pune farmhouse . lavasa

since i had not gone to delhi for the latest wedding in the family, i had to take the trip to pune last weekend for the pre-reception jaunt at the farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. as farmhouses go it follows the pattern book of what is expected thankfully without the ostentation. a ‘rustic’ plaster, stone facing, landscape made of a patchwork of differing ideas regarding the land – a water body, a lawn, gravel, flower beds and naturally a small kitchen garden. as the alcohol inspired conversation between the men soared below i walked to the terrace above the circular room and watched the sunset in the muscular hills surrounding. it had been a long time since i saw the sunset- leave alone watching it in solitude. in the dark i made phone calls to loved ones abroad.

the party continued downstairs as the women huddled together discussing clothes and the men alcohol until they were all sufficiently high to let the gender boundary dissolve. by that time the guests / hosts arrived to a smattering of applause. shalini- the new entrant to the family is a nice sikh delhi girl, and here she was surrounded by a gaggle of marathi men and women joking about daughter in laws and mother in laws. the obligatory spoken word skit by the pune aunts went right over her and her sister’s head. poor girl. welcome to the family.

the nest morning as we were waiting for lunch, sonal, nikhil, anuprita and me decided to drive to lavasa – the huge billboards of which we see advertising oxford university and the largest hill station in the country on the expressway to lure rich (very rich) prospective buyers. it is an amby valley sort of development 32 kilometers from pune- around an hours drive. the drive there is gorgeous on a beautifully maintained road that climbs golden brown hills in sharp turns. the valleys between these hills are lush green where the streams of water flow while the flanks are covered with the skeletons of dry trees. as you approach lavasa you pass small agricultural settlements with rural schools whose children keep running across the street. a dam controls the water that is let out into the valley where the villages are. expecting a large reservoir behind it we were surprised by the fairly dry bed when we looked at the other side. climbing further we were led to the gate of lavasa where a security guard stopped us. when asked he said that no one was allowed in, but if we went a little further down a parallel road we could take a look at the valley from above. so we did. while two huge neo traditional looking buildings were being built the whole valley was lush green leading down to a full lake below. roads were being cut into the valley at every level to provide access to the luxury villas that might be built there.

it was a truly disturbing experience. as rural resources seem to be privatized and sold as luxury to a certain class, how can this violence not have its repercussions on the many who survive upon access to them?

photos later