Vizag and Araku Tour - Prelude and The Day

Disclaimer: These are the events seen from my eye and the feelings from my heart. Any offences meant are only by chance and I regret all the pain caused due offence.

 

It’s been quite some time; I returned from Vizag-Araku Tour, that I have been with friends and colleagues at my office. Let me put my experiences when the pleasure of the trip is still fresh in mind.

 

Prelude of the Trip

 

Quite some time back (may be around two months) on a birthday celebration in office, our peer team lead put his views and interests in planning for a trip to near by station and have an escape from the stress due from hard-work. My team having been part of full-filling a major requirement for the next release of our product has been under stress eye for a majority of the past few months (which dully happen to be my first few months in this company). With the earlier option, a free from stress thrown open everyone immediately showed interest. Then and there the thought of tour holiday born and we being in numbers spreading a few short of double a dozen, a team is put to plan and materialize the deal. Here is where I have been pulled in to manage the event. Probably, should credit this to then recent interest I showed in getting things organized for a fare-well of colleague, though this could even be due to show of levels I do . Though things are forming too fast, I did consider things to be born of the initial zeal and considered the Idea of trip to fall dead some time soon. And the eventual actions and situations put the hallucination of the tour being canceled and at times it did completely. Though the things did go on down side and took the route to be a thought of past and was there momentarily, I should say the actions of SA did give the event a new life and a new partner too. The B team was always there, working in collaboration with us. With all of them showing thumbs up, the event did take a new turn. Matter of fact, SA did see things happening (or I should say he did make things happen), that made me along with GO and RA, running from head to head talking, collecting and sometimes pestering on people to join in and roping on people to get various activities for making the tour plan a success. Particularly AD Family happened to be the most stricken with we pestering him every corner he is seen – which finally bore and roped him and his wife to the trip. All the time SA, VG and AK took new roles for making the plan come aboard with all tastes of a holiday relaxation. Oh! I forgot, about a few last minute drop outs. Probably people in event management might have experienced with every new member dropping out of a budget controlled event, put a new toll on my adrenalin levels. However, thanks to AK and SAS friends. We are able to rope in HV and SB on to the plates of few drop outs.

 

The day – 27^th June, 2008

 

With things fallen in place and time, the day has come for the event, which started of with a few short of double a dozen, turned out to be a one more than double a dozen (24). With so many members on board, the team managing event is also strong with railway reservations, hotel rooms and local bus travel booked. As I entered in the office, I have a feel of holiday mood across members of this holiday trip. For a few minutes I was reminded of my boarding school days, where all of the students aboard at school are every year on 22^nd December, a day when every one heads to their home towns for a month long holiday. Cherishing the short reminisce of the past, me and all others stepped in to the shoes of our routine work at office. As the clock ticked and we are closing to late afternoon, people started to head to their base stations to put the baggage in place and head for a three day long trip. The clock kept ticking and more members from our respective teams seam falling of on to the journey a head. I, having required closing the bill payment for Internet usages for my Reliance Data Card, headed a bit earlier, along with a plan to buy snacks for me and the team during the train en-route. However, with me getting delayed at the reliance web world was only able to buy a couple of Biryani parcels from the take away section at Paradise Persist Gold restaurant in Secunderabad, which I promised to buy out for couple of friends for the night. As PRA called on, I gazed that his adrenalin is rising and immediately caught an auto to the station. As I entered the platform to catch on the Vishaka Express (Oh! Forgot, though the bookings are done almost a fort-night ago, we are able to get all the tickets at a place only in this train), I saw that I am the last to catch on the train and join the team. As, the Station master flagged the Green flag and the rail automation system switched couple of switches and hit the connection switching the green light ahead of the Train, our journey to the long awaited Vizag -Araku tour did start amid the cheers from friends and me running pillar to pillar trying to convince some odd men (people who came in between our 25 ticket long stretch of births in the rail coach). However, our efforts to convince people to move to different births did end in vein with an angry middle aged man resorting to address meanly with us, though we choose to give him a pain in neck en-route to Visakapatnam. As the train driver pulled levers, giving a membrane a pierce with it’s shrilling siren signaling people to give a final send of to their dear ones and kick-start their respective journey. As the Diesel engine pushed pressure to the wheels of compartment by compartment, the wheels rotated, making way to overcome the static fiction binding everyone to stay back and move in inertia pushing them to new pages of life. I stood there, listening to another drop out, must be some serious problem, wishing good to him, we moved on to see our heavy vehicle gain the momentum and hit the highest speed level crossing station by station.

 

The day journey saw a start with low energy, subjective to many members of team on aboard without lunch, which eventually led to a number of comments on the MT (me, GO, and RA). Our effort to fetch a bit of entertainment also went down the gutter, with people on board moving on for a cash prize – and me choose not to nod for pouring on money to the entertainment led on journey a head, made all the entertainment in vein. The extent of my management thoughts I was able to acquire, made me choose not to pour money initially and struggle latter – probably you could say I am showing signs of middle class mentality – no problem, for I come from middle class background. I don’t know if this lead to tremendous uproar on the M Team, I took the slightest uproar to heart and felt a sad. The seed of guilt sown grew plant and made tree, and as they say, ‘Idle brain is Devil’s Play Ground’, bear evil thought, which gave me enough options to turn off from the team. At a time, I choose to get of in middle and head home (the train does touch my base station, Guntur, my home place Guntur). As I fought to remain calm, some have seen me meditating, which ideally am trying to calm. Thanks to GO, who made efforts smoothly to calm and diverted my ideal brain to some thing else. I guess most team is not aware of any of these. Or may be I was a cat, assuming they don’t, with me all the time drink milk, with my eyes closed.

 

As the time hit for dinner, I calmed my-self and headed to join the team. They seem to know nothing, I was feeling guilt. May be they just acting mature by not disturbing me. May be! I kept silent and did try to join them and left the guilt to orphanage. The dinner is a combination of tamarind rice, brought by AD family, thanks to PRA, Ms. AD. The taste is that of Mom, I really cursed for not following the Devil’s word to head home. Have, I would have enjoyed more of Mom’s hand taste. May be I would miss all the fun. Added to this, the newly made Mango Pickle (Aavakaya, AP is known famous for this pickle) and plain dal from RA’s house and the Hyderabad Biryani from Paradise did give a satisfaction to my taste buds. With clock ticking 1200 Hrs all and me called an off for the day and hit the bed only to wake a head.

 

Continued… the next post shall be of my experiences on the three day tour with joys in vizag, en-route Araku and Tyda – Jungle Bells.