Cargill @ Indian Niagra.com

It was a long time dream for the Cargill team to be at a waterfall outside Kerala. Giving thoughts to various suggestions we finally planned for the Hogenakkal falls in the Dharmapuri district of TN. Hogenakkal is a riverside small village with plenty of vegetation and is famous for the series of waterfalls. It is located about 750 feet above sea level amidst the Melagiri hills.

It was on November 13th that we started and there were 15 guys to board the cab around 3AM from office for the long cherished Hog falls. Travelling 425 plus kilometers was never tiresome as we had Arun & Sajeev to keep us entertained with their ‘tried & tested’ evergreen songs “kayalarikathu valayerinjappol” and other classical ones. The whole crew joined them as chorus and I wouldn’t be doing justice if I failed to mention the ‘generally silent’ Antony’s Tarzan-kind YELLING (purposely capitalized to show the impact!!) at the end of each song which overtook the applauses and howling. (Thank God that nobody stopped us for noise pollution!)

By the way have you ever had Masala dosa for Rs.50/- from a local ‘star-less’ hotel? If not, contact me, I will tell you where exactly this hotel is! Yes, we were so taken aback when the hotel at the Salem express way charged us a meal cost for a masala dosa, so mean of them! Morning by 11AM we were welcomed at the Dharmapuri village border by a few policemen; I am wondering whether to mention here that they settled for a ‘tip’ of less than Rs.50! Dude, you won’t even get a dosa for that.

An hour journey through the narrow village roads with vast barren landscape which stretched as far as the eye could see with the only splashes of color being a few dwellings dotting the area were pretty new for us. On reaching the location, we checked into the first floor of a house and accommodated ourselves in 3 dormitory-kind rooms. After a shower and lunch, we moved towards where we could make the coracle ride, the main purpose of our outing! (Coracles are circular basket boats covered with black plastic sheets and carry the ferry tourists across the river) We hired 3 coracles and went along the shimmering, rippling river. The light ups and downs in the roaring river and the waters splashing into the coracle made the trip a bit adventurous. It would have been even more exciting and adventurous had there been less water and we could go to the foot of the falls. The ‘coracle-man’ then took us safe to the other side to the shallow waters where we took a bath, swim, roll and what not!!

After the ride, we reached back to our room by 7 and the terrace opened for the cooking skills of Febin, Sarath and myself. The 3 chefs were supported by the team to cook Ghee rice, Chicken curry and veg salad. Gals, please don’t giggle, it’s boys who are testing their skills on cooking and that too for a whole lot of 15 members! All said and done, the group effort made the food tasty than expected. The venue was entertained by songs and dances from Hollywood numbers to Tollywood ‘dhappankuthu”

Sunday morning on the way back to Kerala we halted at Yercaud which is again a hill station like Kodai yet not much explored I guess. Way back home all of us were so refreshed and high that we never stopped singing and dancing in the cab to the item numbers and romantic duets, not to mention the Antony-Sarath duo for “nenjukkul peythidum maamazhai..” It was really an exciting and memorable outing the Cargill team ever had!

King Fisher Toast!

I really don't remember when was that I first tasted the bitterness of beer. Putting in a load of efforts, I have a faint memory of taking a mouthful of KF beer, only to spit it out as it tasted bitter (I didn't know that it would taste bitter!! LOL) But, but but, I started liking the bitterness of this intoxicant…..intoxicant at least for me ;-) (njan onnu thudangiyathe ullu)

Well, I have been only to the decent drinking spots (I don’t want to call them “BARS”) yea, rather I would name them either Velocity, Sports lounge, Gravity, Couchyn, Malabar House :D … Guess I covered the main ones :P

Being a Konkani Brahmin, I thought I would “help” Mr. Vijay Mallya, who is another Konkani (right guys?) so I made King Fisher (KF) my choice anywhere I go. Incidently my first flight was KF too. Even outside India, at Minneapolis, I suggested my clients to go for KF! It tasted even more better than what we get here in India, or is it that I just felt so, nope, I am not boozed, it tasted better better better!! and my clients also liked it too. Thanks to the Indian friend, Sri who was with me introducing the drink. I do get emails from one among them with a “Kingfisher Toast” at the end of the mail..hm…!

