Interim Trip (03 August 2005)

Interim One Day Trip

One of a handful of occasions, that will be etched for eternity in my mind. One of the very few that will make me smile when i go down memory lane, if not now, in a few years (time just flies as we all know). I will remember this day with fond memories.

We started from office around 9:30 am (Give or take 10 minutes) in two Jeeps we had rented. We coordinated with sambhu and the others by phone. We all agreed to meet up in Fisherman's cove. We alighted on the way to have something to eat for breakfast and reached there by 11:00am.

We took some photos and mingled for a while. Then we went to the "Machan" - the place we had rented in the beach. Scott and satish joined us soon. Some of us went to the beach and started playing in the water. Vijay thought he was going to drown in the hardly waist deep shore water. He even came as far as to shout for help. Renu and her hubby were a close second. We coaxed them to get in. It was fun. Later, shoba in the same category. Me and hari coaxed her to wade in. Murali and his wife also were caught in the act of trying to get in and scampered out soon. The others were scared (some just not interested......maybe) and stayed on dry land, Kumar in particular.

We started for the catamaran ride. One batch of six/seven went in a catamaran, the remaining in a motorboat. The catamaran was motorized. We went maybe half a kilometer. Then we jumped in the water and stayed there for a while maybe 30 minutes. It was amazing. Some of them were scared so much; they pretty much stuck to the rope that was thrown in the water for support. The ropes of the two boats were tied. Chandrasekar was so scared that he just bobbed in one place, his wife was more adventurous, but he did not let her budge from his side. Scott and satish were very cool in the water, i guess they've done this before. Renu and her hubby were very nervous, but then relaxed a bit later. Bharath was his own self and nearly capsized one of the boats in the process of trying to hang by its side. One of the fisherman who had come with us had to warm him and asked him to move out a bit. I was the first to jump out of our boat, so u can guess my enthusiasm for the water. Chandrasingh and sudhakar were not far behind. Initially when one jumps in, there is the innate fear of drowning, then logic kicks in and from there on it was simply fun. Some of us were swimming, some hanging for their dear life and some learning it the hard way. We came back to shore, when some of the traitors of the group came after me and nearly drowned me in the knee deep water ;-). Murali, Hari and Chandrasingh were the traitors. I escaped barely by a whisker.

But i should also have to add this..., in spite of their fear for water, people got in. One would have to respect their courage. My hats off to them, they have nothing to be ashamed of (as if they are ;-) but still i am compelled to admire). They conquered their fear(s).

We returned for lunch. But before that, had to wait in a long bathing line, and that only increased our hunger. Had a good light lunch. Poor non-vegetarians, there had very little options. The food was good. It was buffet, in the open, by the trees and very nice.

Some guys started on coke, juice, then beer and it just continued throught the day, ending with hot drinks by dinner.

After the lunch, we played beach volleyball. It was good clean fun. Though only a few managed to touch the ball in the first place, even less succeded in playing. But the sprit with which everybody participated, was all that mattered and we all had a great time. Rohan joined the watching scott and sathish in the midst of this.

Then around 5:00pm we retired for Tea. Then we drove to a Go-Karting centre, which is on the way from chennai to cove. We drove in karts in batches of 5. It was exhilirating to go at such high speech on such rickety and small karts. It was just too much fun and the adrenalin started pumping. Though some of the girls did not really want to drive, they too later joined in the fun. Some actually were pretty good at it. Priya (Chandrasekar wife) and Smitha(Murali wife) were the outstanding participants. I guess they drove better than some of the guys to be honest. We are trying to drive fast (most of us) and they were lots n lots of crashes, competition, lots of out of control turns and some really nice driving by sambhu and mathew, who stood out as the better drivers. I guess u can say i was the crash king. I made life miserable for the better drivers in my group in all the 3 times i was out there, but it was totally unintentional.

Shoba's mother joined us when we returned. So did Jagannath, Ramesh Babu and Ravishankar. We refreshed and socialized for a while before dinner. But man, the ladies took a long time to get dressed and be back. But i guess it was worth it when they finally did. We had a small meeting of sorts. Scott, Satish, Sambhu and Rohan gave little speeches. A few others like Hari, Murali chipped in.

Then the dinner started in full earnest. The food was good and so was the company. Buffet in the beach, by the shore outside the machan, one should habe been there to really understand and appreciate the amazing ambience. The only let down for me was, the total abscence of any breeze. It was so still the whole day and cloudy most of the time.

