The intelligentsia in Pune

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"Pune is a village"
"Pune is the Oxford of India"

It has often been said of India: Whatever is true, the opposite is also true.  This holds goods for Pune just as well as any other place in the country.

Today a seasoned Punekar (resident of Pune) stated that his city is a village, i.e. everyone knows everyone. He was instantly proved right. Ten minutes into my first conversation with him, we worked out that he knew the son of the owner of my serviced apartment block - one of many such buildings in town.  Half an hour later he was waving to someone in the cafe who lives right at the other end of town. Maybe a village in terms of connections but with nearly 6 million residents Pune is almost the same size at London.

Pune has a whole host of coveted universities that attract the brightest minds from across India. It also has a booming IT sector, a growing automobile industry and bio-medical science hubs. There should be no dearth of ignited minds. However in the hustle-bustle of the city, it is difficult to pinpoint where they might be.

Thanks to technology it is easier to meet people in new cities now, whether like-minded or downright whacky. Between a fine photo exhibition in Bliss Art Gallery and one too many socials in Starbucks (a practical and popular meeting venue in India to which I am a reluctant convert) I managed to meet an eclectic bunch of people outside of work.

A molecular biologist who wants to make a change in the world (and she will), a recovering dope head in touch with his inner self, a management consultant now running organic Ayurveda beauty products (his glowing skin and hair being clear evidence it works), an IIT+IIMA grad (think Oxford, Cambridge, HBS rolled into one) who wants to set up a life sciences related business.

It took a while to spot them but the intelligentsia in Pune is re-grouping. Here's hoping the city gets better cafes so they can bounce both cool and crazy ideas off each other.

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