, it was wild indeed. A civil engineer turned artist. An English teacher . A budding lawyer. A budding CEO. A businesswoman and Yoga enthusiast. An avid writer and blogger. A lawyer having his own firm . An engineer returned from the US.  A  Pharma guy turned  corporate honcho. A doctor cum hospital administrator.And many others, from varied backgrounds, varied geographies and varied tastes.  How the hell did they get together, and more pertinently, how did they stick together?

Well, that, my friends, was the magic of the Pune Book Readers' Club. 

The Pune Book Readers’ Club still meets in its present day form  ( though frankly I am not able to keep much of a tab online), and I am sure that more such friendships will continue to be forged over coffee and sandwiches.

The  Club, circa 2017

Here's to you all, my dear  Book Club friends. You gave me one of the best times of my life. I don't know when and if I will see you all again , but here's my love ,gratitude and best wishes to all of you, for your lives ahead. Long live the Pune Book Readers' Club. May the memories keep us fresh, and may the tribe thrive forever!!!

So you think  we  had  a  great time, right?  But  wait, wait, the  story  is not  over  yet .Hang  on, folks.............................................................




Update (circa Aug  2017)

We   get  updates  from the  Gang  on Whats  App, which is  well  and truly  rocking.

Staying  connected

The leading  ladies, Tavisha  and  Kajal,are  happy  as always:

The  pretty  ladies  are  in a happy bubble

Tavisha sends  her cooking  tips regularly ( time  for a redo  of lunch  at your  place, Tavisha?) :

Chef  at work.
We  had yummy  days  at  her  place !!

And  her funny  updates:

Tavisha  was  always  the  funny  one
:

Her  kid  is  a real joy:

                                  Happy  Independence Day &  Bande  Mataram - in his own  way

Kajal's happy updates:

To  exercise  or not to exercise-that is the question

Aditi's blog, which she  is very  diligent  about :

The  passionate  blogger

Rahul's visit to India and the momentous (!!) occasion of his addition to  Whats App group ( truly the Return of the Prodigal):

Rahul  is back, folks !!

Yours  truly, now based in Ranchi, badlands of Jharkhand:

Yours  truly (No, not drunk, just  happily chilling out with a  friend) :

And well, the best is saved for the last.The Gang met again this month in Pune.Only four of 'em. but  that's a good start for reunions of the future. Ashish, Kaushik, Kajal and Tavisha  had a  great  time at  Starbucks. Most of us missed the show, but Whatsapp  zindabad !!We  got to see them.

They're  together  again !!

Ashish  hasn't forgotten  his acting  days. Carry  on, Robin!!

Savouring  the  moment

Re- bonding  at  Pune

Ashish looks conspicuously prosperous now,with his chubby, ISB- returned cheeks,so the next reunion expenses have to be on him !The  long-standing  groom-to be is finally  hitched with  his lovely Sindhi  maiden, so that calls  for a double treat !Tavisha and  Kajal  have remained  the sweet, demure ladies they always were, though I guess we are all middle-aged now. Ladies never age,do they! And Kaushik, ol' man, ab to Beer chhodke Whisky pe aa jaa!Beer  is not for booming CEOs .Take a leaf out of  our books, pal. Remember  the  obscene  amounts of hardcore booze  we downed at  Rahul's  place?

My heart really warmed up seeing  the  pictures. Keep it this way always, folks.The  Book Readers' Club still  rocks, with or without  books  ! Long  live  the  Book  Readers' Club !!


Disclaimer
No  disclaimer, except  one... love you all ,folks !! Godspeed my love and God bless you all. Muaaaah !!!!!