A cheery start to a shiny new year

My fingers have been itching to type this post ever since I was skimming through some old albums. So all that I have been doing in the last 2 weeks of '09 takes a backseat. Back to photographs! I love the print-copies of the photos more than the digital ones. I can sit with photo albums for hours (not online albums), even if I don't know anyone in the entire album. Very often, photos also work as laughter therapy for me. I have very few snaps of myself posing like a good child. The moment I'm in front of the camera, I start smiling. I'm camera-friendly, and no, I don't mean photogenic. The best snaps however, are those that are clicked when everyone's generally unaware they are being shot. It takes an ingeniuous photographer to capture it smartly though.

My workplace organized a team outbound in a reputed training camp in Puducherry (erstwhile Pondicherry) sometime back. An outbound training is a programme held annually to foster team bonding. The place we were taken to was run by ex-Army servicemen. You get it ... D-i-s-c-i-p-l-i-n-e all the way! A whole bunch of extreme activities would be organized, keeping in mind the team size, values to be instilled, team-bonding, and of course the element of fun thrown in. We reached Puducherry well past midnight but we were given no allowances for that. We had to be up by 5:30 a.m! Activities would begin at 8.00 a.m. sharp. The best part about the trip apart from the mouth-watering food was this - everything was on the beach!!!! :-) All activities, lunch, and even our stay! I still marvel at the accommodation - "Huts on stilts". How cool is that ?! :-) The sad part was - It was mid-March and Puducherry was boiling!! Every one of us got burnt black during the 3 hot days we spent here.

All activities involved team work and were all timed. Let me try and describe the first activity. We (my team comprised of around 40-45 then) were divided into groups of 8. Two teams had to face each other across a distance of probably 40 feet. All the members of one team had to get to the other team's starting point and vice versa in one hour. But the catch was - you could not walk/run/crawl across the sand. There were props provided to facilitate the movement - few huge drums, some wooden planks, a tin can etc. Only these could be moved around. The people had to get on top of these and help each other across. I was in Team A. Being slim and short has its disadvantages I tell you. I'm usually the 'chosen one' climbing drums, lying on wooden planks, walking on pipes, passing through ropes etc. I have been subjected to ALL of them :-/ Team A had a group leader who voted that the drum was going into the play-area first follwed by , you guessed right - moi! So I was helped up on the drum. The second drum was passed to me. I had to roll it around and get on top of drum # 2. Then roll drum # 1 ahead. After this another person would get into the play-area with the help of a wooden plank. I won't bore you with how each one got in. Frankly its more interesting to watch than read. But if you just happened to stop for a minute and look around right in the middle of this activity, you would be seized by an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Didn't I mention we were working in tandem with Team B? Here's what they were doing half an hour into the activity. All 8 were standing precariously on drums / planks / one another and fast approaching us. Team A - yes yes my team - Only 4 were on board as our group leader didn't want to crowd the play-area. His masterplan was to do the initial cross-over with the four of us so that the remaining four would be faster (and not commit the same mistakes). So the 4 of us in the play-area were freely moving about. The remaining 4 were enjoying the view. Team B started pelting us with suggestions as they had to use our resources (drums/planks) to get across. There was unimaginable mayhem! We were quite far from the starting point and couldn't get the other 4 in ; they were nearing mid-way and couldn't do away with the extra 4 they had brought along :-D

This picture was taken sometime during the activity by S who is an ace photographer -- This is part of my team. There are several photos like these of every group! Everytime I see this one, I am reminded of the madness that ensued and can't stop grinning!

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Did you have a hearty laugh? ;-) Now for the esteemed introductions -- (from L-R)

``He was our group leader - very dynamic! Suddenly he decided to jump into the fray. I guess he felt left out. Except me, noone seems to care about his self-inclusion!

``She was our Team Secretary ( I mean in office ). She's enthusiastic, bubbly and a fun bundle! Though she seems to be trying very hard to find a comfortable spot.

``This old teammate of mine looks like a painter what with the tin can (hope you can see it) and bowler hat. Oh, the tin can also had to get across to the other end with us. To me, he seems content and weighed down with the responsiblity of the tin can.

``He is a beach-lover like no other!! Throughout this trip he was used as a compass - his attention never wavered from the general direction of the beach. Here he's mighty happy to stay put and "drink it all".

``Hallelujah! Here she comes.. I'm high-strung because I am perched on the edge of a plank , just the plank to top it all (highly uncomfortable as it is) , scared that I might be air-borne any second courtesy the new entrant! :-p

You ask what happened at the fag end of this activity? During the transition, there was utter chaos. Heads and drums were both rolling. Planks and people were all falling. Tin cans were canned ;-) In short, none of the pairs were able to complete this activity in the stipulated one hour.

Even the other activities were just as maddeningly fun. We had activties such as these all day (yes! in the burning sun). Evenings were spent having a grand time ( hide 'n' seek at midnight / outdoor games on the beachside / building HUGE sand-castles and palaces ) !!

What more can I say? Unforgettable, unforgettable, Oh-sooo-unforgettable !!! :-)