Back in Kochi, I don’t want to mention with whom I go for the weekend booze. I am sure they would have a “OMG! I am saved” smile while reading this :D He is an expert in opening beer bottle and filling my glass with beer. He is my “Controller and Auditor General” (he controls me and audits the bill, he he…)

Even after so many sessions, I am still not sure how to open the beer bottle without it being bubbled up, may be I get bubbled up for the drink before I try to open it myself! First and the only time I opened a beer bottle was at a hill station. Mr. P, sorry I spoiled your “Sand piper” beer.

All said and done, I don’t go beyond a limit, how much ever I have “athu vayattil thane kidakkum” So guys, have a Kingfisher toast!

I love Chicken, but not Chicken Pox!

It was in the second week of Sept 2009 that I felt an uneasiness while going to office. It may be due to the long (not long though) holidays which made me a bit lazy, I thought. Client visits were on the top of the agenda in the office and I had my share of questions to be raised at the “Townhall Meeting”. Nevertheless, I reached office, however spent more time in the cafeteria later in the night since the A/c was too cold for me to be comfortable in the production floor. I went to the restroom to look at myself in the mirror to confirm my appearance, now pale?!!

One secret, [which won’t be a secret again ;-)] while having booze with friends I go to the wash room to see how much “boozed” or not I look and I come back with a smile. hmm.. I think I am slowing opening up through these blogs… whatever.. lets talk about Chicken.

Back in the restroom, Alas! I could see a few pimples on my forehead. Oh! don’t worry, these might be just because of the hot climate outside, I consoled (Yea Sept was a bit hot). That night went calm. But I woke up early in the morning only to know that the nearby transformer on the electric post had bursted and there won’t be power until 2 in the afternoon! The new house where I stay now is bit dark inside due to the tall trees which blocks the sunlight coming in. The cloudy day made the interior a bit more darker.

Well, I work in an outsourcing co and the “odd” shift timing (as others say, not me :P) make me sleep until 9 in the morning. But the “hot” break in the late sleep made me more lazy and it made me lie down on bed until 2 in the afternoon. By that time, power had been restored and I went to take my bath only to come back to my mom and say “ I think I am having CP - Chicken Pox!!” Mom was cool, since she had gone through this during her childhood. Thanks to Calicut which gave me this "yuck" as the doctor confirmed that it takes 2 weeks for the boils to appear, and exactly 2 weeks ago I was at Calicut! It was communicated to the office immediately. Office people were more troubled since the clients were so particular about the hygiene and related stuff in India and my presence there would make things worse . At home, I shut the doors, and taking my homoeopathic medicine from Dr. Chandrabanu I started my isolated life. Thursday night, the 17th went off as a joyous night :P. From 18th things went wrong as boils started appearing all over my body, more on the upper part. Neem leaves were strewn all over the room and on the bed to control the itching, which thankfully I didn’t have. The worst thing was that I could not eat food with oil or salt. But thanks to the fruits and the tender coconut water, I had them in plenty, wah! Bananas, grapes, water melons emm…. I could just “wah!” now, I can’t “slurp!”

Two weeks of isolation and I got ample time to watch the movies stored in my lappy, The Italian Job, Finding Nemo, Aa dekhe zara, Delhi 6 and so on. The boils started disappearing by then, and there were black marks left all over the face and body. I couldn’t handle the itching on the cheeks and the jaws due to the 2 week old facial hair growth and I cleaned them off. The clean shaven look added to my fair colour made the black marks more visible. Only a few very close friends at office knew that I was off due to CP while many others thought it was my holidays LOL….!! At office, some were like.. OMG! Rajath, what happened to you?! I can still remember their mouths wide open like this :-O Being a guy more particular about the looks, I was just smiling! he…. he….. dude, I can’t help :-)

So friends, its not easy going through a CP holiday because you will be mentally down due to the isolation (unless you enjoy being indoors!) and your physical appearance also will unnndddeeerrrgggooo a change :-D Scroll down if you have the guts to see the real Chicken pox face...!

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Sorry,  I removed that pic on public request!!!

4years - not out!!

After a joyous weekend, I came to office today evening (16th Nov, 2009) and when I opened my MS outlook, I was surprised to find 30+ unread emails in my inbox. A closer look confirmed that they were not from any of the management/client people (as there had been more bombards during weekends from them  ) but from my own colleagues in OPI.

Since my shift starts at 4, I thought something interesting should have happened during the day. Curiously I opened one and Alas! its my fourth anniversary in office!! Dude, you’re 4 years old for OPI. These guys have been sending email for congratulating me for completing 4 successful (?) years here. Hmm… This is nothing less than an interesting stuff, I thought. I had this in mind during the weekend, but somehow missed it over the fun and frolic I had during the weekend. (Kayees Chicken Biriyani, slurp!)

