Has pune really fallen down to this level?!

For context, I’m not an outsider—I was born and raised in this city.

This happened to me on Thursday night. I work in IT, specifically in End-to-End sales, which requires a lot of travel. I usually take flights, but due to some issues with scheduling, I had to take a train this time. I was returning from Delhi and reached Pune at around 1 AM. Since my family was out of town and I live fairly close to the railway station, I decided to walk home.

As I crossed Income Tax Bhavan, a group of 7–8 kids (yes, kids—barely 11 to 14 years old) started following me. At first, I ignored them, but then one of them called out, “Ayy lambu, idhar aa.” (I’m 6 feet tall and go to the gym regularly, so I have a decent build.) Still, these puny kids with cigarette in their hand had the audacity to stop me!

I was surprised and slightly amused that they had the guts to confront someone twice their size. I wasn’t afraid since this was familiar territory for me, but I can only imagine how an outsider would have felt in my situation.

I stopped, grabbed one of them by the shirt, and asked, “Kay re bhadkhav, majlay ka lay?” (What’s your problem?) To my shock, the kid boldly demanded money from me. I couldn’t help but laugh—I slapped him across the face. I knew they were just wannabe thugs, so I had to put them in their place. Some of them got scared and started saying sorry Dada, sorry parat nahi karnar. SoI let them go and continued on my way.

But this… This is what’s happening in Pune now? What has become of my beloved city?