Orientation on at the company and today we got to go to an institute for the mentally challenged children. Humbling is the only way to describe the experience. To be frank, I had my apprehensions and reservations before I reached the place. Situated right next to the Kidwai hospital, the place ensured that all my apprehensions remained nothing more than mere figments of imagination. Whatever awkwardness I felt might be there simply vanished when I spent some time with the kids there. Connecting with these kids and spending some time there is best not described in words. Challenged they might be, but it is exaggerated more by society and it's refusal to treat all people equally. You realise the importance of being normal when you see the struggles these kids have to endure to perform the everyday tasks that we take for granted. Sat and chatted with them for a while and then played cricket with them, and then we were all treated to an amazing dance performance by the kids. One day at the centre and a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes removed. The idea of giving back to society has been playing in my mind for a long time now, but just hadn't found a channel to do so. Today probably was a start in the right direction. Hope to work towards a more tangible contribution for the less privileged members, having just realised that there are multiple avenues for doing so. It is just about finding out the right place and taking the time and effort to see what is the best possible option for you.
Thanking the kids for an absolutely wonderful and amazing day, a real eye opener !
Not something I will forget for quite a while. Time for some quiet introspection now and then some real work in this direction.
May 24th, 2009. Today is the day I get officially Bangalored. Not maybe in the conventional sense of the term, but because of the fact that I start off my post MBA career in Bangalore. So, there I am all set to board the Jet Airways flight from the new Pune airport. To put this into context, I had the Kingfisher guys call me up a day before the flight telling me that the flight had been cancelled due to operational reasons, whatever the hell that means. That is when I guess my luck started changing for the better.
So here I am at the Pune airport, and as I reach the check-in counter, I realise that I have around 13 kgs of excess baggage. But surprisingly, and pleasantly refreshing for a change, the girl at the counter waives it off and I get to take in all of it without extra charges. Then after boarding the flight, me and another girl realise that both of us have been allotted the same seat in the aircraft. On getting to know of this, the cabin crew then takes both our boarding passes and a few minutes later they apologise and ask me whether I would be willing to shift to the Business Class. I thought long and hard, and after 2 full seconds I say yes and a Business Class seat is mine. The food and service obviously match the class and my first feeling was that the Bangalore part of my life has started off well.
Evening 3 pm and I land at the Bangalore (no, I am not calling it Bengalooru yet) Airport. The thoughtful guys that the planners are, they conveniently built the airport a good 65 kms from where I wanted to go. Not that it is close to any part of the city. Kind of kills all the fun of the flight journey as it takes me a little less than 2 hours to reach Electronic City. But the ride in the Volvo i pleasant enough and it doesn't take me long to confirm the fact that the Bangalore traffic has indeed improved a lot in the last one year. Bangalore the city has a kind of charm that you take to instantly (atleast I did) and I am beginning to like everything about the city. The last time I came to Bangalore was in April for a friend's wedding and that time I had come by train. You know you are down South, when huge 50-100 feet cutouts of actors and movie stills greet you wherever you go and you spot 4 theatres withing 10 minutes walking distance. The South knows its cinema and worships it. Period.
The Infy campus is one of the most beautiful that I have seen and they have thought of almost everything to make it comfortable, aesthetically neat and eco-friendly. Excellent rooms in the in house hotel and I vouch for the fact that this is one of the best places I have ever stayed in. A good start to my stint in the city and I hope it continues to be this way.
May 25th, 2009. I start off my post MBA career. Been a long time since I last worked full time in the corporate world. Looking forward to everything that this job will bring.
Posting here a little belatedly. Its been 3 weeks since I arrived here and I shall update this space with more soon.
Went through the last few posts and this blog reads more and more like a travel blog. But then I would say that it is a fair reflection of what I have been doing over the last few months. A lot of ground has been covered, and what's more, my calendar says that I shall only be travelling a lot more in the near future. With still some time to go before I end up in Bangalore, I am back to reading again and also watching a few TV shows. Not a bad way to spend time I must admit. Will try and keep this space as updated as possible.
It is a completely different way of life now that the campus life is behind me and adjusting to this completely will still take some time. The thing I miss the most is the completely unstructured timings that I was used to back in IIM Calcutta, though it is not all for the worst. Being at home means adhering to and a certain amount of lifestyle changes are almost inevitable. Still miss the student life with its all night activities, the movies, the TV shows, footer volley and all the random things I used to do.
Finally got to see a bit of Calcutta when my family had come down for the convocation. Something that never happened inspite of 2 full years off stay in the city. Also, went to Sikkim and Darjeeling again, and still came away amazed at the stuff they have to offer.
Also looking forward to the IPL season 2. Was planning to watch a couple of matches in Bangalore, but now that won't be happening. The idiot box it will be for this year's extravaganza. Actually got up at 3.30 to watch the New Zealand-India Test series and felt pretty good about it too. Good to know that after all these years my interest levels in cricket remain high as ever. And yes, Sachin, Rahul, Laxman and Gambhir provided superb entertainment by deciding to fire in the same series, making it all the more memorable.
