All Souls Day

People usually visit the cemetery on all souls day to pay their respects to their near and dear ones. I make it a point to walk around and have a look at all the graves, some colourfully decorated 

while some make it simple with just a single bouquet 

It’s a pleasure to walk around the St Sepulchers cemetery in Pune.

I saw these small graves which were unmarked (probably infants) but someone had left some flowers on the graves  

Some sit down and painstakingly arrange each and every flower 

I noticed this dog with a collar. Was he spending a few minutes of solitude with his master? 

Some of the graves looked uniform, (with similar decorations) 

If you have the time and patience, you get to read some good and meaningful writings on the tombstones. 

I noticed that on the older tombstones, the cause of the death was also mentioned. 

I was fascinated by the statue of an angel behind this lady 

I don’t think the present day craftsman can make anything like this in marble or stone.

The next time I must make it a point to go early. The noon sun is not the right time to click pictures.

On the way - Part 3

Continuing with our journey. . . . . . . Crossing the Holkar bridge was a real pain as it was very narrow and the traffic moved real slow, till they came up with an alternate wide bridge. I must say that the construction of the new bridge was pretty fast.

For those who want to know the past of this bridge, it was built by Madhu Rao Peshwa and named after Malhar Rao Holkar who was accustomed to pitching his tent in the vicinity. (the Holkars were the Maratha rulers of the Malwa region)

There is a water colour painting by Lester John Fredrick dated as back as 1870 showing how the bridge looked during a flood that happened in July 1870.

Picture source

I came across an old B&W photograph too, clicked maybe a century ago.

Picture source:

I tried to click a recent picture of the bridge from the same location.

One can visualize the passage of time by comparing the painting and the two photographs above. 

And to have a look at the new bridge that was built just an year ago, here is a view from the river bed. You can see the old bridge on the extreme left.

   

The city fathers planned well in advance and made this new bridge real wide with a bifurcation going to the highway via the Kirkee War Cemetery.  On some days we do take a detour from that side. (but we will explore that side later under the title Detour)

I appreciate the fact that very few trees were sacrificed to build this new bridge.

If you are lucky you will get to see some scullers rowing in the river

There are some washer men who wash their load of clothes, the traditional Indian way

And if you are really really lucky you may get to see these small birds moving around in hordes. It’s a wonderful sight to see a wave of yellow suddenly moving from one tree to another.

It is a lovely sight to see the new bridge disappearing into the jungle of trees.

And that takes us to one of my favourite roads of Pune. This road is lined with huge trees on either side giving ample shade.

Recently when I was clicking some pictures on this road, this vehicle overtook me and made the road all the more colourful.

At the end of this road there is this small quaint little Methodist church.

There is a dilapidated house that I see daily. I can’t help imagine how this house would have been a century ago. Could have been occupied by some British Military officer with his family, and an array of servants.

May be that tree could tell us some stories.  

Right next to this tree is an open playground. The best time to play football is on a rainy day and even if it is not pouring it is a lovely sight to see those youngsters engaged in a game of football.

But our love for cricket does not take a back seat. If you look closely you can see a game of cricket in progress in the midst the football players. (the guy in black stripes is bowling)

What do we call this?  Peaceful co-existence? 

To be continued in part 4.
For those who have missed out on Part-1 and Part-2.   

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.)

The arteries of Life.

Last time when I had been to my home town, as I was approaching my ancestral house, I looked up to see if the mango tree was still there and found this wonderful sight. The leaves shimmering in the afternoon light. Later while looking at the photograph I was wondering if my grandfather too looked at the same tree early in the morning while dipping his hand in the uri. (an uri is a pot that is hung in the courtyard which contains coarse coal particles. This was used for brushing the teeth - before people could afford toothpaste)

Rarely do we stop and gaze at the trees. There is a lot of history written there. Its the mute spectator to all that's happened under its shade.
Recently while passing through one of the roads in Pune, I had to stop at a signal. A sideways glance showed this huge Canopy covering a huge space. Welcome shade for many. (the title of this post was derived from this picture)


Imagine if your city is covered by trees like these it could reduce the threat of global warming. (will it? I am no authority on that)
Luckily for Pune city, we still have many of them (and hope it remains that way)
The best is the road connecting the Kirkee War cemetery and the Holkar bridge. The trees on either side are huge and it is just wonderful to drive down. I clicked this on a rainy day.

Another place is the entrance road to the Agriculture college in Pune.
Very few know that this was used as a War Hospital from 1916 to 1919



On my way back from an overnight picnic near the Khadakwasla Dam I saw this lone Banyan tree, with its prop roots almost kissing the water. It made a perfect frame.
Incidentally this picture is used in the Wikipedia with proper credit.



Other one on the way up to the Singahad fort. With greenery like this around, I though its better to be at the foothills than climb the fort.



Then there are these trees with roots and roots hanging (you can hardly see the tree) These are the ones lining the race course road. Must have witnessed a lot of betting I suppose.



With the onset of spring in Pune, one can see some trees beautifully decorated with golden coloured flowers. This tree (Tabebuia Aurea) is a native of Argentina and Brazil in South America and it was brought to Bangalore, Calcutta and Pune. To know more about this tree, click on the picture below.



Rubber trees are seen mostly in the south and the procedure of extracting rubber is lengthy but its good to know.(click on picture)



A trip to the Vineyard is a must for those who visit Nasik which is about 190 kms from Pune. You get to learn a lot about Grapes and wine and Table Grapes. We had a good time there, apart from tashting a lot of...... hic, a lot of . . . . . . .hic, you know those colourful things in the colourful wine glass......hic.


OK coming back to Pune, nothing like having a view of a tree from the kitchen window.


(one of the reasons why we did not put up a frilly curtain there) but there is an added bonus when you have a good view of an eagle's nest from the kitchen window.
But more on that later in my next post (hope the eggs will hatch by then)