Bengaluru to Pune

Where to start writing in the few minutes available online? Travel by bus, crowded, noisy, chaotic, from Krishnagiri to Hasur, then another bus (the same) to Bengaluru. A chaotic auto-rickshaw journey to some market area to eat lunch, then another auto-rickshaw trip - the three of us crowded in the back along with luggage (principally mine) - to the railway station where we boarded our nearly 24 hour journey from Bengaluru to Pune.

We were in air conditioned class fortunately - although at times in the evening when the air con was excessive I was grateful for the layers of clothing in my luggage. Accommodation was in a curtained-off 6-berth compartment, one of many along one side of the corridor. Arranging the bunks a feat of co-ordination as the other 3 passengers (travelling with huge suitcases which first had to be lifted down from the top bunks) plus ourselves lifted up the backs of the seats and hooked them into position to form the middle level of bunks. Getting up in the morning an equal feat. And without everyone ready to get up at the same time and rearrange bunks into seat backs a lot of waiting about. Still - in a 24 hour journey there's nothing much else to do other than wait for the coffee or the chai vendor to come along.

Arrived in Pune at midday and now settled at the Christa Prema Seva Ashram - the buildings formerly occupied by the Christa Seva Sangh which was instrumental in forming one of the strands of SSF.

Time for dinner and to go offline.