Lined up starting this weekend is another 2-3 weeks of non-stop travel, also hope to read more books in this period. Also addicted to my laptop a lot, and am yet to decide whether to lug it along on my trip. And yes, have enjoyed using the new Nikon Coolpix P80 camera. An awesome piece of work that, with it's 18X zoom and excellent battery life. A huge improvement over my Kodak point and shoot, which is now almost 2 & 1/2 years old and was my first digicam.
Things are changing, and most of it for the better.
The title just about sums up perfectly what I have been feeling whole day long. An official ceremony to end it all and it could have gone better than it did. The convocation was an event that had been eagerly awaited by everyone on campus and true to form, it lived up to it's billing. Had KV Kamath as the Chief Guest and Ajit Balakrishnan as the presiding Chairman for the IIM Calcutta convocation held on campus today. Nothing though had prepared me for what really was a gruelling day. Knew that it would be a long and hard day, but at the end of the day I am ready to completely crash. But not before this one post, which I felt is best not delayed as part of my standard operating procedure. Also had my dad, mom and sis visiting the campus for the event. Got to show them around the campus, the only hassle being the fact that I was in formals and the campus is best covered in footwear that is somewhat more friendly on the soles. No real complaints though and at the end of the day, I have to admit that some things are just priceless. A once in a lifetime thing and one that shall be cherished for a long time to come. A perfect way to cap the best 2 years of my life, the convocation unfortunately also happens to signal the end of a lot of good things in life. I shall miss Joka, my wingies, the fun times, the unearthly waking hours, the Maggi and a lot of other random things.
Been a pleasure being a part of the Pi batch from 2007 to 2009. The "June mein hum Joka aaye" song will forever keep ringing in my ears. All the best to everyone from the Pi batch in all your future endeavours.
New day, new place. This final day of the trip was for the Sun Temple in Konark. We started off again from our base in Puri, this time heading along the coast on the way. The Puri-Konark trip measured in time units is about 2 hours long. Stopped by at the beach just before the Sun Temple. This is supposed to be one of the more violent beaches and there are restrictions in place for the people. Wonderful view and one of the cleaner beaches I have seen, this is probably due to the fact that human interference has been limited. Next stop was the Sun Temple. A magnificent structure is how you would describe it at first glance. It was love at first sight for me, and the next 2 ½ hours that we spent exploring the place shall be definitely amongst the best ways I have spent my time. Designed in the shape of a giant chariot pulled by horses, the Temple has lost some of its sheen over the years with time taking its toll on parts of it. But none of that can take away from the beauty of the whole magnificent architecture and you just can’t stop marveling at the time and effort that has gone into the making of the Sun Temple. Every part of the temple has been carved with meticulous detail and artistry and each rock probably has a story to tell you. Countless photographs later, we finally had to force ourselves to get pout and head towards the bus. Needless to say, whatever description and praise of the place I try to fit in here will always fail to do justice to the whole thing. It is something that needs to be seen to be believed. And yes, one unique thing about this temple is that there are absolutely no restrictions on what can be carried inside. You are allowed to go in wearing footwear, but then this is not a conventional temple in the sense of the term. On the way back to Bhubaneshwar, we also had a brief stopover at a Buddhist peace Pagoda in Dhauli. Built on the banks of the Dhauli river, it is again an eye catching structure. One of the many peace Pagodas built by Asoka, these stunning structures are a definite sight for sore eyes. Golden Buddha statues are installed on all sides and they have a white tower shaped structure. This was the last stop on the trip for us before we headed back to Bhubaneshwar station to take the train to Howrah. And get back to good old B-School life at IIM Calcutta.
After being done with BhitarKanika, the group of 4 split and while Nikhil and Divya headed back to Joka, Murari and yours truly began the second half of the Orissa sojourn. This leg of the trip was pretty much unplanned and we guys headed back to Bhadrak and booked tickets for travel in opposite directions. Then we got lucky and the open ticket to Bhubaneshwar gets converted to an AC ticket on the Janshatabdi and what’s more we decide to extend the tickets to Puri on the spur of the moment based on an inspired change of schedule. A few really peaceful hours of sleep later, we find ourselves at the Puri station. Getting down, we checked ourselves into one of the hotels on the beach and got ready in double quick time for the day’s sightseeing tour. The plan was to go to Chilika Lake and other assorted places on the way.
