This weekend, I went to Ooty for an outing and it was a wonderful experience. But, the previous week, I had a strong feeling that I will not come back. It was a bit frightening. I felt as if I was walking toward my death. I have no idea why I felt that creepy feeling each time I thought about the outing and it got worse as Friday evening approached. Still, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity and had decided to go, no matter what may come. In spite of such thoughts, I did truly enjoy the outing. There were a number of things that crossed my mind, and one moment I thought, if I ever come back I should write about those moments. Here they are…
I got a mail that my performance bonus is 18% (quite a good percentage considering my tenure), but even as I was reading that mail, I was wondering if I would ever be back to make use of it. When I was traveling home from office I found myself wondering if I would ever make that journey again. Whenever I saw something interesting on the way, I was thinking it was probably the last time.
In the midst of such thoughts, came a load of questions in a flash. The question: Have I done anything useful so far? Has there been a purpose in my life? Have I done something not for myself, but for the benefit of others? When I am gone, how many of my friends get to know about it? And what would they be saying when they know I am gone? What would it do to my parents?
First, I thought I had wasted my life. I was wondering if there was a single act that meant something to others. But, as time passed by, I realized that it wasn’t that bad at all. I remembered the numerous mails I’ve got so far from friends, appreciating the message I’ve sent in one mail or the other. I remembered the times they had asked me to continue sending mails and the inspiration I derived from such mails. I remembered a number of good things people have said about me and was satisfied. Finally, I thought it hasn’t been a bad life at all. Still, I think I could have done more.
There would be some friends who wouldn’t realize my absence for quite some time. These would be people who don’t really keep in touch, people who mail in or call once in a blue moon. There are others who would realize it pretty soon, because they mail in often. But all they can do would be to call my mobile or mail in. Not sure if they would get any answer. So, most of them wouldn’t get to know.
Even as I was leaving home, I had this feeling that I wouldn’t come in again. I was looking around my room, as if I would never be there. Even when I was leaving I asked my mom to pray for me and she said, “ you ask or not, you would remain in my prayers all the time.” That was a comforting thought.
As I was going to the railway station, my prayer was, “Lord Jesus, if I don’t survive, Please give my parents the strength to get through it, and if I survive with injuries, give me the strength to bear the pain”. I found myself wondering what a wonderful way it would be to leave this earth toward heaven, surrounded by the bountiful nature and beautiful valleys.
Even when we had finished or outing without any untoward incidents, I didn’t dare to think that we would reach home safe. We were a long way from home. I could rest only when I reached home on Monday morning.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
The Team Outing
On Friday evening I left home around 7pm and got the bus to central railway station. I reached the railway station around 8:15pm. Found some colleagues and then we went to the coach. We settled in and the train started off on time at 8:45pm. We were having a nice time of chatting and joking. There were a group of guys playing cards. But we girls went to sleep pretty early. But for some reason I couldn’t sleep. After some time I started feeling a bit chill, even though I had my sweater on and we had already switched the fans off. I didn’t sleep properly through the night and got up around 5am. Only after I got up I got to know that others also had a restless night. In addition to the chill night, our noisy coach didn’t help us in our sleep.
We reached Mettupalayam and got into our van which was to take us around for the next 2 days. We had a break on the way up at a roadside eatery and that was the first glimpse of the mountainside. From there we went to the resort to drop our luggage and have our breakfast. But when we went in, we found that the rooms were really chill. Nevertheless, we managed to freshen up and by the time we were having our breakfast it was past 11am. From there we went to the Pykara Lake. Though many of them went boating, I and 2 other friends decided to stay back. We were seated along the bank and taking snaps, or just chatting. We found the weather to be pretty warm, much against the warnings of mist and rain.
On our way back from the lake, we stopped at a falls. We had to walk down from the road to reach the falls. It was awesome, not in terms of height but in terms of the landscape. The stream was spread over a large area and we could walk around between pools of water. It was a good spot for photographs. From there we proceeded for a late lunch and we were having our lunch around 3pm. After lunch, we went to the rose garden. Though it wasn’t the season, there were plenty of roses in full bloom. Some of them were so big. But what I liked most was the plant with tiny red roses. It was so cute.
After that we stopped for a bit of shopping. Anyways, I didn’t do much of shopping but there were others who did a lot of shopping. We, myself and 2 more friends, just walked around a bit and whiled away our time. I got a jersey for myself and some chocolates for home. We also got the caps they were selling there for ten bucks. Then as we were walking back in search of our van, we came across a procession of Santa on his chariot and a tableau depicting the nativity scene. It was really a wonderful moment, to be standing there in the chill evening, and watching the colorful procession. Finally we stopped for dinner on our way back to the resort. Once we reached the resort it was so chill outside we went into our rooms and sought the warmth of the quilt. In spite of it all, the chillness was permeating and we spent another restless night.
