Pune Daily

I've spent 5 days in Pune, home to Xento Systems, the development arm of my company Property Solutions. My job wouldn't be successful without the outstanding work of our team here.

Pune itself is mostly unremarkable as a tourist destination. However, it is a paragon of modern India, a sprawling city of 4 million plus, and a rising technology hub that's lured companies like IBM and Cisco.

Being with my colleagues here has allowed me to experience a truer sense of daily life, and it's been wonderful. Here are a few more snapshots.


Manikchand Malabaar, apartments directly across the street from the Xento office. Property Solutions lets a 7th floor flat here, which is where I've been staying.


Xento team lunch, Nov 25. Everyday at 1pm the office orders out and eats together on the top floor of the building. Same restaurant each time, but different menu.


Some of the Xento team on a walk after lunch. Left to right: Gurunath Auti, Netaji Wakde, Shahjad Ali, Aniruddha Malvi.


A typical street view is littered with debris and trash. Anyone interested in a checkup?


View from the Property Solutions flat. Pune is larger than expected. Already on the southern outskirts, this view looks further south east and away from downtown, yet there continues to be development as far as you can see.


Sunrise view from the flat.

First Glimpses of Pune

Pune, Maharashtra, India.

This morning crossing the street, there were two cows wondering unattended down the road, as the cars and motorcycles just zipped around them. I'll try to have my camera ready next time.

Traffic is easily the first area of culture shock; the best word to describe it is madness. Seeing the cows was just the cherry on top. Base ingredients include motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, cars, buses, trucks, rickshaws ("autos"), carts, dogs and pedestrians. Add a healthy dose of honking, sprinkle with dust, and make sure to omit order. Then bake at 90 degrees F, 24x7.

Yesterday I watched a guy's hat come flying off as he sped through traffic. He came back against the grain, and stopped in the middle of the road to pick it up, while everyone else just dodged him. Love it!

Anyway, with that build up I'm sorry, but I'm not posting any videos quite yet (the only thing that would do the traffic justice). Wanna take a nap. But here are a few random photos from my experience thus far.


Paper masala dosa for breakfast. The dosa is the large cone-shaped part (like a brittle crepe made from rice), and the masala is in the bowl inside. Accompanied with chutney and other stuff, can't keep all the food names straight.


Pushp har for sale on the street. Flower necklace worn at weddings and other such ceremonies.


Haaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!


Wedding of Priti Chaudhari, flanked by some of our developers. She's one of many of a fantastic team.


Mehandi, or heena, on Priti's hands. She said it took about 4-5 hours to do.


Shaniwar Wada, ancient palace, downtown Pune. Mostly in ruin now, aside from the exterior walls. Now the interior is a nicely landscaped courtyard, frequented by school kids and sweethearts.


Front gate to Shaniwar Wada. The spikes start at about 7 feet up because they were used to deter elephants from ramming through. At least that's what I heard.