Living in India is like navigating a massive obstacle course: it’s sometimes fun, sometimes extremely frustrating, and overall, rewarding. It’s difficult to find places to go running here if you are anti-treadmill like me, due to traffic and pollution. So I usually start my mornings off with a jog in my neighborhood, Koregaon Park. I start early and run up and down a set of parallel streets labeled Lanes 1 through 6 which contain the nicer housing societies and the Osho Ashram (and hence less traffic). Pune isn’t exactly hilly, but potholes, stray dogs, overhanging trees, and two-wheelers keep my run interesting. Lane 4 is most precarious – mostly due to the dog I’ve named “Rubby” for his persistent attempts to hump my leg as I run by (to the amusement of the two guards outside one of the housing societies).
Another obstacle: transportation. My mode of choice is rickshaw, usually driven by surly, mustached, spitting drivers. To avoid going crazy I’ve created a game called “Can you avoid getting ripped off?!” I’m so pleased with myself when I get them to use the meters instead of trying to quote me a fixed price with the, what I call, “white person’s tax.” Some drivers will try to charge you a “return” fee since they had to go out of their way to drop you off (whaaa??? Isn’t that your job?!). Some pretend to not have change (actually, no one ever seems to have change here in Pune…). Some drivers pretend they didn’t know their meter wasn’t working. Then of course there’s the traffic obstacle. Lane dividers and stoplights often do not exist or stopped having relevance a long time ago. Cars, motorbikes (or “two-wheelers”), bicycles, rickshaws, buses, and pedestrians all compete on
the road for space. Yet, it all seems to work somehow in this game of chicken where whoever makes the first move gets to go first. I’ve taken up the football block stance – choosing to point right at the driver so he knows I mean business. Additionally, all this traffic and the lack of enforced vehicle emissions regulations leads to a severe air quality problem –this is the most difficult obstacle for me to deal with. Women here are usually seen with scarves wrapped around their heads and faces to protect their lungs and hair. Hair fall is a big problem here – I’m not sure exactly why (is it the water, the air pollution, bad nutrition, all of the above?) but I’m experiencing it here too and am not a fan. I’ve also taken to wearing a scarf over my face and hair when
commuting to work.
Finally, the other biggest obstacle is just trying to get information from people. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth. I don’t know if it’s the language issue or what but it’s hard to get a complete story from someone or all the details you need. For example, if you want to catch a train, someone might tell you the name of the train station but they might not tell you there are multiple train stations in the city…I’ve gotten over trying to be polite and am now very forceful in making sure all of my questions are answered. I think for the most part, things are just done a certain way here and people don’t feel a need to provide you excess information. This is a problem of course
for foreigners who don’t know traditionally how day-to-day business is handled.
After spending a couple consecutive weeks in Pune, all of this was starting to drive me mad. So what’s a girl to do?? Go the beach! This past weekend I drove to Anjarle beach with some friends. Anjarle lies on the Konkan
coast, a largely undeveloped region with pristine beaches. October through December is the perfect time to go because the weather has cooled down a little and the water is still warm for swimming. For some reason this area is not a huge tourist attraction which is nice for those of us who travel there. It’s about a 6 hour drive from Pune along a largely pothole-ridden road that leaves you feeling like your guts have been massaged and reordered in your body. The views however are beautiful. The road takes you past Mulshi lake – one of the
most popular areas for camping and picnicking near Pune. It’s formed in the catchment of the Mulshi dam and is huge. We left around 4 AM and arrived at Anjarle around 11. There’s really only one place to stay there, the Ketki Beach Resort, but it’s right on the beach, is surrounded by coconut plantations, and has a decent restaurant. The beds are extremely hard. I’ve learned that it’s necessary to bring your own sheet and pillow anywhere you travel here if you’re on a budget. They have a couple hammocks outside which are great for napping with the sound of the waves in the background. We spent our first afternoon swimming and eating. We drove to Dapoli for dinner and had a very nice non-veg meal at a hotel (best options for eating in this area). We finished off our day by playing cards and a new game Gayatri taught me called“Chapati”. One person places their hand down and the next person slaps it as hard as they can – everyone takes a turn and if you say
“ouch” or cry you’re out. Best. Game. Ever. The next morning we filled by running, playing capoeira, swimming, and eating. It was incredibly nice to get away from honking and air pollution of Pune, but now…back to the obstacle course.