We woke up at 6am with plans to be out by 7:30am, but our plans weren’t to come true. Early in the morning we couldn’t find hot water to freshen up, and thanks to the chill night the waster was freezing. Our fingers were turning numb when we checked the temperature of the running water. finally, we decided to wait for a while, by which time we got the hot water, freshened up, and were ready for another day of sight seeing. In spite of the chillness, I should say, I felt pretty fresh in the morning.
After a timely breakfast, we headed toward the Dotta Petta peak. Again it turned out to be a warm day and we had a nice time at the peak. By then, we had formed a gang of 4 and were having a lot of fun. On our way back from the peak, we stopped for a while and took some snaps by the side of the road.
From there we went to the Botanical Garden. It was another round of walking and taking snaps. By the time we came out it was around 2pm and we headed for lunch. After lunch, we thought it was time to head back to Mettupalayam. On the way, we were to visit a tea estate. That was a way off from the main road, but it was worth the travel. It was such a wonderful place, miles from any habitation, lush and clean. The backyard had beds of carrots, radish, lettuce, and other vegetables too.
By the time everyone got into the van it was 6pm and the driver was saying we would miss the train. He made it a little fast and we were just on time for the train. We had settled in and the fun wasn’t over yet. There was another round of jokes which went on till we finished our dinner and decided to catch some sleep. Thankfully, this time around we could sleep well, and we reached Chennai Central at 5:10am, Monday morning. Thereby came the end of this wonderful team outing.
We reached Mettupalayam and got into our van which was to take us around for the next 2 days. We had a break on the way up at a roadside eatery and that was the first glimpse of the mountainside. From there we went to the resort to drop our luggage and have our breakfast. But when we went in, we found that the rooms were really chill. Nevertheless, we managed to freshen up and by the time we were having our breakfast it was past 11am. From there we went to the Pykara Lake. Though many of them went boating, I and 2 other friends decided to stay back. We were seated along the bank and taking snaps, or just chatting. We found the weather to be pretty warm, much against the warnings of mist and rain.
On our way back from the lake, we stopped at a falls. We had to walk down from the road to reach the falls. It was awesome, not in terms of height but in terms of the landscape. The stream was spread over a large area and we could walk around between pools of water. It was a good spot for photographs. From there we proceeded for a late lunch and we were having our lunch around 3pm. After lunch, we went to the rose garden. Though it wasn’t the season, there were plenty of roses in full bloom. Some of them were so big. But what I liked most was the plant with tiny red roses. It was so cute.
After that we stopped for a bit of shopping. Anyways, I didn’t do much of shopping but there were others who did a lot of shopping. We, myself and 2 more friends, just walked around a bit and whiled away our time. I got a jersey for myself and some chocolates for home. We also got the caps they were selling there for ten bucks. Then as we were walking back in search of our van, we came across a procession of Santa on his chariot and a tableau depicting the nativity scene. It was really a wonderful moment, to be standing there in the chill evening, and watching the colorful procession. Finally we stopped for dinner on our way back to the resort. Once we reached the resort it was so chill outside we went into our rooms and sought the warmth of the quilt. In spite of it all, the chillness was permeating and we spent another restless night.
We woke up at 6am with plans to be out by 7:30am, but our plans weren’t to come true. Early in the morning we couldn’t find hot water to freshen up, and thanks to the chill night the waster was freezing. Our fingers were turning numb when we checked the temperature of the running water. finally, we decided to wait for a while, by which time we got the hot water, freshened up, and were ready for another day of sight seeing. In spite of the chillness, I should say, I felt pretty fresh in the morning.
After a timely breakfast, we headed toward the Dotta Petta peak. Again it turned out to be a warm day and we had a nice time at the peak. By then, we had formed a gang of 4 and were having a lot of fun. On our way back from the peak, we stopped for a while and took some snaps by the side of the road.
From there we went to the Botanical Garden. It was another round of walking and taking snaps. By the time we came out it was around 2pm and we headed for lunch. After lunch, we thought it was time to head back to Mettupalayam. On the way, we were to visit a tea estate. That was a way off from the main road, but it was worth the travel. It was such a wonderful place, miles from any habitation, lush and clean. The backyard had beds of carrots, radish, lettuce, and other vegetables too.
By the time everyone got into the van it was 6pm and the driver was saying we would miss the train. He made it a little fast and we were just on time for the train. We had settled in and the fun wasn’t over yet. There was another round of jokes which went on till we finished our dinner and decided to catch some sleep. Thankfully, this time around we could sleep well, and we reached Chennai Central at 5:10am, Monday morning. Thereby came the end of this wonderful team outing.
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