Citygritty 8212; Pune

States Shah, 8220;The facilities will include a host of indoor games like billiards, chess, carom and table tennis. Two restaurants will offer delectable cuisine and we plan on keeping three cottages ready for overnight stay. The cottages are of two sizes 8211; 500 and 1,000 sq ft 8211; and have well-equipped kitchens8221;.

The club has opened its membership recently. States Anil Shah, director, marketing, 8220;The pre-launch offer is Rs. 35,000 for permanent membership, with an annual subscription of Rs. 1,500. We are planning to have 2,500 members.8221; The club promises a bonanza for sport-lovers in the form of tennis courts, a golf course and a trek in the hills. For fitness freaks, there will be a full-fledged gym and a meditation centre. These are long terms plans though. Ketan Shah, along with his better half, Namrata, the former hockey captain of India, are excited about their new project. Which would explain why this urbanite lives five days of the week on the site to personally supervise this project, which he claims has the necessary legal sanction. A lot of effort going in there.

Jolly good fellow
Kamal Kashyap, Pune8217;s police commissioner, has overcome many a religious barrier, having married Rizwana, a Muslim from the renowned Tayabji family. And so it continued on the morn of December 25, when Kashyap did much more than just munch his wife8217;s delicious cakes. He marched off to a chapel along with good friend Sunny Jacob, the lawn tennis coach, and prayed for a while. Hope the good Lord was listening.

Midnight Aurora
The thing about Xmas is that most of the action happens on December 24. Midnight mass, partying and so on. So when 25th finally arrives, besides the traditional lunch, one is at a loose end. No wonder then that M.G. Road was choc-a-bloc with people that day.

There was laughter and cheerful whistling as music blared out of various eateries. And despite the cold night, ice-cream parlours were recording brisk sales. In fact, there were such crowds outside Marz-O-Rin that the ice-creams had to be held aloft to save it from being crushed, or hitting somebody8217;s shoulder. No wonder then, that the auto-rickshaw drivers, ever-ready to cash in on any situation, hiked up their rates seeing the crowds. Most of those parked outside George Restaurant refused to ply the route unless they were paid twice the regular fare. But with everyone in great spirits, no one seemed to mind.