This one is finally coming to an end.

Before you read this, check out Parts 1, 2, and 3.

Why did I delay?

It’s a me thing. If the documentation was all about me and the places I went to, I’d have done it quickly. Or at least I’d like to think so.

But when I write about people, I want the content to be absolutely beautiful. Everything I describe about them, the moments we had, and the time we spent: I write it for that person and them alone.

Strangely, every reader connects with us and, in a way, is involved.

So I want to give my best when I write about you, and in seeking the ‘ideal writing state,’ I end up not writing at all. Not proud of this, but getting better each day.

Since we are talking about writing and meeting people, Say hi to Tushar and Vardan.

I have known Tushar for nearly two years. He is the third person I made friends with on Twitter after Mitesh and Meena. These folks made me believe you can meet cool people on Twitter—not to work with nor ‘network’ but to build personal bonds.

Vardan, on the other hand, is someone I know from the CIBH team. We never really talked, but I know him as a video editor, and I see his tweets, just like how he knows we follow each other and I am a writer.

I planned to meet each of them separately, but different things happened, and the three of us met at Grandmama’s Café in KP.

Backstory:

I didn’t want to miss out on it, so when Tushar asked where; I said Grandmama’s without a second thought.

The place was worth it. The food was good. Hot Chocolate was yumm!!

I like people who are chill, not very formal, and are themselves most of the time. They are just in the moment, having good conversations.

Tushar and Vardan are the same.

I always had this ease of conversation with Tushar right from the first time we spoke on Gmeet.

Plus, I think being in the creator economy helps. Everybody is used to conversations, everybody eventually becomes conversationalist (good or bad, that’s a different story.) The point is conversations keep happening, and there’s hardly any awkward silence.

We talked about work, travel, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Cricket, meeting people from Twitter in real life. We were for about an hour at the Grandmama’s and decided to go Bowling in Pheonix Market Place.

The mall’s hugee!! I always had a soft corner for malls. Even in Hyderabad, there was a time I used to go to malls just like that for no particular reason. I like shopping, and even if I don’t have anything to buy, I love getting in and out of different stores and checking out their products.

I window-shopped for an hour after Tushar and Vardan left, but before that:

Then we played three games of Air Hockey.

We walked around, spent some time at Crossword, and talked about the release of Mission Impossible, Barbie, and Oppenheimer. Now, when I write this, all these movies are in theaters. Nice. Another reminder that I should be more prompt with my content.

Before these two left to catch their train at 4, we had a snack from McD and:

After these two left, I was supposed to meet Mrunmayee. She had to stay late at her office and couldn’t make it. So I spent some time at the mall and returned to Third Wave Coffee, KP.

*Instant regret as I entered into Third Wave*

Third Wave is the same everywhere. I should have checked out some Pune-only cafés.

Anyways, I had nothing to do, so I worked on setting up The Gang’s Matrix on Substack and wrote about the section + welcome email.

After working for two hours, I walked back (trust me, walking on KP streets when it’s raining is beautiful) to the hostel and grabbed some street food.

Day 5

My last day in Pune.

I had my flight at 10 pm. I had to leave for the airport between 7:30-8. I made plans with Bharadwaj to go on a drive to the ghats, but he ditched me :)

So my only plan left was to meet Mrunmayee to say goodbye.

I went to Anna’s Maggie Point for breakfast, again. Omelet Maggie made the foodie in me happy, followed by some chai.

I finished packing and took my last mirror selfie in my hostel. I have been taking pictures of my outfits every day, and this last picture felt personal:

I met Mrunmayee. We chilled and roamed around, but I’m soooo happy I made it to Camp’s Burger Place. She hyped it up so badly that missing this place would be regretful.

Tell you what, she wasn’t wrong.

I have to say this is the best Burger I have had, along with the Burger Factory in Goa. I don’t usually crave burgers, but now, I wish I could return to Camp’s Burger Place.

We spent some time talking before I left for the hostel to grab my luggage and then, the airport.

On my way to the airport, I got a message mentioning the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. So I was way early than I was supposed to be.

I checked in and had a lot of time to kill. There was a half-watched podcast on branding, so I continued watching it.

Later, there was another delay of 45 minutes. So I finished Secret Invasion’s third episode (Finally Marvel is Marvelling.)

And then, another delay of 35 minutes. This time, I talked to a 60-year-old co-passenger about why he is in Pune and where he is heading. He’s from Hyderabad, and he’s here to visit his daughter.

He told this cute story about how he studied in Pune when he was young and how all three of his daughters from different professions had their education in Pune. It was all coincidence (or so he calls destiny), but the family feels connected to Pune.

I was supposed to board my flight at 10. I boarded it at 12. I was too tired at this point. I fell asleep before the flight took off, and the next moment I opened my eyes, I landed in Hyderabad.

Home.