Even though I am enjoying myself in Pune – cool city, nice people, good food, etc – it is nice to get out of the city now and then to relax. We spent a day with Shashi and his family.
Just to give you a reference of his family’s way of life – over 100 family members have lived in their family farm house over the last five generations. The area is surrounded with uncles, cousins, kids – and everyone helps each other with their farming needs.
It has been interesting to live in India and see the family structure here. Loaning money (interest and contract free) to family members is common practice here. Living with your parents forever is also common practice. The entire giving time and money to family seems like such a basic function here. I have three brothers and I could not imagine asking them for a loan nor have any of us ever really helped each other by giving large amounts of time. I wonder why it is so different.
I have really been enjoying my time in Pune. Like most countries, being in the right city really makes a big difference. A few years ago, I worked in Gurgaon, outside of Delhi, in a Microsoft call center. I worked with good people but the city was a bunch of malls, construction and more malls. I have traveled around India a little (Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Cochin, Trivandrum, etc) but I have not experienced the a city as comfortable and fun as Pune.
Pune is a big city on the move. As per 2001 census of India, the population of the Pune was a little over 3,000,000 people. Now in 2009, the city is quickly approaching 6,000,000 people (for a little perspecitve on the size London in about 7 million). Marathi is the official and most widely spoken language, while Hindi and English are understood and spoken widely. According to the Pune Municipal Corporation, 38.9% of the population lived in slums in 2001 – not sure where that is now but it is a city of rich and poor with entrepreneurs everywhere – at all levels.
Software and Information Technology (info from Wiki)
The HSBC Global Technology Center is right done the street from my apartment. Also in Pune is a rapidly growing software industry as well, with multinational companies such as NeilSoft, Amdocs,Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, Tata Consultancy Services,Oracle Financial Services , KPIT Cummins, BitWise Solutions ,Cognizant Technology Solutions ,MindTree, Steria, Microsoft Corporation, Tata Technologies, Satyam Computer Services , Syntel, BMC Software, Persistent Systems, Tech Mahindra, Patni Computer Systems, Accenture, Wipro, L & T Infotech, Infosys, Zensar, Cybage, Compulink, Geometric, Spider Systems, Sungard, Aztecsoft, Starent Networks, T-Systems Capgemini, Barclays Technology Centre, HSBC Global Technology Center, Cybernet Slash Support, Kanbay and John Deere having large development centers. The growing software industry has led to the construction of IT Parks to encourage new IT companies.
Adventures with Justmeans 