Just Reached

I reached Pune just one night before I was to join Wipro. I was confident that my new friends would have done all the necessary arrangements. Not once did I think I was overconfident and I was not wrong. I was not proved wrong even for a single moment during my stay at Pune. My new friends were there to help me from the time I got down from the auto in front of the “Nagras Estate” till the time I reached Bangalore. No, “Nagras Esate” was not an estate and not even close to it. It was the name of 5 block apartment. One of the blocks is rented by ICFAI (Management School) as its student hostel and that was where we stayed. Shoba and I were roomies and we shared an apartment with 5 ICFAI girls.

The night I reached Pune, I as usual, started to crack really poor jokes, for which my new friends laughed forcefully. Laughter is the first step of bonding. It makes the people around comfortable and is the best way to start off a friendship. That was the whole idea of my PJs and I know it helped. Looking at me at that point of time any one would have laughed - The chocolate chipped biscuit packet in my hand, my mouth constantly munching on the biscuits with absolutely no tension on my face, while Shoba’s dad and my dad were on a deep discussion of issues like the rent and deposit. So, may be it wasn’t my PJ that helped.

After some laughter and some serious discussion, which I was forced to be a part of, I was finally taken to the apartment in which I was to spend my 40 days. My hostel house (I prefer calling it a house) was on the 4^th floor and thankfully there was an elevator. With a new SIM card in my left hand, suitcase in my right and a hand bag on my shoulder, I entered the house. The hall was huge and of course, it had to be spacious because 7 of us were to share an apartment. The best part of the hall, apart from being big was it was airy; there was a large window with beautiful brown curtains. Added to the well ventilated hall, there was a nice balcony from where the sidewalk of the apartment and a few roads were visible. I am talking so much about the hallway because this was the place Shoba and I had to inhabit. There were 2 large rooms which the other 5 girls had occupied. There was a dining hall just beside the hallway which was converted into a place for drying clothes in the rainy season and place where utensils are kept. There were 2 bathrooms which I thought was less for the 7 of us. All residents of the hostel were given a cupboard, a study table and a bed each.

After a formal introduction with my roommates, Shoba, Poornima and I went out to make phone calls to friends and relatives. Poornima was a little older to Pune than Shoba and me. She was from a training batch that started a week before ours. So, it was Poornima who had to answer all the queries I had about the training at PDC (Pune Development Center) like canteen, pantry, classrooms and transportation (in the same order). Poor Poori; I don’t know if I irritated her but she answered all of them with a lot of patience.

I am still talking about the day I missed getting down at the Pune station. Yes, it was a long day. My dad had a long and a tough day too. He went with Shoba’s dad to have a look at the area my hostel was located, bought me an umbrella and an iron box, and made the required payment to the owner and broker.

I slept late that night with thoughts of home and Bangalore still lingering in my mind.