GIRINAGAR - Pristine Paradise near Pune

Yesterday, on the 10th of November 2013, I spent the delightful Sunday afternoon interacting with fellow Bloggers over delicious lunch at the Pune Bloggers Meet at Out of The Blue Restaurant below ESquare Multiplex on the University Road in Ganeshkind. 

While introducing herself, a food and lifestyle blogger, a beautiful young lady, said that she lived far away past Khadakvasla, in the back of beyond, across the lake from NDA.

This evoked a flood of nostalgic memories in me, for I had lived some of the best years of my life in that pristine paradise called Girinagar.

I shall write a few blog posts about my delightful memories of Girinagar.

But first, let me dig out from my archives a article on Girinagar I had written 5 years ago, in the year 2008, during my last stint in that lovely unforgettable place - the pristine paradise near Pune called Girinagar.

GIRINAGAR 

Pristine Paradise near Pune

By

VIKRAM KARVE 

Tell me, which is the most beautiful, most pristine, most unpolluted and most verdant place in Pune?

I’ll tell you – it’s a lovely place called “Girinagar”.

Pune has changed – for the worse.

The pleasant, salubrious, tranquil, stress-free, easygoing, cozy, affable Pune I once lived in no longer exists.

Yes, the Pune I once lived in no longer exists...!!!

Every nook and corner of Pune has suffered the ravages of “modernization”.

Except one place – GIRINAGAR

Yes, there still exists a pristine paradise in Pune – a Pristine Paradise called Girinagar.

With the mighty SINHAGAD Fort towering as a Sentinel, Girinagar is a fascinating place located on the slopes of the hills adjoining the cool blue Khadakvasla Lake.

The view from the Girinagar ridge is amazing.

You can see backwaters of Panshet and Varasgaon dams in the distance, and close-by down below the serene expanse of the Khadakvasla Lake held back by the mighty dam.

The metamorphosis at sunset is enthralling.

The dance of colours, on the waters of the lake, from yellow to orange to crimson to blue to grey and then a still darkness – I have not seen a more magnificent sunset view anywhere else.

In the mornings as you climb up the hills cleansing, refreshing, revitalizing and invigorating your lungs with the clean unpolluted pure fresh air, you look in the distance and see the heavy layer of smog settling down over the city of Pune, and you know how lucky you are to live in this paradise called Girinagar...!

When the monsoon arrives, and it starts raining, the sensuous mist envelops all around, everything is a soothing green, and the atmosphere, the environment, the ambiance in Girinagar is simply magnificent!

Truly a “pristine paradise” in Pune...!

Pune may have changed but time stands still in Girinagar. 

All the green hills in Pune may have disappeared but lush green verdant hills of Girinagar still stand strong.

Yes, Girinagar remains the same as it was in 1984 when I first visited it (Some old timers tell me it is the same since the early 1970s).

I spent more than 12 years of my life in Girinagar - in three stints - and every time I came back realized that though the world outside had changed dramatically, Girinagar remained the same as if time had stood still - yes, it seems that time stands still in Girinagar.

In the evenings, I often stand in my tall balcony high up on my 9^th Floor Flat in Rohan Tarang in Wakad and see in the distance the silhouette of Sinhagad Mountain outlined vaguely against the fading light of the setting sun and my mind harks back to nostalgic memories of my unforgettable days in Girinagar.

Even right now, on a Clear Bright Feel-Good Monday Morning in Pune, with the air so pure and the weather so, pleasant with a cool breeze blowing softly, the Visibility is excellent, yes, the visibility is so good that from where I sit on my desk in my study, as I look out of the large window, in the distance, I can clearly see Sinhagad Fort with its two mammoth towers (the TV Tower and the Microwave Communication Tower at either end of the towering mountain ridge) and the unique Potato Point at the southern tip.

I miss Girinagar, the beautiful picturesque surroundings, the lovely people I made friends with, the huge “Bhoot Bangla”  in which I lived, the long walks we took in the hills, the boating and sailing in lake, the strolls on the “chowpatty on Khadakwaska lake - I miss everything - as I fondly recall my days in Girinagar.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book review. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
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© vikram karve., all rights reserved.