Yes! I joined OPI on 14th Nov, 2005 on children’s day (not as a child though) which was celebrated along with the inauguration of the new facility of OPI. The then new facility has become an old facility now; see, just over a period of 4 years the company moved to the top level of a new building in 2009. Yes! We are in the top floor (ninth) now with a spectacular view of the kakkanad, the new downtown of Cochin!! The journey during these years had its ups and downs, plus and minuses, but over a period of time you look back and see that you have gained much from the never ending learning process……!

250 Carlson Parkway, Minneapolis

Chicago to Minneapolis was just an hr more of flying! Luckily I didn't have to wait at the conveyor belt for my baggage as it reached there a day before! I saw my red suitcase among many others at one counter. These should be of the passengers whose flights were cancelled yesterday, I thought. There was hardly anyone in that area other than an officer at a counter who was working on his computer. I wondered whether I should get his permission before I take my suitcase. Nevertheless, I quietly took my suitcase and moved ahead expecting a call from behind. Alas! he didn’t call, didn't mind to look up either. Ha! what is the security here, anyone could have taken away my baggage...! Crazy, huh! I moved to the exit where the cab driver was supposed to stay with my name board. I moved from one exit to the other, but couldn't find him. I went outside the building, but it was so f**king cold that I ran inside in a moment. How freezing it is, I have never been exposed to such freezing temperatures earlier! It was minus 4 Fahrenheit!! Didn’t dare to convert it into Celsius and see how much it comes to :O He might be waiting for me at the baggage collection point, I thought. So as I headed towards it, I saw a middle aged white carrying my name board. I said, "Hi, I am Rajath!" He greeted me in a very pleasant manner, and guided me to the parking lot. It was a black luxury car, think it was a Toyota model.

Meanwhile I called up Sreedeep and straight away went to the client's office which was at Mc Guinty Road. I met my clients, they welcomed me and then we went to their cafeteria, which was oh my! I can write another blog on the cafeteria alone. I had Chicken fingers and French fries (lovely...!!) with coke :) Tired of the journey I pushed them to take me to the apartment after this lunch. A very sweet but fat lady, Cacky, took both of us in her car to the apartment.

It was The Gates at Carlson Parkway, large 2 storied building blocks with 3 such blocks, I guess. The picture I got in my inbox earlier had green lawns on the side of the building, a big pond and a stream running into it, green leaves, small bridges with water flowing underneath etc etc..! By that time I was quite confident that I would get to see an entirely different picture! YES! the pond, stream, lawn were all covered with snow!! There was a main entrance for all the tenants which opened with a common lock, either with the sensor or with the key. Our apartment was towards the left side of the building which opened to a narrow corridor and to the left was a small kitchen and to the right, a small area which had the heater and the washing machine. Just after that comes the main hall with a small wooden dining table for 4 people and sofa with a tepoi and a 21' CTV, and an internet connection, wow! Sreedeep already occupied the room at the right of the hall and left the other one for me. He told me "Hey! I have left the room with the TV for you, Rajath!" Well, lets see how much time would I get to watch the tv after the hectic schedules starting tomorrow!! The room had a double coat bed spring with a mattress and a comfort on it. Two pair of pillows and bed lamps on each side with a phone and a table clock. "Interesting!", I said. I dumped my luggage in the changing room near the attached bathroom. Well, by this time I had to eat something lest I would fall down.!

The very next day after office, in the evening, we got out to explore the surroundings. The building which we stayed was numbered "250" whereas if I walk through the interior I would reach the building 260. Ha! internally these are not two but a single building only. It had n number of apartments which they call it as a “community”. I thought they might have some monthly community get-together or any other cultural activity. Close to the leasing office at the front was a fitness centre where there were 5 tread mills, dumbbells, and few other fitness machines. It had a changing/bathing area also. Behind the centre was a swimming pool, open at the top and hence covered with ice! I thought that had they made this swimming pool inside the building with Sauna and Jacuzzi, people would have been raring to go there :)

It was hardly 6’o clock but felt like the darkness at 7 in India. The sun rises here around 7 in the morning and sets around 5.30, so it gets dark very soon! In summer it would be the opposite and this happens because of the tilted axis of the earth. (am very much interested in Space and related stuff, you know :D) I sat on the snow for the first time ever in my life and it was oh! my butts! we took some snaps also. We couldn’t explore much and there was nothing much there either. It was getting even more colder and our nose and ears became red in colour and started paining due to the freezing cold. We had to run to the apartment but the roads were slippery so we couldn’t, but thanks to our woodland winter shoes, we reached bit faster than expected :D

TV was not an entertainment when compared to the internet. Sreedeep was more into books or he gave way for me to browse more, eh? Anyway, thanks Sreedeep!

