farewell feelings

I had intended to complete my this-time-around sightseeing activities with someone who constituted my first conscious encounter with the country india many years ago: mahatma gandhi. during the "quit india" movement in the 1940ies, gandhi was imprisoned in the "aga khan palace" in pune for almost two years from '42 to '44. interned along with him were his wife kasturba and his secretary and aide mahadev, who both were to die during the 'house arrest'.

would have been a nice finish, wouldn't it? unfortunately, the palace was closed when my rickshaw pulled up at the main gate (no, I have not bought a three-wheeler of my own; the ride belonged to the driver and still does). this way, with the palace being located on the other side of town, I got a full 300-rupees round trip of pune. of course, these events are not mere bad luck. one the one hand, pune just wanted to retain something rendering itslef worthwhile for me to come back for sightseeing. on the other hand, the city simply said goodbye by showing me around one last time.

yesterday night could also be depicted as 'premature farewell activity'. my favourite indians and I went to "yana sizzlers"; one of the rare places offering tasty "non-veg" dishes. being early birds, we were able to secure a table with perfect view on the sole tv in the entire restaurant. the reason was not that we did not have any topics justifying extensive chatting, mind you. rather, the first semi-final of this year's ipl (yes, the indian cricket tournament shifted to south africa) was on. with the help of nikhil, rajnikant, and louis, I was able to enhance my knowledge of the (twenty20) cricket rules further. "no ball", "fielding restrictions", and "leg before wicket" do not raise question marks with me anymore.

alongside providing an abundance of qualified comments on the match delhi daredevils vs. deccan chargers, we enjoyed a tasty soup-sizzler-desert sequence. I had to promise to explicitly mention the indian desert kulfi on my blog; try it if you get a chance at your preferred indian restaurant. and as for my companions: I have had fun with you guys, friday night as well as during the last twelve weeks!


otherwise, subsequently to both the tonsilitis and the 'stomach mayhem', I am trying to get rid of my first regular indian cold. with the only symptom being a congested and/or running nose, I am confident that I will not become the second confirmed case of swine flu in india. no antibiotics or any other medication this time, just sleep and water!

alright then, so I have my last week in pune ahead of me. since I will have to go to our dhankot plant again for one day, it will will fly by just as the past twelve did. german summer, get ready for my return!

ti-bob