On the way - Part 4

Continuing with the journey (from part 3)  . . . . . . .

In a child’s life, learning is a big step. I like the way this mural covers the wall of a school building. You get to see graffiti and paintings on walls but this is something very rare.

All Saints High Sschool

You will come across many churches around this cantonment area and it is good to see that they are well maintained.

175 year old All Saints Chuch

St Andrews church Khadki

One the oldest railway stations of Pune is the Khadki station. It was (and is) the siding station for the Ammunition factory and the 512 Army Base.  There was an old hand operated Fire engine at this station, some thing like this.

 I wonder if it is still there.

Talking of the siding, there is a gate (probably was used as a level crossing) near the station. As it was a bottle neck for the flow of traffic, they have paved the way on either side of the gate, without removing the gate. I assume it could be the paper work/red tapism that goes on between the State and the Centre. (Railways and things related to it come under the central govt.)

Once you cross the station a side way glance gives you some wonderful view of fields and trees. An unexpected sight from a highway with heavy traffic. It’s the Military farm area. Probably that explains why it is still green and not gobbled up by the land sharks.

The Harris bridge is the third bridge that I cross over the Mulla river.

It  has a parallel bridge that takes care of the railway line between Mumbai and Pune. If you are lucky you will get to see the Deccan Queen passing over it around 7.25 am.

There are many firsts for the Deccan Queen. The first Super Fast train of India being one of them. It being the first train to have a dining car, the walls of the diner is lined with pictures from the erstwhile GIPR (Great Indian Peninsular Railway) The first class fare in 1930 was Rs 11 and 4 annas. Today it is Rs 330.

The culvert that goes below the bridge has eased out the traffic a bit. Pune was once upon a time known as the city of cycles. I am happy that at least one cycle has come in my frame.

The CME is one landmark that no one can miss.

Earlier we could see some interesting things that are inside from a double decker bus. I presume these were the props that were used to train the Engineers. This is not possible now for two reasons. One, the double decker buses are off the road and the height of the wall has been increased with the road widening.

As you go along, you may find some peculiar items being sold  at the traffic signals, especially in the morning. This is one of them.  A bunch of lime and green chilly.

Some say it will ward off evil if you tie it on the vehicle. Some believe in it and some don’t. To each his own.  I say it’s a waste of vitamin C

Morning is the time when the supplies are carried from the main market (Gultekadi) to the smaller markets.

By observing a few vehicles you can make a rough guess about the items in short supply and what is abundant in the market for the day.

Transporting families on two wheelers is a common sight in Pune. Sometimes it is four on a vehicle. One can imagine who the first causality will be here in case of an accident.

And talking of safety, one unsafe practice that we observe on a daily basis is the way children travelling to school.

I wonder if anyone can guess how many are inside this auto rickshaw.

As you approach Nashik Phata you see this huge flyover being build. It is supposed to be a multi-layered one, and when completed it will look like this model (hopefully)

When my vehicle crosses this part (the partially built one) I imagine that it is going to take a leaping jump from the edge of the unfinished bridge

Something like Sandra Bullock did in the movie Speed

(no harm in allowing your imagination to run wild)

I must say that the work is moving at an appreciable speed and the highest level could be a little uncomfortable for people having acrophobia.

I wonder why those sieves are dangling under those drain holes. To disperse the rain water?

From the way one part of it is being painted (with spot lights added) I presume a part of the flyover will be thrown open for public use very soon.

Some uncommon sight on the highway. This man has probably found some fire wood for his home fire, which may last for some time.

I think I will conclude this with some of the greenery on the way. Its good that the city fathers made the six lane roads without sacrificing the old trees.

Maybe we can start the detour in the next episode (if I have enough pictures)

Sunlight

Sunlight is so important to us that we tend to get attracted to it like a sunflower. One of the reasons that we always look for a “well lit house” when hunting for a dwelling.

Imagine the joy of opening this door early in the morning and stepping out into the sun.

The early morning sunlight falling on the small steeple of this church

or on a dilapidated house is always a welcome sight.

If you think the above pictures have been clicked at some country side, you are wrong as this is in the heart of the city. On the busy Mumbai Pune highway at Khadki (formerly Kirkee) you get to see a part of the Military diary farm. All those who have cantonment areas in their cities are lucky to have small blessings like these.
But to get such glimpses one has to step out of the car. It is so unfortunate that in our daily grind we forget to look at such blessings all around us. Next time try traveling on a bicycle and you will discover new things which you miss out when traveling in a four wheeler. And if you are on foot so much the better.
I remember once at my bank, the lady at the counter was busy dispensing her work, when suddenly she looked up and said with a smile “sir last week I saw you at main street on a cycle” and as an after thought added “you were the only one on a cycle” I took it as a compliment and smiled back.

The famous Kirkee war cemetery is not far from this place.

Talking of cantonment area, the Main Street of Pune also comes under the cant, and if you saunter there early in the morning you get to see some eager roller skate enthusiasts.

You can see the eating joint Marz-O-Rin on the right - absolutely deserted.
Now compare the above picture with the one below. Both are scenes from main street. The one below was clicked at noon. And don’t miss the military vehicle which crept into my frame. Actually I was trying to click the hand cart guy who was going in the wrong direction (its a one way street)
Main street has a mixture of the old and the new, bustling with activity.

Coming back to the roller skaters, I spotted them while driving down one morning. I over took them, went much ahead, halted and took out the camera to click. But these kids were so fast that I had to click in hurry by which a part of the car got into the frame.

Well a little work on the Photoshop took care of the unwanted parts.

(all the pictures used in this post has been clicked in and around the Pune cant and Khadki cant.)