By 10 we finished our dinner which was rice and tomato curry (Sreedeep special) and after checking my orkut I went to my bedroom. All my friends wanted to know how my journey was, since there were hardly any friends of mine who visited countries other than the Middle East/Australia.

The King size bed in the bedroom was big enough to accommodate 2 more people! No bad thoughts here, I just wanted to say that it was really big. It was so cozy that hardly I dumped myself onto it than I slept.

We got up at 6.30 in the morning so that we can start for office by 7.30. Sreedeep got me corn flakes and milk and, and, and… that’s it, corn flakes and milk only!! I have to survive on this for the next 2 months!! Chalo, yeh bhi sahi.. We got a call from Cacky that she is reaching our building in a minute or 2. We put on out jackets and slowly headed towards the entrance and waited for her. Its gonna be a day begin for my work in the big United States….!!

All work and LESS play........!

Its volume time, again!

Work pressure was not much in my project from the start of it at kochi. Members from other teams used to tease me saying "no volume, eh.. enjoying..??" I just smile off, but sometimes get irritated by these repetitive comments. For good or bad, those mouths are absolutely shut now! Certain members are so crooked that they put on a sympathetic face and say "oh! you have huge volume... na..tch tch!!"

Hmm.. whatever, this is the busiest time in our project and hopefully December end, another volume season, would be an easy go :)

Meanwhile my team member who is the "super processor" (as we call him), went on his maiden trip to Singapore for his (maiden :D)honey-moon! (just kidding!)

All work and less play makes me a dull boy. Volume pressure and the additional reporting responsibilities due to the "super processors'" absence made me fully engaged. But I am enjoying these in lieu of the promotion I received last week. Yes! i stopped "acting" as a Team Leader and BECAME a Team Leader! he he.....

My first air travel which became an international one! - Part 3 final!

"Jaane kya hoga rama re….." I joined the queue which moved towards the US customs and security checks. The queue made a curve as it reached close to the counter. Due to this I couldn’t see what was happening at the counter. The only thing i could see is, a person far in the front taking out his laptop from the bag and placing it in the plastic basin and then his watch and then his shoes and then.......... Alas! he is removing his belt..!!!!!! What the heck is this..? Should I strip to my shorts for the security "Checks"...? OMG!! Hmm….? Aey, they may not do that, I thought. Belt would have metal item so it is to be removed and kept in the basin. But still, I haven't seen such a procedure of removing belt for these checks. As soon as the queue moved forward, I could see the counters where customs personnel in navy blue pants and white shirt with their royal caps... they looked awesome, and yes there was a lady officer too. An indian guy was standing 3 persons in front of me and I heard the officer asking him to dispose the shaving gel he had which was probably more than some specific qty which one can carry in his cabin baggage. Hopefully, I had all these stuff in my check-in baggage and I was not wearing a belt with my jeans J I got through the check quite easily and moved towards my gate A63. Still I had 2 hours to go and I was feeling hungry too. I thought of getting some food from the cafe there, but didn’t know what to take; rather I was not in a mood to experiment the new stuffs i saw at a cafe. So managed with my cookies, cashew nuts and dates which I carried. I saw a small book shop near the gate so got in and was 'browsing' through them and yes, i saw some of those books which were "banned" or meant "precious" in India ;) Should I buy one...? hmm... nope, would buy on the way back, so postponing some things on the way back I went to my gate and rested for sometime.

Around 12 noon I boarded the United Airlines UA-941 which would reach Chicago O'Hare Intl airport at 3.15 in the afternoon after a non stop 9 1/2 hr flying. The cabin crews were not that interesting compared to Lufthansa, few ladies in their 40's may be :( I felt damn sleepy and decided to sleep after the breakfast which consists of a veg burger, apple, banana, strawberry and the like. Quickly finishing it, I slept. After sometime hearing some noise, I got up and saw that it was 4 hrs past and they have started serving lunch. Not much to say about the "asian veg meal"....!! I was sleeping through the rest of the journey. As we were approaching Chicago, the air hostess gave us a declaration form for customs check and I ticked "foodstuffs" as I still had those nuts and dates with me. As the plane ran through the runway I saw something interesting. The runway was built over a subway or rather the subway was built under the runway...hmm.. whatever, it made me remind one of the forwards I got as an email in my inbox! Yes, that place was Chicago and I am experiencing it! Chicago is also called as 'windy city' and found that it is damn cold and with the wind it would be even worse. Weather forecasts say “5 Fahrenheit, feels like 1 F. Chicago is one among the largest airports in the world, so lets see what does this have for me...

