Laxmi Road: To call it a road, is to insult the word 'Road'. Actually, it swiftly fitted the definition of gulley then too. It is really hard to imagine that PMT Bus No. 7 used to ply on this road. Both ways !! With a protruding snout-like bonnet, it used to look like a toy bus made from matchboxes, so we kids used to call it ' Kadepeti' [matchbox in Marathi. ]Because it used to zigzag through better localities of Pune, Camp to wit, it carried enigma in our eyes while the other one, No 2, used to ply between the same destinations, from Day Gee to Pune station but via a different route, held low esteem in our view, as it crossed through low brow areas of Pune. Say, Kasba Peth, Ravivar Peth Daruwala Pul, and Rasta Peth. Bus No 3 was the queen of all the routes because it used Tilak Road and prestigious 80 feet road to reach the station from Swargate. Later the routes were rearranged so No 3 became 4 while No 7 became 14. I don't know how are they now!
To count the buses passing through Kunte Chowk while sitting on the steps of our Wada was a favourite past time. To predict when the signal would turn green was another. It was a very peculiar traffic signal. Carton like metal box was hung at the centre of the crossroads, with red and green glasses on each side. If Laxmi roadside had red ones on the upper side, the cross roadside had greens. The arrangement was totally reverse on the lower side. It had only 2 bulbs. So when the upper bulb was on, it was red for Laxmi Road traffic, while the crossroad had green signal. Exactly opposite was true for the lower bulb.
The crossroad from our Wada to Kunte chowk continued further down to Fadtare Chowk, where Chitales had a smallish shop, not more than 10 by 12 Ft dealing in dairy products. It later became today's big, bigger conglomerate the 'Chitale Bandhu' much famous sweetmeat makers all over Maharashtra, maybe world [?amongst Marathi diaspora]! In the era when Refrigerator at home was a distant dream I had purchased 250 gm of yoghurt for 25 paise, and the same amount of pure butter for a rupee and 25 paise for years together. So much so that we had an account over there. I still remember Mr Wagh calling me across the counter and asking ' What little Benurwar has come for, today? ' The founder Mr Raghunathrao Chitale in his crisp white cotton dhoti, too was affectionate one, inquiring periodically about well being of my granny and home people. Bhel by Gajanan and Misal by Bedekar were other weak points for Puneites then. Today Chitale Bandhu have gone beyond cult, so much so that Gujrati Bakarwadi now is known as Chitale's Bakarwadi.
It is extremely difficult to define the word ' Puneri' and also the person carrying the nomenclature. In fact 'Puneri' and 'Punekar' are two different species altogether. The one who comes to Pune on the job, then falls in love with Pune and settles down here is a Punekar [ Mostly Marathi Mumbaite but longing for Marathiness in Mumbai's cosmopolitan chaos ] For him it takes very long to understand the nuanced Marathi of Pune, read sarcastic. So the one who has been nurtured only on waters of Mula and Mutha [ In real sense only Mutha, because Mula in those days was not in real Pune, it flows through distant Pimpri and Chinchwad, ] is 'Puneri'. He need not be taught to speak, behave like a true Puneri, True Puneri is born, can never be made! Two drops of Mutha with gripe water and the child starts talking Puneri without a hitch!
More to follow.
To count the buses passing through Kunte Chowk while sitting on the steps of our Wada was a favourite past time. To predict when the signal would turn green was another. It was a very peculiar traffic signal. Carton like metal box was hung at the centre of the crossroads, with red and green glasses on each side. If Laxmi roadside had red ones on the upper side, the cross roadside had greens. The arrangement was totally reverse on the lower side. It had only 2 bulbs. So when the upper bulb was on, it was red for Laxmi Road traffic, while the crossroad had green signal. Exactly opposite was true for the lower bulb.
The crossroad from our Wada to Kunte chowk continued further down to Fadtare Chowk, where Chitales had a smallish shop, not more than 10 by 12 Ft dealing in dairy products. It later became today's big, bigger conglomerate the 'Chitale Bandhu' much famous sweetmeat makers all over Maharashtra, maybe world [?amongst Marathi diaspora]! In the era when Refrigerator at home was a distant dream I had purchased 250 gm of yoghurt for 25 paise, and the same amount of pure butter for a rupee and 25 paise for years together. So much so that we had an account over there. I still remember Mr Wagh calling me across the counter and asking ' What little Benurwar has come for, today? ' The founder Mr Raghunathrao Chitale in his crisp white cotton dhoti, too was affectionate one, inquiring periodically about well being of my granny and home people. Bhel by Gajanan and Misal by Bedekar were other weak points for Puneites then. Today Chitale Bandhu have gone beyond cult, so much so that Gujrati Bakarwadi now is known as Chitale's Bakarwadi.
It is extremely difficult to define the word ' Puneri' and also the person carrying the nomenclature. In fact 'Puneri' and 'Punekar' are two different species altogether. The one who comes to Pune on the job, then falls in love with Pune and settles down here is a Punekar [ Mostly Marathi Mumbaite but longing for Marathiness in Mumbai's cosmopolitan chaos ] For him it takes very long to understand the nuanced Marathi of Pune, read sarcastic. So the one who has been nurtured only on waters of Mula and Mutha [ In real sense only Mutha, because Mula in those days was not in real Pune, it flows through distant Pimpri and Chinchwad, ] is 'Puneri'. He need not be taught to speak, behave like a true Puneri, True Puneri is born, can never be made! Two drops of Mutha with gripe water and the child starts talking Puneri without a hitch!
More to follow.
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