My friends from Japan, Junko and Shoko travelled from Japan to Mumbai for WordCamp Asia. Instead of the usual visit to Taj Mahal in Agra or some other touristy place, they had decided to travel to Pune and experience a slice of the city.

I suggested to Junko that I could show them around in Pune but honestly I was a bit apprehensive. Pune is no longer the Pune I remember from my youth. It has become less interesting, more commercial and also its quirky personality seemed to be in the past.

When I was a young boy, I spent most of my summers in Pune with my grandparents. I also stayed in Pune on and off as a young adult and then later in my late twenties for work.

Pune was a quieter city compared to Mumbai but still lively. In my teenage years, the residents were mainly pensioners or college students, and I was one of those students for a few years.

What Pune had was personality, that went back centuries. A personality that said it was confident of itself and laid back. It also had a mix of cutting humour and self depreciating quirkiness. I find that missing these days. Or atleast markedly reduced. I wondered if my friends will enjoy the city at all.

The first evening, we visited Shaniwar Wada. It was closed but we took some time sitting outside and enjoyed the old facade of the fort. Then we travelled to a renovated wada (a traditional building in the middle of old Pune) which now is used as a cafe called Soo be it for dinner.

The next morning, we visited Shaniwar Wada and Kelkar Museum again, then had lunch at a charming restaurant across from Shaniwar Wada that felt like it was still stuck in the 1980s.

Junko and Shoko took the metro between Deccan Gymkhana and PMC stations along the river. I couldn’t take Junko to a library, which she loves, but she did see the library building in front of Kayani bakery in Camp on her last day before leaving for Japan.

Junko and Shoko, both watched and observed everything very quietly and pointed out interesting things all day. They noticed the difference between the personalities of Pune and Mumbai. The things I had forgotten to look for in Pune or taken for granted about Pune.

I realised while walking around the city with them, that I was seeing Pune through their eyes and they were noticing and appreciating it a lot more than I do. And I am glad I got to do that with them.

Here are some photos by Junko. She always found the light playing with buildings, bridges, stairs and everything else in Pune.