KP learns to live with checks and curbs

PUNE: Intense security checks were put in place in Koregaon Park following the terror attack on German Bakery. In the days and weeks that followed, residents of Koregaon Park got used to the increased police presence and barricades on the roads leading to the Jewish Chabad House just opposite the eatery. With Pune Police continuing to receive inputs from central intelligence agencies about possible terror attacks on the prayer centre and the Osho ashram, security measures are here to stay.
So, has carefree Koregaon Park turned sombre? Residents, shopkeepers and people who frequent the area believe that its long-standing image as one of the country's leading foreign enclaves cannot be damaged that easily.
Ma Sadhana, director of the Osho International Meditation Centre that has nearly 20,000 visitors a year, said, "People were hugely unnerved in the days following the blast, and there was an impact on the number of visitors. But it's a year now, and the crowd has picked up once again."
"Terrorism is a fact of life everywhere. It exists in India, it exists back home in Europe. But to allow it to dominate your life is not done. That is not to say that we are unconcerned about what happens next. From what the locals say, the city administration needs to toughen up its act," said a visitor to the resort.
Restaurateur Navtej Sawhney, owner of two restaurants in Koregaon Park, said that while business was severely impacted in the three-four months following the blasts, it's business as usual today. "The police keep conducting checks, and we in the hospitality industry have had to scale up security checks at our end as well. But Koregaon Park, with its long-standing cultural history and cosmopolitan ethos will definitely overcome the obstacles. In fact, already, things are almost back to normal," he said.
KP's popular reputation as Pune's foreign enclave was first scripted in 1974 with the setting up of the erstwhile Osho Commune. Heritage expert Harsh Kabra said, "Koregaon Park has been a haven for foreigners from the times of the Raj. The British officers, from their collectors and administrators to officers stationed at the Pune Cantonment, owned large bungalows which reminded them of home and the British countryside. Clean, green, serene and peaceful, it was the getaway they sought," he said.
In the 1920s, the British leased some plots to rich and princely Indians, which explains the imposing homes with colonial style architecture, he added.
"Osho simply underlined Koregaon Park's different' status with the commune he set up in the 1970s.The area had just the right kind of international ambiance that the commune wanted to give its foreign clients. The British loved Koregaon Park for its green cover, which they loved for its away-from-the city feel, and this same greenery continues to be a prime attraction today," he said.
The Osho Commune laid the foundation of a multi-hued local industry which revolves around the foreign visitors. From the multi-cuisine restaurants, ethnic ware to vegetable vendors and bakers, they all went out to source kiwi fruit and assorted cheese for their guests. Tattoo studios and Kashmiri traders also set up shops while the German Bakery served masala chai and hummus bread, red carrot juice, apple pie and Spanish omlettes.
Urban conservationist Kiran Kalamdani compared Koregaon Park to Lutyens in New Delhi and Malabar Hill in Mumbai. "Though change has been seen along the North Main Road and the road connecting Koregaon Park to Circuit House, the essential character of the area---stately, green, sedate---has not changed. From the beginning, the building bylaws for Koregaon Park were different as opposed to the rest of Pune---with a view to retaining its unique character. The Floor Space Index (FSI) is 0.33 as opposed to 1 for the rest of the city to discouraging high-density population."
Quotes
The vehicular checks have become a way of life. I have been stopped several times in the course of a week while I was on my way to Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital. My ailing mother was admitted to the intensive care unit. But I mind it at all. They (the police) have a job to do.
Koregaon Park I resident
After the blast happened, police and the PMC stepped up the heat. Unauthorised constructions were pulled down, visitors were continuously checked, and it affected the bonhomie of the place. So many little shops and vendors peddling ethnic curios virtually disappeared. But Koregaon Park will regain lost ground---provided the police and civic authorities allow the people to rebuild the spirit.
Santosh Bhosale I shop owner
Why just us? The blast changed things for everyone who lives in Pune. It dented the way we looked at our city as a gentle, cultured, peaceful hub. But over the year fear has largely dissipated, people are more alert. The day the bakery reopens, it will be a bright new day in the city's history.
Abhradita Nahvi I Homemaker