Hello LGs,
My Puneri local guide, @Ketan_Kangankar , hosted our second in-person meet-up at Pune’s Okayama Friendship Garden, also known as Pu La Deshpande Garden, on January 26, 2024, at 4:30 PM IST. This is a recap of the same.
(A series of meet-ups coordinated and supported by @TusharSuradkar .)
I have been visiting this garden ever since it first opened, and I was here a few weeks ago before the meeting location was decided upon. I could not resist going because it is a really well-kept garden, and I adore Japanese theme gardens.
The Puneri Local Guides arrived at the meeting spot well in advance of the scheduled meeting. It was a smart move for one of the day’s new participants, @Ganesh_kamate , to have already reserved entrance tickets, given the length of the line that awaited us.
After a brief internal introduction, I handed over the new banner to the team, which I had designed for them; they were all very surprised and liked it. (I felt relieved about it! 
)
Photo 01: Photo by our Puneri LG Naval Kush just after the main entrance of the garden.
Photo 02: A collage of my photos of the informal introduction of the team.
Since it was a national holiday, a large crowd began to arrive. The smooth entry, even for a wheelchair, at the main gate was the first thing that each of us noticed. The wheelchair-bound person even has their own restroom, which is a very considerate feature.
Photo 03: Accessibility features were easily noticeable and well thought out. (Photos by Amey Navare and Tushar Suradkar)
Situated in the heart of the city in a densely populated area, this spacious and airy garden provided a peaceful and natural setting for people to congregate and spend quality time with their loved ones.
Photo 04: Good views of the well-directed pathways in the garden. (Photos by Tushar, Ketan, and Amey)
The paths were thoughtfully designed to prevent people from noticing the garden’s lower levels while they strolled around. A cool waterfall is located at the far end of the garden, and there are a few typical wooden bridges in the Japanese style that cross the miniature water canals and runways. These canals allow water to run from them throughout the garden. With the exception of a few seating nooks intended to be tranquil areas, there are plenty of stone benches available for seating.
Photo 05: Beautiful views of the garden. People are relaxing in one of the seat-out nooks. (Photos by Amey and Ketan)
No one was permitted to walk onto the lush green lawns from the pathways. People were having fun around the little pond’s central fountain to take pictures and take selfies.
In addition to the usual bamboo bushes, there are a lot of well-kept shrubs and bushes that have been styled.
Later, as decided, we went live to meet virtually with our fellow LGs: Shruti Tai, TravellerG sir, Shailendra Ojha ji, Rohan Madshungikar, Vaibhav Patil, HinalLad, and Rosy Kohli mam.
Photo 06: The team welcomes virtually all attendees. (Photos by Nawal Kush)
Photo 07: Our virtual members acknowledge the Puneri LG team. (Screenshots by TravellerG sir and Rosy Kohli mam.)
Photo 08: Photo session by the Puneri LG team. (Photos by Nawal Kush and Onkar Jadhav)
Photo 09: Another mini photo session at the main gate and the glowing name plate of the garden.
Having spent some quality time there, we move on to the other chapter—food—as it gets darker.
We went to The Chhat Cafe, a small, upscale restaurant that served Indian snacks called munch-ons. We had a pleasant conversation during which we exchanged some experiences and answered a few questions. Tushar gave a detailed explanation of the Connect portal and encouraged the new local guides. We mostly talked about our experiences updating and collecting data for Google Maps, which was very informative for everyone. He also gave the group some stickers and other goodies from Google. After that, we took some lovely pictures of the food and the cafe, including one in the style of a storefront. (Onkar and Tushar gave us all guidance on that.) excellent little talk all around.
Photo 10: A collage of the food, goodies, team, and storefront photos of the Chaat Cafe, Pune. (Photos by Madankumar Jadhav, Ganesh, Amey and me.)
Also, I added my review and photos to the Google Maps for the Chaat Cafe. Here is the link.
When it was time to end the day, we all promised to make regular contributions to the Google Maps and Connect portals, respectively, and to support one another in solving problems as a group. It was good to know that the next few get-togethers have already been scheduled and approved, and everyone was looking forward to getting together again with a few more new people as well as those who were unable to attend that day.
With a heavy heart and many promises, we all bid the day goodbye.
We appreciate everyone’s punctuality and the easygoing, welcoming atmosphere they maintained throughout. Thank you so much for the meet-up, especially with Ketan. @Onkarjadhav Tushar, @ameysun @abhishekpatk @Madankumarj @ameysun @ajaypatil1509 @Anannya_19
Kiran and Nawal.
If for some reason, I was unable to highlight the names here in the post, I will mention the names in the comments section below.
A big hug goes out to all of my friends who joined us virtually at our request; your presence was greatly appreciated and inspired us.
Till the next meet-up,
Cheers!
**
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