Pune visit

We visited Pune last weekend. We drove on the 21 km long Atal Setu in the morning that further went upto Panvel and connected to the Mumbai Pune expressway. It was a smooth drive as compared to the usual Thane Belapur road which is heavy with traffic. We reached Pune in four hours with a half an hour halt for breakfast at khopoli.

In the afternoon we went to Pavillion mall on the Senapati Bapat Marg which also houses PVR multiplex. We watched the movie Article 370. The movie is well made depicting the story behind the dismantling of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. The performances of Yami Gautam and Priya Mani are quite brilliant. It was good to see the marathi actor Vaibhav Tatwavadi playing an important role quite well. The role played by Kiran Karmarkar of the home minister is also quite superb. However, Arun Govil's depiction of the PM was not so convincing. The movie was engrossing and well directed.

Next day we visited a show titled 'Van Gogh 360', showcasing the great painter's numerous paintings in an enclosure in which they appear on all the walls around you in 360 degrees. It was quite awesome and unique and transported us to another world for thirty minutes. Before the entry a brief history of the painter's life was given. I was amazed by the immense body of work he produced during last two years of his short life, more than 800 paintings out of the 2200 or so that he created during his lifetime. His penury, mental health issues, the support given by his brother Theo, his genius and the sad end when he walked into the wheat fields and shot himself really make you wonder as to what went on in his mind while painting beautiful flowers, fields, self portraits and the shining stars on a starry night. It was an unforgettable experience.

We travelled by the new metro after the show. It was cool in the night and early morning. As usual, Pune visit had given us something different.

Ravindra Shenolikar