Pune, Maharastra
I’m in Pune, Maharastra for an extended period of time before visiting Delhi and then returning back to the States. I’m here working with a group of software engineers on my startup. Things are getting off to a good start — more on that subject as things evolve later.
Pictured above is the view from the balcony of the house where I am staying. The white bungalow in the foothills belongs to the Mayor apparently.
This is Hemant. He doesn’t speak very much English and I speak neither Marathi nor Hindi with the exception of all the bad words, but we somehow manage. Hemant is the caretaker of the house and visits every morning and prepares breakfast, etc. Most North Indians, unlike South Indians, prefer chai over coffee and as a result, I have been drinking much more of it than I typically do in the States. There’s an instant chai/coffee machine in the office that makes a fantastic cup of cardomom chai. You would never know that it came from a machine.
Overall, I like Pune. Not unlike the rest of India, the people are quite friendly. Quite a few technology companies have setup shop here and in Bangalore. Pune is emerging as the next best alternative to Bangalore considering the high cost of living there now.
That’s another subject entirely for a different day —- India is getting expensive on a number of levels because of the gold rush. The weak American dollar doesn’t help either though. I feel sorry for the millions of already poor Indians because things will just get more expensive for them without getting better first. At some point in the next decade, Africa will be the only place left to use as outsource venues.