Culture, Pune & Real Estate!

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“Culture does not make people. People make culture” ...  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.” ... Tahir Shah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. And Tahir Shah is the author of more than fifty books, many of which chronicle a wide range of outlandish journeys through Africa, Asia and the Americas. I always wonder when I get to read such thoughts from people who live in places like Nigeria as these are places known for everything but knowledge but then maybe extreme adversities makes people wise in a faster way is what my logic is! While Tahir is from a country of knowledge & with origin from the Middle East & no wonder when the subject is about culture & city & people, I end up using both of their wisdom in blended form!

Recently I came across a discussion about the cities & real estate, as well its growth & one youngster tried to put forward the concept of promoting Pune as a destination as the best option for settling down here & at the same time to push for better civic facilities (infrastructure) in this city by real estate fraternity! As usual not many (read as, few senior developers) gave any attention to this aspect & I don’t blame as for decades real estate in Pune is enjoying a ride on high tide, though off late it’s not that easy being afloat, is also a fact!

But the discussion lingered in my mind for a long as what we should promote when we promote Pune, is it water quality (and quantity too) or is it Symbiosis i.e., education avenues or we should focus IT as well Service sector growth or it should be the industries or the weather (again, lol) which we can make as focal point of promoting Pune? I think to understand why a city grows, for this there can be many reasons depending upon geographic as well as social & many such aspects of life yet when it's Pune (or any city) then by me it’s the culture of the city which makes it as a best place for settling down! I know, many people will frown, as what culture has to do with settling down in life, does it help us get a better education or does cutler gives us a good package so we can enjoy life in our desired way or does culture ensures better infrastructure? Well, the answer is yes & no, both as if on one side culture may not give you direct incentives like salary or water or roads then on other side culture offers you something no money or the power can buy & that is satisfaction & peace! Speaking about satisfaction, agreed its individual perception towards life, but it’s the culture which helps you in defining satisfaction in the first place & that’s why I rate the culture of the city above all when it’s rating the city from the angle of settling down!

Ok, if you are still not satisfied with my logic then here are a few things or say incidents & then some events which the city has witnessed & then I will more elaborately specify the importance of the culture of a society (or city) in real estate! In last year’s rains on one stormy evening when everyone was rushing to reach home or running for shelter one traffic constable, Sujit Waghmare was standing in knee high water & trying to monitor the traffic jam, the media covered his heroic effort & dedication towards duty! Then there is news of some auto-rickshwala who goes all length to return a bag full of ornaments which has been forgotten by some unknown passenger & do mind the rickshawala was on other side worried to repay instalments of loan taken to buy the ricksha, yet he returned ornaments worth lakh of rupees to its rightful owner! Also, I came to know about some Sudhir Kulkarni who has his both sons settled in the USA & this guy visits Mangeshkar Hospital everyday & sits with patients to whom nobody visits, just to make them feel comfortable as he says he knows what is the feeling of being lonely! And last week there was news of a PMT (sorry PMPML) bus’s driver conductor Mr. Arun & Mr. Nagesh, who at midnight after completing their last trip of the day went to drop one lone lady passenger to her home, just to ensure she reached home safely as she was alone! Every mid-night on Sancheti bridge & few other spots a van comes which has collected left-over food from many restaurants in the city & this food is distributed to people who live on footpath & don't get any proper means of earning or are physically handicap! In this city only there is a billionaire family named Poonawalla & they have donated crores of rupees worth machinery to keep the city clean & provided infrastructure for garbage pickers for their hygiene & this nobody has forced on them!  And I can count hundreds of such stories of goodness, kindness, care all those emotions which we say are getting rare in today’s commercial world & by faceless men & women who are citizen of this city & do mind most of these acts are with the people whom these citizens even didn’t know & that is what I call culture of the city!

Again, few typical Punekars (yes, this too is a characteristic of our culture only) will ask what’s big deal in all this as aren’t the crime in the city is on rampant, what about corruption at its peak in every govt or semi-govt system, what about chaos on infrastructure front such as traffic, look at the pollution in the city & expensive health care facilities as well education & illegal construction around & look at the life which has become miserable for the common man, what’s culture has to do with all this? Indeed, what such Punekar is saying is true & life is hard for a common man but then this is scene not just in Pune but all around us even in most livable country like USA life has been tough for millions & survival is a constant fight still, it’s the culture which makes us able to survive the hardships of the life is a fact!

I am not shaming any other city or town or region but if you think Pune is not that good for living, then visit any city of its size & try living there for a month & write down (do write, it's important as it makes you go in depth) what you experienced especially while moving on the streets of the city or communication with citizens of that city as well tell me about social & cultural activities in that city & then compare the same one on one with Pune! Culture of this city doesn’t stop at being good or responsible towards other needy ones in the society but social life is equally an inherent part of the culture. Here for celebrating Ganeshutsov, millions of people come together on the last day’s procession & yet you are not afraid of that crowd. This city hosts Savai Gandharv Festival consistently for the last some 40 years where all the performing artists from the country are eager to perform their art, as this city has a culture to respect the art! And not just art may it be sports or wildlife conservation, Punekars are at front in every such social aspect of life. You go to any tiger project or forest of the country & the guides over there will tell how well informed and enthusiastic Punekar tourists are about wildlife & conservation! It's been here only, for last 25 years every Friday, “Katta” is performed, a forum where wild life personalities share their experiences with society & best part is, all these activities happen as naturally as the day & night are part of our life cycle, that’s what I call, culture of the city!

Ok, still if there are any doubting souls who will be thinking what this has to do with real estate then let me ask you something very personal! You are a successful person in your own field or you may be aspiring youngster trying to make your career & you have multiple offers from different places, but there is a city which offers you a feeling of being at home while you are on its streets, here you feel people may be bit weird even not much bind by rules but they are caring towards each other. Here in this city your daughter or wife can drive a two-wheeler back home all alone after the late-night drama show. Here in this city your kid has the opportunity to display his or her skills in sports, dance, painting or singing & won’t be judged just by his marks in the exam but will be acknowledged his (or her) other such skills too! Here in this city, you can go to your work without hesitating in case if your son comes back from school early, he won’t have to sit at doorstep empty stomach waiting for you to come back but will be taken to neighbor's home & looked after till you come back! Here in this city your elderly parents who have been shifted to your place from their native place won’t have to get bored but have a senior citizen club nearby & can entertain themselves without cribbing for your time with them! Here in this city, you don’t have to worry about communal riots & curfew like things, as people here celebrate Diwali & Eid with equal joy, this is the culture!   

All of the above make you feel like reading a description of an ideal city, right? And this is not just about Pune but when any human being decides to make some place as his or her residence, these are the aspects of life for which one looks at! Boss, this is the place where every-one of us wants to settle & this is the culture we are talking about. Because we all want to live in a city where one human accommodates another human by respecting the way he or she is & that is what we call culture & this culture is Pune’s real estate’s backbone, is what I strongly feel! And I am not saying this because I am a builder but as a citizen of this city! At the same time it's the duty of everybody (real estate frds, especially for you) to strengthen the culture of the city not just for the benefit of our respective business but for our next generation’s future too, as this understanding is also part of the culture with which we are blessed, right? Adios with this note!

*(Btw, just to mention at Credai Pune, we do try to take notice of such acts from the citizens & appreciate them in our little effort to respect & strengthen the culture of the city!)

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at You Tube link below..

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xX7eopH5o&t=5s

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2021/09/choosing-right-home.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post_21.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Take your issues to Hon PM at link below..

https://secure.mygov.in/

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com