Here #WeGo Exploring A Lit Up Pune During The Festival Of Lights - Part II

The fort was built in a span of two years and cost Rs 16,110, a very large sum at the time. By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort. The imposing walls played as the perfect surface for a truly amazing show.

After setting out to explore Pune during Diwali, we were truly overwhelmed by the amount of joy shared on the streets of Pune -- families out celebrating the festival of lights with their near and dear ones. Fireworks were everywhere, but in perfect harmony with flowing traffic.

We too were tempted to share the festival experience, and being ‘time travellers' in a new city, pondered how to truly share the festive delights. That's when we got the idea of Maher, an institution based in Pune with branches in different parts of India that has dedicated itself to save women, children, and men from all over India.

Maher is run and was started by Sister Lucy Kurien. The institute has been helping people across all ages to live a better quality life, regardless the caste, creed, religion, and gender. That's when our next thought came up -- how do we approach Maher?

Early next morning, as the city awoke to Diwali, the team and I found ourselves at Saras Baug early, and the sight of hundreds of diyas burning bright early in the morning, which gave the former lakebed turned park an ethereal look.

Having soaked in a tremendous experience, we got our thoughts together as how we would get in touch with Maher, and we started with a simple step -- a phone call. We were immediately directed to Sister Lucy Kurien and after a brief introduction, we were set. Appointment fixed.

The idea of sharing joy on Diwali means packing our trustworthy TVS Wegos with firecrackers and heading to the ashram, but being responsible citizens, we decided to take along something else, something Pune is well known for -- sweets.

We wasted little time heading to Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, Pune's favourite sweet shop that has been in business since 1950. We picked up enough sweets to distribute at Maher, and loaded ourselves too. Off we set to Maher.

That's when we spotted fresh fruits being sold on a cart and decided to pick up some of them as well. Now, with our Wegos loaded, thanks to the hook below the handlebar and the under seat storage, we made our way to Meet Sister Lucy Kurien, who single handedly took up a brave initiative.

The TVS Wego, with its body balance technology made us wonder about the effort put in by TVS to build such a scooter. An average person does carry a bag on him or her and is usually placed in front, below the handlebar. This does offset the balance a bit, but the Wego handled that task of carrying extra luggage very well.

Once at Maher, Sister Lucy introduced all the kids who were at the ashram at the moment, and we were welcomed by a welcome song and traditional Indian greeting. The kids sat down with us and enquired what we were up to, since guests who usually visit the place are not automotive journalists in particular.

The children were quite pleased with our initiative and were curious about our rides -- the TVS Wego. The kids immediately recognized the scooters and appreciated the features aboard the vehicles, especially the digital instrument console and the overall design of the vehicle.

Some even came up asking us questions as to what each of the controls on the scooters were meant for. We did our part, educating the kids about scooters, how important safety is, and what role kids or the younger generation should do towards teaching other.

After spending time and feeling very content, we made our way back from Maher, high on the joy of Diwali. We sat back the same night, trying to absorb the whole festive season and what we had learnt over the days we spent in Pune. Sadly, it was time for us to move on, but we did carry a lot of memories.

So what lies ahead for us? Well, can you hear the Christmas bells ringing at a distance? We sure can! Stay tuned as we bring the third part of our adventure from God's Own Country -- Kerala-- during Christmas! Here #WeGo Fort Kochi.