The trip started off and the first stop was the Alurnath Temple. A regular temple is what it was. Next was the Chilika lake and after a lot of anticipation we finally get there. Pertinent here is the fact that we were just back from a fabulous trip which exceeded every expectation that we had about the place. Here, we were really looking forward to a good boating trip and the sighting of the famous dolphins. The sight of the boats was an immediate downer moment and after travelling first class in BhitarKanika with a 35-seater boat rented for just the 4 of us, we were talking of two very different worlds here. Anyways, we began the boating and fairly soon we had our first dolphin sighting. Okay, not exactly a full sighting, because they just plain refused to get out of the water and we never really got to see the full dolphin. I guess the TV shows on national Geographic and Animal Planet build expectations way too high. Whatever be the reason, the whole affair was a big letdown. But even more disappointing for me personally was the complete absence of birds on what was supposed to be a hotspot for the feathered variety in Orissa. We stopped by an island close-by and it has an interesting legend about the temple that was built here for a princess, but then this interesting tidbit was told to me later. In spite of the fact that this might seem like a crib post, I would say that Chilika lake is still a must visit for the birds rather than the dolphins. We probably visited it at the wrong time, but preliminary research indicates that it is indeed worth visiting for the feathered friends.
Next stop was the famous Puri Jagannath temple. Not a part of the tour as such, it was more of a personal visit late in the evening. Was expecting a jam packed place, but it seems even the Gods like their off season and it was pleasantly manageable. After having handed over our mobiles and digicams, we entered the huge temple. Set on a 10 acre spread, the temple is set beautifully in an inner ring, outer ring type of setting with deities all over the place. It is one of those temples with a classical design, the kind I have seen in lots of places in South India. It is a temple and it shows every bit of the way. Odd description you might feel, but I guess you will understand when you complete reading this. Liked the place, a must visit is how I would rate it.
Here is a list of all the places I have visited post college. Tried to maintain a chronological order of sorts.
So here goes
1) Delhi 2) Agra 3) Dandeli (forest, sanctuary, rafting place...was really awesome) 4) Kolhapur 5) Lohagad/Temghar/ Sinhagad (Fraudy trips actually....all day trips from Pune) 6) Ooty 7) Mudumalai sanctuary (great place this, a must visit) 8) Nagaon (beach on the Konkan coast) 9) Matheran (hill station between Pune and Bombay) 10) Goa 11) Alibaug and Nagaon ( nice place..the walk to the fort is great) 12) Sunderbans (not really recommended) 13)Bhitarkanika Sanctuary and National Park (absolutely fabulous...a must visit) 14) Puri and Konark ( The Sun Temple is very nice) 15) Sikkim (beautiful locales again...the whole state is a delight) 16) Bhutan (fraudy again...was in Bhutan for a day, but could do nothing) 17) Sana Beach (near Digha on the East coast..worth a dekko)
Lined up next is one or 2 short trips once I am back in Pune and then a trip down South. Hopefully I shall be able to add to this list before the summer is over.
Looks like my last few posts have all been about leaving this place or about my trips here and there. Here's one more to the list. Just been packing to take back stuff home. Never realised that I had brought/bought so many things here. Packing is one of the most boring exercises, but will soon have to get used to this as a way of life I guess. And yes, I am planning one last trip from Joka before I head for home, that is good, old Pune. This one shall be to Darjeeling and maybe Kalimpong or one of the other nearby places from Siliguri.
Have covered a bit of the country over the past 3 years and I must say that every trip is a refreshing experience. Shall not be a student for long and this final Darjeeling thing almost materialized out of nowhere. I have hardly been the most regular soul when it comes to keeping track of things especially on my travels and this is reflected in the travel-travelogue mismatch on this site. Group of 10 this time round, and there shall be an account of this one soon. Also am planning to list down my trips in the last 3-4 years but that will be in the next post.
Time flies, and how ! Seems like just yesterday that I walked into IIM Calcutta and today 2 years, later I finally become an MBA. Just gave my last exam and then that was it. The two best years of my life are coming to an end and I will miss this place more than I can imagine. Still haven't been able to love Calcutta the city, but Joka is a different story altogether. The International Finance paper in the afternoon was the last paper here @ IIMC and then it all got over. Just like that. I had completed all the necessary requirements for my MBA. Results are awaited, but in your last term, they hold lesser significance than before. Things shall soon change and it will be back to the corporate world for good now. Infosys is where I shall begin my second innings and Bangalore is my next destination. But then, that is still sometime away. Shall miss these exams then. The crashers by the friendly neighbourhood whizkid, the night out desperately trying to study to stay afloat and then getting screwed in the paper anyways...all these and more shall be duly missed.
Today, our entire wing got together and decided to go out for a treat. Red Lounge was the chosen destination and it was one of the best nights in my two years here. Probably the nostalgia factor is clouding my judgment, but then that's how things will always be and should be. Drinks, dinner and dance were the items for the evening and all of us had a blast. I shall be staying on campus for a few more days, but things I guess will never be the same again :(
A little break with some travelling to a few places and rest at home should prove to be an ideal break before joining Infy. And that is exactly what I plan to do in the coming couple of months.
