Third Eye

If home is where you are most comfortable then Pune fits the bill for Mohammed Eid. A student who came to Pune from his native Saudi Arab...

If home is where you are most comfortable then Pune fits the bill for Mohammed Eid. A student who came to Pune from his native Saudi Arabia nine years ago, Eid has had a smooth run in the city.

“I was originally to study in Mumbai, but decided to stay on in Pune after finding many students from my country already here. I had no problem adjusting,” he says. Besides more familiar faces, the Pune education system which he finds very similar to the one back home, decided it for Eid. “The cut off percentage in Saudi Arabia for computer studies is far too high at 95 per cent. All I could secure was 81 per cent. So I decided to come to India to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science.” After graduating with this degree from Poona College, Eid decided to get a diploma in software development from a computer training firm.

“I like the pleasant weather in Pune. And also the people here. They are familiar with foreigners and are easy to mix with. They try to understand what you are saying, so communication is no problem.” Eid has also managed to pick up a smattering of Hindi, which he owes to some degree to his dedicated sampling of Bollywood fare. “I have watched Hindi films right from the time I landed here – starting from Dil and Aashiqui!” His favourite stars? That’s easy – Sanjay Dutt for his brawn and Karisma Kapoor for her beauty!

Eid did face some unpleasantness in his early dealings with shopkeepers in the city. “When they came to know that I was new to the city, some cheated me.” But Eid, now a seasoned hand at dealing with them, has put all that behind him. “I like spending time in the quiet, green area of Koregaon Park and the hills in Kondhwa. I have been to other parts of the country like Srinagar, which is beautiful, but I still prefer Pune which is a nice place to stay in,” he says. The only blot on the landscape for Eid seems to be the rising pollution level. “In 1991, the air here was so much cleaner,” he remembers. Pune has been such a pleasant experience that Eid, who now plans to start work as a real estate agent, has also managed to convince a few friends from his home country to come here.