Longing for my Hometown Pune

Longing hurts! But sometimes it’s good to miss because only the longing shows the true importance of the thing you are missing. In my case the longing is for my hometown Pune.

I am born and brought up in Pune. Relocated to Delhi after marriage. It’s been 7 years and the one thing I know is that my longing has not reduced but in fact it’s only increasing.

Staying in Pune, I always took the city for granted. Always complained about it and not appreciated it. I often overlooked the nitty-gritty of the city that I now miss so much. After staying away from Pune I have realized its true importance in my life.

What do I miss about Pune? Well, Everything. Delhi is an awesome place to stay in but it’s something about the city you’re brought up in, that cannot be described. The first thing that puts a smile on my face when I land in Pune is Marathi. Listening to your local language irrespective of whether it’s on radio or a co-passenger conversing is always special.

There are so many places, landmarks, monuments, roads, even buildings that when I see them during my visits, I’m struck by nostalgia. It’s sometimes surreal; the startling familiarity of the memories even after so many years. It’s like catching up and saying hello to your past.

A new development like a flyover is startling since it’s not like what I remember it as. Similarly a favourite place or a frequent hangout which no more exists can also be equally unsettling. But more often than not some places are shocking because they are exactly same as I remembered them; like a bakery I used to visit as a kid still stands today and tingle my tastes bud just like it did years ago.

There are so many memories of Pune but it still somehow I feel like an outside now when I visit. There is a lingering feeling like even though I have spent majority of my life in Pune, I don’t belong there anymore. It’s like once your out of your comfort zone, the comfort zone stops comforting you.

But lastly I am grateful. I am grateful that I could visit Pune again; feel the city, breathe its air, make many more memories and the most importantly be with my family, in this piece of land I am wanting to get back to.