There are countless myths about Maharashtra's Pune City. One of the most common is that the shopkeepers in Pune love to have their siesta between 2 pm to 4 pm. One of Maharashtra's most popular writers P L Deshpande had said this about Chitale Bandu Mithaiwale, a famous sweets shop in Pune: Even if Dagdusheth Ganpati (the favorite deity of Pune) himself came to the Chitale shop around 2 pm, the owners will ask the god himself to come back around 4 when the shop reopens.
This will now go into folklore as the Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale has now decided to keep the shop open between 9 am and 8.30 pm and the shop will remain open seven days a week.
A X (formerly Twitter) user Shilpa Godbole posted a picture of the notice board outside the Chitale shop at Deccan Gymkhana, one of the most popular
destinations in Pune, that says the change will come into effect from April 8, 2024. "And my dear Punekars. Adhicha Pune is over as we speak. Now what will people (outside of Pune) joke about?" Godbole wrote this on X.
Reactions to the post both from Pune and outside of Pune have been both informative and funny. A user mentioned that the afternoon closing times had been removed long back and the new change was that the store will remain open all days of the week. Another user quipped how this would be a culture shock for the employees who cannot take a nap in the afternoon.
Another X user said, Are we also done with the afternoon naps? Another X user feels that new-age Chitale owners ain’t from Pune! and he wants to take the business to newer heights. "Now what else is left for Punekars to have ' जाज्वल्य अभिमान ' (Atmost Pride) about... !?", Said another user.