Another obstacle: transportation. My mode of choice is rickshaw, usually driven by surly, mustached, spitting drivers. To avoid going crazy I’ve created a game called “Can you avoid getting ripped off?!” I’m so pleased with myself when I get them to use the meters instead of trying to quote me a fixed price with the, what I call, “white person’s tax.” Some drivers will try to charge you a “return” fee since they had to go out of their way to drop you off (whaaa??? Isn’t that your job?!). Some pretend to not have change (actually, no one ever seems to have change here in Pune…). Some drivers pretend they didn’t know their meter wasn’t working. Then of course there’s the traffic obstacle. Lane dividers and stoplights often do not exist or stopped having relevance a long time ago. Cars, motorbikes (or “two-wheelers”), bicycles, rickshaws, buses, and pedestrians all compete on
the road for space. Yet, it all seems to work somehow in this game of chicken where whoever makes the first move gets to go first. I’ve taken up the football block stance – choosing to point right at the driver so he knows I mean business. Additionally, all this traffic and the lack of enforced vehicle emissions regulations leads to a severe air quality problem –this is the most difficult obstacle for me to deal with. Women here are usually seen with scarves wrapped around their heads and faces to protect their lungs and hair. Hair fall is a big problem here – I’m not sure exactly why (is it the water, the air pollution, bad nutrition, all of the above?) but I’m experiencing it here too and am not a fan. I’ve also taken to wearing a scarf over my face and hair when
commuting to work.
Finally, the other biggest obstacle is just trying to get information from people. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth. I don’t know if it’s the language issue or what but it’s hard to get a complete story from someone or all the details you need. For example, if you want to catch a train, someone might tell you the name of the train station but they might not tell you there are multiple train stations in the city…I’ve gotten over trying to be polite and am now very forceful in making sure all of my questions are answered. I think for the most part, things are just done a certain way here and people don’t feel a need to provide you excess information. This is a problem of course
for foreigners who don’t know traditionally how day-to-day business is handled.
After spending a couple consecutive weeks in Pune, all of this was starting to drive me mad. So what’s a girl to do?? Go the beach! This past weekend I drove to Anjarle beach with some friends. Anjarle lies on the Konkan
coast, a largely undeveloped region with pristine beaches. October through December is the perfect time to go because the weather has cooled down a little and the water is still warm for swimming. For some reason this area is not a huge tourist attraction which is nice for those of us who travel there. It’s about a 6 hour drive from Pune along a largely pothole-ridden road that leaves you feeling like your guts have been massaged and reordered in your body. The views however are beautiful. The road takes you past Mulshi lake – one of the
most popular areas for camping and picnicking near Pune. It’s formed in the catchment of the Mulshi dam and is huge. We left around 4 AM and arrived at Anjarle around 11. There’s really only one place to stay there, the Ketki Beach Resort, but it’s right on the beach, is surrounded by coconut plantations, and has a decent restaurant. The beds are extremely hard. I’ve learned that it’s necessary to bring your own sheet and pillow anywhere you travel here if you’re on a budget. They have a couple hammocks outside which are great for napping with the sound of the waves in the background. We spent our first afternoon swimming and eating. We drove to Dapoli for dinner and had a very nice non-veg meal at a hotel (best options for eating in this area). We finished off our day by playing cards and a new game Gayatri taught me called“Chapati”. One person places their hand down and the next person slaps it as hard as they can – everyone takes a turn and if you say
“ouch” or cry you’re out. Best. Game. Ever. The next morning we filled by running, playing capoeira, swimming, and eating. It was incredibly nice to get away from honking and air pollution of Pune, but now…back to the obstacle course.
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