Citygritty — Pune

Free wheelin'I am on a cycling expedition from Kanpur to Goa and back,'' says Jamil Ahmed. But the man standing by his cycle, the small...

Free wheelin’
“I am on a cycling expedition from Kanpur to Goa and back,” says Jamil Ahmed. But the man standing by his cycle, the small carrier containing his belongings for the journey and a camera slung on his shoulders is not some strapping young lad. He is a 55 year-old frail, polio-stricken man with a determined look on his face. He made a brief stopover in the city on his way from Mumbai to Goa. What’s behind the expedition? “Actually I have undertaken several cycle expeditions and want to set a world record through them. In 1978 I covered the distance from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on my cycle,”It may have taken him a year and two months to complete the journey but as he insists “I did it.” “This time when I started out from Kanpur in early November I wanted to create a record by taking my wife Reshma pillion with me on the expedition but she fell ill at the last moment,” So he decided to go alone.

Ahmed has made several stops in his journey from Kanpur to Pune via Mumbai. “I earn money by putting up non-stop cycling shows at various places and eat at road side dhabas,” he says. Policemen in the chowkeys along the way have been a big help too, helping him with money and directions. Ahmed has an interesting tale to tell about his yen for cycling. Polio-stricken at an early age Ahmed was not about to let his disability affect him in his aim to learn how to ride a cycle. “I have been cycling ever since I was 11 years old. I cannot use my left leg at all but with practice I can cycle for long distances without feeling tired. On this expedition I have cycled almost 175 kms per day,” claims Ahmed who owns a cycle repair shop back in hometown Kanpur.

Ahmed is determined to complete his record along with his wife and when asked when he will come to Pune next says,“ I will return with Reshma next year.”

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Culinary clues
Bringing yet another first to Pune, the Entre Nous team of Suchita Kudale and Shirley Sequiera, have notched up quite a winner this time. Their latest is a Whodunit called A Brush with Death, and it’s not just the play but the entire evening that is being packaged and presented. The package includes not just an absorbing drama coupled with an exclusive dinner but a chance for every member of the audience to play detective.

Presented by Sunder Travel Shoppe in association with Holiday Inn this concept of interactive play is a fairly new one for Pune. The actors belong to the British Arts Group called Masquerade that is based in Singapore and will be coming down to Pune especially for two performances scheduled for December 17 and 18. With each evening catering to an audience of only 150, the actors and actresses clad in costumes of the 1920s will be moving amongst the guests dropping valuable hints en route. And as the performance proceeds alongside the four course dinner, the audience will be called upon to sharpen their sleuthing skills and their own deductions.

The price tag for you to experience this exciting “murder mystery evening” is a neat Rs 950 per head. But then so are the returns for those with the talents of Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple in the form of business class air tickets from Swiss Air. So all those brought up on a staple diet of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, your time starts now.

Cyber pub
When the whole world is going high tech why should pubs be left out of the trend? This Wednesday night, 10 Downing Street plans to go cyber with interactive touch screen games. Participants will be required to select a topic from three options-movies, music or current affairs and then move onto different levels with every win notched. Organised by Genesis, the evening promises to be just what the hi-tech generation ordered.