Footprints left on the sands of time fade but memories last forever.
This weekend, I went to Pondicherry. Nothing remarkable about it, when you consider that Pondi (as it is popularly called) is just 3 hours drive from Chennai and accessible anytime. What made it memorable was that I went out with my office team of 45 people and the wonderful memories that will remain a part of me forever.
We started at 8.30 am and reached Pondi at around 12 pm. The Wildflower resort is difficult to find; we got lost and had to ask for directions several times before we reached the resort. Wildflower is aptly named - safely hidden in a village at the edge of the ocean, in a place where nature rather than technology still rules. It was worth the effort, Wildflower gives you everything to take your mind off the downsides of city life.
Well, there is nothing to write about the office 'team bonding/team building initiative' by itself. It was like any other office party at any other corporate - a bunch of uncomfortable people put together for 2 days in close proximity and deep animosity pretending to be cool and hep and ready to run away at a moment's notice! So as expected there were lots of drinks, games, hugs, smiles, appreciations, dancing, and people breaking into groups based on their pecking-order in the corporate hierarchy. On the brighter side, people let go off their inhibitions and revealed parts of themselves that we never knew even existed. It's a different thing that these same people will again go back to office on Monday and cover themselves in layers of hypocrisy and bullshit.
The moment that remains etched in my memory is the morning after the late night drinking and dancing, when my colleagues woke me up for a walk on the beach. I refused at first in favour of few more hours of sleep. Then something made me realize that I can sleep everyday but this opportunity will be lost forever. The walk to the beach by itself was music to my senses. A rickety fence housing a gaggle of geese, that opened up to an unplanned palm grove, that led to a meandering stone pathway and finally to the clear turquoise ocean. Wild flowers - purple and white carpeted the otherwise pristine and clean beach. The sun hadn't still shown its face and yet it was not dark; it was the Peter Pan moment between blinding darkness and burning heat - when everything is perfect and time stands still for eternity.
I was with a group and yet alone. Just the unbridled ocean, sand under my feet, the wind in my hair and nothing else. It was peace. I basked in the knowledge that nothing mattered and nobody can snatch this moment from me. Call it nirvana, meditation, God.... for me that moment was beyond words. I stood there for a long time watching, at peace, as the waves rose and the sun finally fought its way through the wall of clouds.
The moment faded. Peter Pan went back to the realms of fairy tales. And I traced my steps back to the resort. But that memory still remains fresh in my mind - treasured forever.
This weekend, I went to Pondicherry. Nothing remarkable about it, when you consider that Pondi (as it is popularly called) is just 3 hours drive from Chennai and accessible anytime. What made it memorable was that I went out with my office team of 45 people and the wonderful memories that will remain a part of me forever.
We started at 8.30 am and reached Pondi at around 12 pm. The Wildflower resort is difficult to find; we got lost and had to ask for directions several times before we reached the resort. Wildflower is aptly named - safely hidden in a village at the edge of the ocean, in a place where nature rather than technology still rules. It was worth the effort, Wildflower gives you everything to take your mind off the downsides of city life.
Well, there is nothing to write about the office 'team bonding/team building initiative' by itself. It was like any other office party at any other corporate - a bunch of uncomfortable people put together for 2 days in close proximity and deep animosity pretending to be cool and hep and ready to run away at a moment's notice! So as expected there were lots of drinks, games, hugs, smiles, appreciations, dancing, and people breaking into groups based on their pecking-order in the corporate hierarchy. On the brighter side, people let go off their inhibitions and revealed parts of themselves that we never knew even existed. It's a different thing that these same people will again go back to office on Monday and cover themselves in layers of hypocrisy and bullshit.
The moment that remains etched in my memory is the morning after the late night drinking and dancing, when my colleagues woke me up for a walk on the beach. I refused at first in favour of few more hours of sleep. Then something made me realize that I can sleep everyday but this opportunity will be lost forever. The walk to the beach by itself was music to my senses. A rickety fence housing a gaggle of geese, that opened up to an unplanned palm grove, that led to a meandering stone pathway and finally to the clear turquoise ocean. Wild flowers - purple and white carpeted the otherwise pristine and clean beach. The sun hadn't still shown its face and yet it was not dark; it was the Peter Pan moment between blinding darkness and burning heat - when everything is perfect and time stands still for eternity.
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| Searching for peace...at WildFlower Resort |
I was with a group and yet alone. Just the unbridled ocean, sand under my feet, the wind in my hair and nothing else. It was peace. I basked in the knowledge that nothing mattered and nobody can snatch this moment from me. Call it nirvana, meditation, God.... for me that moment was beyond words. I stood there for a long time watching, at peace, as the waves rose and the sun finally fought its way through the wall of clouds.
The moment faded. Peter Pan went back to the realms of fairy tales. And I traced my steps back to the resort. But that memory still remains fresh in my mind - treasured forever.
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