There is a brilliant line in an otherwise average True Detective episode where someone tells a kid that life splits after certain events. There is a before and an after. To extend this profound thought, while major events like death, birth of a child, the start or end of a friendship do leave us with a before version and an afterwards - there are also multiple small events that may not completely change who we are but certainly shape us. The major events are the blows to a raw block of wood when you start a sculpture, while smaller events are deft tweaks and knocks using a small hammer that carve out our finer details.
For me, one such minor event was being stopped at Pashan circle around 10 pm by a few cops a dozen or so years ago. Riding pillion was the Missus and we had just started going out. We were coming back after watching if I remember correctly - Dhoni's first ODI series in Pakistan at a friend's place. Now, wink wink - I have been stopped by cops and the 'authorities' many times in younger & wilder days but always alone or with lukha friends. So this was new. And in that moment, I realized that it is no longer about taking care of myself - I am now also responsible for this person for possibly the rest of my life. I dealt with the cops and was on my way home but that moment I knew I was leaving behind a reckless part of me at that circle.
Anyways, back to the work at hand. This week as part of my efforts to walk each and every major road of Pune, I covered the Sus Road area starting from the same Pashan circle including some side roads running perpendicular to NIV.
Now, here is the thing about Sus road. It is pretty, has broad footpaths, the gardens, the open gyms, the typical Pune hill at its edges, and the broadest main road possibly anywhere in the city. It is a great example of good infrastructure at a naturally scenic area. But it also the greatest example of how disinterested we, the citizens of Pune, are towards respecting basic rules of civil society. Go to Sus Road anytime of the day and you will find vehicles parked haphazardly, coming down the wrong way, litter thrown around like mini art installations at one of those fancy museums and above all the highest concentration of illegal political billboards you will find outside of a bill board factory anywhere in the world.
It should perhaps be renamed to Happy Birthday Bhau Road.
The world's smartest mammal surrounded by ...
Sus Road is also home to NIV - National Institute of Virology - where all sample viruses are stored. So when the Zombie apocalypse breaks out, you know where Ground Zero will be at. 
View of the Mumbai - Bengaluru highway from the bridge towards Sus Village
Early morning exercise at the Open Gym
Do keep sending your thoughts about Walking Parables, and if you are new to this blog here are the previous editions:
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