How is a city like a human being? Like any human, every city has a "Persona" - a complex manifestation encapsulating all the attributes characterizing it. While mental and emotional attributes take more prevalence in the persona of a human, I believe it is the behavioural attributes (of its people) which are instrumental in defining the persona of any city.
Knowing a person over a period of time allows you to understand him/her better; the case is no different for cities. Pune as a city has now been my home for about 20 months now, and I am slowly beginning to understand it. This can be best explained through my experience with regard to Pune's public transport and traffic.
At the outset, if I were to choose one word to associate with Pune, it was "Chaos"... The roads were teeming with people on vehicles who (seemingly) did not understand the use of traffic signals and considered them as showpieces on the road. Vehicles were zipping across in oblique angles which cannot be measured using traditional protractors.
My thoughts were further corroborated when I was once a pillion rider on the way home from work. We were on the left most lane and were well within the speed limits. Suddenly, we had another bike zip past us without so much as a horn or a warning. This was an overtake on our left side.... and from the opposite direction. It was on that day that I decided never to bring my bike to Pune. "You need a separate mindset to be able to be part of this kind of traffic", I thought.
The public transport also seemed so difficult to utilize, and you keep getting reminded of this fact by means of small anecdotal nuggets; one recurring example is about the autorickshaws charging a bomb and rarely going by the meter (which they also consider as showpieces). I once had to spend Rs 580 on a single rickshaw ride just because my source and destination belonged to 2 different municipal corporations!
"You need a separate mindset to be able to be part of this kind of traffic" - and I suddenly felt I have figured it out. All I had to do was to look at it through a different lens. The specific aspect of Pune's persona related to traffic became clear, when I was able to articulate it in 2 words - "Serene Chaos". The entire roads are filled with chaos, in terms of vehicles in every conceivable direction and speeds, but that is the true nature of the traffic here, and is necessary for it to thrive. When you take a closer look at it, you realize that you rarely see an accident on the roads, in spite of the large number of "near accidents"; thus the adjective "Serene".
The trick is simple. In order to be able to utilize the public transport to the fullest, you have to be as unpredictable as Pune's traffic. The last thing you want when having to move over a long distance across Pune (and its municipalities) is a plan. Just move along with the traffic in the desired direction and you would be amazed at how efficiently you can travel across the city.
On my only instance requiring a large amount of intra-city travel, I decided to keep moving no matter what, and not wait for specific buses/ autos, etc. To accomplish this, I had to hop on 10 different vehicles on a single day, ranging from Tum-Tums (as the shared six seaters are called here), shared autos, (non shared/ traditional) autos, bikes and buses. And what do you know, I was able to cover about 65 km in about 2.5 hrs! After that day, I have never been averse to use Pune's public transport.
When you move into a new place (it may be a new place to stay, new place to work, new place for anything), it is generally easy for one to find it difficult adjusting to it as it involves moving out of one's comfort zone. However, it is easier to overcome this difficulty. It is all about understanding the persona of the new place. Try it once - you will find it much easier to adapt. After all, "To be a Roman when in Rome, you need to first know what a Roman is!"
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