Throughout the day, I was having fun talking with everybody, poor shoba's mum, she got stuck with me, and as u guys have guessed.........poor lady. But hey, I was just trying to give her company you know.

We were all done by around 11:00pm. We started from there in about half a hours time and reached office near midnight.

I have to thank all the members of the team, and their family members who made this a special occasion. I have to especially point out the work done by sambhu and Mathew who organized this whole day and for Scott and satish for making it happen.

Thus came a end, to a very special day, a day that i will cherish for the rest of my life, a day that i will remember for so many reasons. They were moments of embarrassments, happiness, joy, comradeship and of course friendship. I got to know new people, make friends, got to know more about myself too in the process.

What Kumar felt about this trip...
Team Party at Fishermen's Cove....

3rd August 2005

I started the day in a very somber note. Was in a dilemma whether to go or not to go? My health initially wasn't responding energetically. Then finally took a decision to go for it.

Had I taken a decision of not joining the rest of the team for the party then definitely I would have missed loads of fun and frolic on this day. Yes. What a day it was. The day was simply superb. There were lots of “firsts”. Which one to mention...??? I'll list them one by one..

It was the first time in my life to go on an outing with the office gang. And it was really funny.

We were all advised to be at the office premises by sharp 9:00 AM. As usual Suresh, me and Sudhakar were prompt in attendance at the precise time set by the organizers in the given order. Then slowly one after the other others started pouring in.

When we were expecting a Chevrolet Tavera, there came a couple of Mahindra Scorpios. There started the surprises for the rest of the day. Mathew took a lot of effort in coordinating everything.

Finally when everybody assembled in the office premises we started moving to the outskirts of the city on the ECR road to Fishermen's cove (a scenic beach resort belonging to the Taj Group). It’s around 4-5 Kms from the Toll-plaza on the ECR road.

We were welcomed by the Fishermen's Cove resort authorities with a couple of welcome drinks (Lychee and Jal Jeera). I had a Lychee. It was stunningly, refreshed my senses. Everybody were enjoying their day like they have never done before in their life. It was real fun to watch other people.

Then the authorities took us to a place called “Machan” which is a thatched roof like wooden structure facing the sea. It is the place where we can put down our belongings safely and its the place where we can sit and peacefully watch the sea, then the second surprise. We are going for a Catamaran ride!!! Oh! I have never in my life before ridden a Catamaran.

We were advised to remove all the gadgets we were wearing. We are only allowed to wear the dresses and nothing else. No watches; no glasses; no cameras; no chains; no mobiles etc…etc.

Then we were taken down the beach way to the board on to the Catamaran. Initially we were told that Scott and Satish won't be riding the Catamaran with us. It was a surprise that they both joined us for the ride. We started the ride on a very positive note. All of us were forcefully asked to wear the life-jackets (striking orange in color). Ah! After coming a considerable distance deep into the sea, another shocking thing came. We were asked to jump into the sea. What? I was really scary to do so. Ahah! It was Scott who dived first into the sea. Then people like Suresh, Narsim, Hari and all started diving in. Slowly I got the courage to dive in. Ah! Ah! What am I doing? Thought I would drown into the sea. No man! No. I was floating on my back facing the sky above me. Got the trick. The life-jacket protects me from drowning. Slowly I realized that I am in safe hands. Mother sea is really mocking at me. Come on Kumar. You are floating man. Have you ever done this before? Come on... Enjoy the day. The sea was safe with experienced divers and guards around.

We all had a wonderful time, then after sometime we returned to land. Took shower, changed dresses. Then we were for lunch.

OH! What good food. Started with the tomato soup, proceeded with Vegetable Pulao, Butter Naan, Paneer Butter Masala, some Dhal stuff, Vegetable salads, Fruit salads, Mexican potatoes, a curd vada variant (wonderful), Chicken Kandhari, vanilla ice cream with Chocolate fudge and a sweet (was that the Apple pie). OH! What good food! What good food. Man! It was wonderful.