My connection flight to Minneapolis was at 5PM and before that I had to collect my bag and go through the immigration checks and get my I-94, a legal document which would bear the last date of my stay in US. I had to catch a train from the international terminal to reach the immigration check. The queue for these checks was divided into 2. One for US citizens & persons holding a green card and the other for tourists. I joined the second queue and the officer had some basic questions and verified my finger prints. He stapled the I-94 in my passport and after that I said "OKKK! I AM NOW IN US!!" I moved forward following the "connection flight sign" and had a walked through the customs to whom I handed over the declaration form. They enquired what food do I have and I replied cashew nuts, and immediately they asked "raw or roasted". For a second, I got confused as to what to answer (tired and sleepy na, it happens..!!) and I smiled and replied "roasted". I moved to the baggage check in area and tried to spot my flight from the display. Alas! It has been cancelled.........! Still I checked in my bag and enquired a black lady standing near the display about the cancelled flight. She said it has been cancelled due to bad weather at Minneapolis and added that you need to check at the gate for your next flight. One thing to mention is that the black lady looked very funny and even speaks in a very funny accent and the figure, OMG! As if a baby elephant standing on its 2 legs!! So muchhhh.

I saw a huge crowd at the gate and moved towards it. They put me on a wait list for the next 2 flights. I had to call up my colleague, Sreedeep, in MPLS and inform the situation, but had no coins with me to make the call. My banker was kind enough to advance me $100 and $50 notes and some travellers cheque!! I got the money the previous day of my travel and didn’t have time to get some coins. However, I bought a bottle of water from the shop for $3.00 and got the change. Then, I called up and informed my colleague of the situation. 4hrs passed but my ticket was not confirmed. In between, I called up my pick up cab service at MPLS and informed them of the cancellation and that I would let them know as soon as I get a confirmed one. I called them up again for the third time and this time even before I introduced myself, the lady on the other side said "Hi, Rajath” ha ha.. she recognized my voice too.....! It was almost 9 and I walked round the airport and saw a general help desk and there I asked for a confirmed ticket as I didn’t want a wait list again! That lady was nice enough to give me a confirmed one at 10....... NEXT DAY MORNING!! 5pm to 10 am means a 17hr stop over..!! What a stopover!!!! I further enquired whether I would get free accommodation for that night at some hotel to which she replied that, once you are in US you are a domestic traveller and they don’t provide accommodation to domestic travellers. Wow! Even so nicer, huh!! Immediately I called up Sreedeep and informed him.

I roamed around the airport and it seemed like that I have seen these places before. Yes! It was in one sequel of "Home Alone" where the family rushes through the crowd towards their gate. That was Chicago airport. A huge skeleton of a Dinosaur was kept near the helpdesk. I wandered every nook and corner of the airport and watched the Audi's and Limo's cruising outside in the cold streets. I walked towards the end which leads to the car parking lot, but being alone didn’t want to take any risk venturing outside. Another interesting fact is that, one of my friends, Vinod, was in Chicago at that time, which I came to know only after a month of my arrival! Had I known that earlier, I wouldn’t have to spend this F***ing 17 hrs here! I decided to sleep at my gate premises and found a comfortable long seat where I lay down on my stomach with my shoulder bag under my chest. New place, will I be able to keep myself and my bag safely here? I couldn’t see much security officers at that time. May be because of low traffic, fewer officers. I saw a young couple in their mid teens making space at the ground, right below the gate counter. They spread a sheet and this girl lay down with her head on the boy's lap. Soooooooo young couple, even guys and gals in their 20's hardly do this (or rather get a chance like this :P) in India. Probably he might be dating her. I spotted them smooching at a time even though my eyes were off from them :P "Labom ko labom pe sajaao......" Hm... ok, its time to sleep and wondering whether to curse or not at this situation I slowly went to deep sleep hoping for a new day, new things at a new place........

Thanks a lot for spending your time.....