Citygritty — Pune

In his congratulatory speech (in faultless English) on the centre’s performance, he mischievously played to the gallery by repeatedly observing that Pune is different from Mumbai. “I know that Pune people are better workers, have an identity of their own and would not like to be considered as living in Mumbai’s backyard,” he said with a distinct twinkle in the eye.

He went on to suggest that Pune was unhampered by politicking, as compared to New Delhi. But he hastily added, “Politics is a good thing. I have to say this otherwise I will have a brilliant career somewhere in Western Mongolia,” he told the audience, evoking much laughter. On July 11, he delivered a lecture on the hot topic of today, the Eurodollar, at the same venue, organised by the Top Management Club, before he returned to the capital.

Dino soars!
If the United States of America has Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Pune may soon have Marney, the friendly dinosaur. An enterprising couple, who have recently shifted from the States to Pune, decided to create this new character for kids. To this end, Jack Bellani and his wife put together a six-and-a-half-feet-high `custom-made’ dinosaur that has already made the rounds of some of the prominent nurseries in the city and children’s fairs.

“When we shifted to Pune, we realised there were hardly any entertainment activities for children. So we decided to make a dinosaur that sings, dances and, most importantly, educates children about how animals become extinct if not looked after properly,” elaborates Jill, the better half of Jack.

In the offing are plans like street parades and educational programmes in schools, to be conducted by the benign dino, who hopes to weave his way into the hearts of all the kiddos in town. “We even take him to birthday parties, theme parties, school annual days or any special occasion where he can perform a variety of activities – from dancing to magic shows,” adds Jill. All at a price, of course, that unlike the dino, are quite contemporary.