Hmm. I was just then contemplating whether we are going straight to bed or something. Suddenly somebody suggested Beach Volleyball. Hurray! Everybody started running to the ground and then started a wonderful game of Volleyball. Hey! Kumar. Have you ever touched the volleyball before (hey? Who is questioning me.... Come on. It’s my conscience). OK. OK. I admit I haven't played before. So what? I did a fair job in the game. Initially I was struggling. Then as usual Narsim started encouraging everybody and everybody got their feet and hand running up in the air. Hm. What a tiring game it was. Ahah! What am I seeing? Just at the end of the game, I saw Rohan sitting along with Scott and Satish with a can of Beer. OH! Rohan has joined the party. It’s another surprise.

Then we went for refreshment. Yes. Everybody deserved it. Because after the end of the game everybody were feeling really tired. Then had a couple of cups, of steaming coffee. They offered us tea, coffee, masala vada with green chutney and lots of cookies. I just restricted myself only with my dil-ka-pasand... Its real coffee man.

We then heading to Go-Carting. The Go-Carting location is located outside Fishermen's Cove. We all went there. At a given point of time 5 people can compete with each other. I got into the second round. The first round belonged to Rohan. The second round belonged to Mathew. The third round definitely belonged to Sambhu. Then there were so many rounds. In one of those rounds, I was amazed to see Priya's driving and I was really admiring her courage. Hmm. That’s great. Did I forget to mention that this was also my very first in my life.. Yeah. It was a wonderful feeling indeed.

After the go-carting thing, we all returned back to Fishermen's Cove. We took time to have a shower and changed for dresses. By the time we returned to the “Machan”, it was converted into a dining place. And 3 ex-DSRCians also joined us for the dinner party. They were Jagannath, Ravishankar & Ramesh. The drinks were served in one place and the food was served adjacent to that counter. I had around 3-4 rounds of Sand Piper Scotch Whisky. This was my first drink of this brand. It was a good scotch. What a drink? Wow feeling like floating...... Then started going rounds and rounds of thanks giving. Everybody were really enjoying the dinner. The dinner menu also was really great. But I forgot the menu. Was I drunk that much? No. It was the people that day who made me forget the dinner. Everybody were in a real jubilant and exuberant mood. Hmm. Its time to party man. Its time to party. What else do you need after years of toiling around all the “select” statements and “development” and “deployment” activities.

Then Sambhu thanked and praised the clients a lot. Then it was Rohan followed by Satish and Scott who praised the team and their stunning efforts.

Now its time to retire back to home. We all started finally back home. The cabs dropped us in the office and me & Suresh booked a double A/C room in the guest house opposite to the office and rested till the next morning.

Wow... What a day it was... Loads of fun. Loads of events and loads of sweet memories. Not to mention the loads of pictures that exhibits the mood of the day...

Never will I ever forget this in my life again.

Hmmmm. So chweet.

Kumar

Comments from some of the members of the trip...


By Chandrasekar (Renus' Husband)
Experience uncomparable, especially - Catamaran Ride.


By Hari
Had a good experience in catamaran. Really its a day in my life need to be remembered long.


By Kingsley (Beulah's Husband)
It was a wonderful experience being with the team of DSRC. Though i missed my wife(beulah), it was nice as the whole team supported and moved close with me. Every ride and every moment was enjoyable. I'll definitely cherish this day and will remember you all for the wonderful moments shared with me.

Thank you very much for sharing your friendship and love o this wonderful day!



By Priya (Chandrasekar's Wife)
We had great fun and enjoyed well in this day, especially in the go-karting becuase i came first in it. I think you (narasim) hit the tyres often in every round. But ok a good try.


By Renuka
My most unforgettable experince on this day was the catamaran ride. One should look forwared to that on holidaying. It was totally fun filled day and i enjoyed myself to the core. You all guys are just amazingly friendly and caring. I liked it. Thanks towards everyone towards making this event a wonderful day to cherish.


By Sudhakar
It was wonderful. Amazing experience. Thoroughly enjoyed it.


By Suresh
It was a great experience spending time with DSRCians at the Fisherman's Cove yesterday. This is the first time i am visiting Fish Cove. I was amazed by the location of "Machan". I thoroughly enjoyed the karting as well as it made my adrenaline go up. Vijay bharath gasping for breath in 3 feet of beach water, Hari and his cowboy cap, scott commenting that shoba would drown even with the life jacket, scott telling that smitha drives better than murali are some moments that i'll never forget in my life. The best part was that things were very well planned by Sambhu/Mathew that we were engaged the whole day. Overall, its a 10 on 10.

More will be posted soon....hopefully!

For now enjoy the photos from the trip from the following link(http://www.flickr.com/photos/narsim/)