Shivaji Nagar, the way a Puneri points to it
Ask a Puneri for Shivaji Nagar and he points three ways at once: the railway station, the court, the bus stand. All three are correct. Shivajinagar station is the first stop for the local trains leaving Pune station towards Lonavala, and the district court with its old stone buildings stands a short walk from it. The Municipal Corporation building sits near the river. By day the area belongs to lawyers and clerks carrying files. After dark it goes quiet, and that is when most Shivaji Nagar call girls on this board get their calls.
JM Road starts here and runs down to Deccan, with shops below and small rooms for travellers above them. The lanes behind it hold older housing, low buildings where the same families have lived for a long time. The metro now runs overhead as well, so people come in from across the city without a fight for parking. Most guests who book around here are passing through: a hearing in the morning, a bus out the next day, and one free evening sitting in between.
So bookings here tend to be short and practical. One hour or two in a room near the station, now and then a full night. Rohini lives in these lanes, so a call from Shivaji Nagar often goes to her first. When she is taken, Shivali comes up from Deccan and Suman crosses over from Model Colony. Same rates, and nothing extra for the ride inside the city.
