What was I doing in Mumbai?
I have a Pocketful of blogs about this.
None of them seemed to do justice to the Saturday I spent in Mumbai.
So I thought, let's go back to the time before the Knomeet.
The day (monday I guess), when Mahesh posted about it. And our very own Karthik Baba was gracing the occasion.
I'm so tiny I thought. Who would want to meet me! What will I talk to them about? They must think I'm useless. What with all the immature, emotional blogs I keep writing.
I was in a place where I was struggling with my faith in people and our system. My ideal world and my real world, that are mostly in sync, seemed to run in opposite directions.
This Knomeet seemed like the best place to come face to face with Reality..and a lot of truth.
So there I was, in Bombay Barbecue. Unannounced. And oh so Anxious!
I recognized Mahesh from his DP. He's just as charming and handsome in person. I went up to the table and said "Hi Mahesh, I'm Mridul".
I saw the confusion on his face. He thought for a moment that He was in a wrong place :D :D
But he got over it quickly and introduced me to Bharat and Aravind.
More on Bharat in a bit.
I took my seat on the sofa, next to Aravind- the junior most in our pack. It comes to me instinctively. I like kids. And this kid was adorable. Personifying Chennai's Charm and grace. The intelligent sorts you know will do a great job and make us all proud.
The next to arrive, a minute or two after me was this gorgeous creation of God. This girl looked so bright, so vibrant and full of life, I thought she must be a junior too. So I was about to put her in the kid's category when I got the shock of my life.
This extreme hotness was Deepa, who, by the way has spent over 13 (!!!) years in TCS!!!
When did she start working I thought?! At 10?! @#!@@ I felt like love at first sight.
As instructed, We were all famished.
Deepa and I, in spite of our lack of appetite appetite that day, stood by our love for meat. Mahesh, Bharat and Aravind were on a vegetarian diet. We placed our orders. The food started pouring in from all directions.
We all connected instantly! What were we talking about?
Haha I don't know, I can't remember all of it, but there was laughter and food in abundance.
Now, Bharat was the senior most in our pack. Those of you who've met him would know he's a quiet person.
I was slightly apprehensive of making a bad impression, because you know..I talk so much and laugh so loudly.
But his presence was overwhelming. He was like the sky, watching over us, looking out for us...and laughing on our lame jokes sometimes. Bharat has spent 22 years in TCS...and everything about him was impeccable. Just like an old school TCSer, he had very strong principles and was extremely graceful throughout.
We had to wait for a while for Karthik to arrive. He was coming from yet another wrong place he landed at :D
But when he arrived, he looked like he was back from his favourite game or something!
He looked so fresh and was kicking with energy. From there on, our table became the most interesting place in that restaurant.
We ended up celebrating Deepa's 27th birthday..the staff was delighted to get to dance around her.
(27 cuz I'm 26...otherwise she looked 23 really!)
We were the last ones to leave. One cuz we were all too full to move. And second cuz we weren't done talking yet! The restaurant staff was very generous. They let us be and went to chill on their own, dimmed lights, switched on their TVs and stuff.
We finally left the restaurant, just to stand right outside it for umm..an hour..two hours? :P
There was more talking, more laughing and a few memorable pictures.
We hugged, promised to stay in touch, and went on with our Saturday.
Ever since then, something has changed.
The knomeet in Mumbai was like the rainbow after a rain...it was like finding home. It was like settling down...
Still difficult to explain in words, the life that Knomeet had and the hope it gave to me.
I know most of us will be here for a long time to come...and the party will only get bigger and brighter.
Looking forward to even bigger, brighter Knomeets in near futrue! :)
None of them seemed to do justice to the Saturday I spent in Mumbai.
So I thought, let's go back to the time before the Knomeet.
The day (monday I guess), when Mahesh posted about it. And our very own Karthik Baba was gracing the occasion.
I'm so tiny I thought. Who would want to meet me! What will I talk to them about? They must think I'm useless. What with all the immature, emotional blogs I keep writing.
I was in a place where I was struggling with my faith in people and our system. My ideal world and my real world, that are mostly in sync, seemed to run in opposite directions.
This Knomeet seemed like the best place to come face to face with Reality..and a lot of truth.
So there I was, in Bombay Barbecue. Unannounced. And oh so Anxious!
I recognized Mahesh from his DP. He's just as charming and handsome in person. I went up to the table and said "Hi Mahesh, I'm Mridul".
I saw the confusion on his face. He thought for a moment that He was in a wrong place :D :D
But he got over it quickly and introduced me to Bharat and Aravind.
More on Bharat in a bit.
I took my seat on the sofa, next to Aravind- the junior most in our pack. It comes to me instinctively. I like kids. And this kid was adorable. Personifying Chennai's Charm and grace. The intelligent sorts you know will do a great job and make us all proud.
The next to arrive, a minute or two after me was this gorgeous creation of God. This girl looked so bright, so vibrant and full of life, I thought she must be a junior too. So I was about to put her in the kid's category when I got the shock of my life.
This extreme hotness was Deepa, who, by the way has spent over 13 (!!!) years in TCS!!!
When did she start working I thought?! At 10?! @#!@@ I felt like love at first sight.
As instructed, We were all famished.
Deepa and I, in spite of our lack of appetite appetite that day, stood by our love for meat. Mahesh, Bharat and Aravind were on a vegetarian diet. We placed our orders. The food started pouring in from all directions.
We all connected instantly! What were we talking about?
Haha I don't know, I can't remember all of it, but there was laughter and food in abundance.
Now, Bharat was the senior most in our pack. Those of you who've met him would know he's a quiet person.
I was slightly apprehensive of making a bad impression, because you know..I talk so much and laugh so loudly.
But his presence was overwhelming. He was like the sky, watching over us, looking out for us...and laughing on our lame jokes sometimes. Bharat has spent 22 years in TCS...and everything about him was impeccable. Just like an old school TCSer, he had very strong principles and was extremely graceful throughout.
We had to wait for a while for Karthik to arrive. He was coming from yet another wrong place he landed at :D
But when he arrived, he looked like he was back from his favourite game or something!
He looked so fresh and was kicking with energy. From there on, our table became the most interesting place in that restaurant.
We ended up celebrating Deepa's 27th birthday..the staff was delighted to get to dance around her.
(27 cuz I'm 26...otherwise she looked 23 really!)
We were the last ones to leave. One cuz we were all too full to move. And second cuz we weren't done talking yet! The restaurant staff was very generous. They let us be and went to chill on their own, dimmed lights, switched on their TVs and stuff.
We finally left the restaurant, just to stand right outside it for umm..an hour..two hours? :P
There was more talking, more laughing and a few memorable pictures.
We hugged, promised to stay in touch, and went on with our Saturday.
Ever since then, something has changed.
The knomeet in Mumbai was like the rainbow after a rain...it was like finding home. It was like settling down...
Still difficult to explain in words, the life that Knomeet had and the hope it gave to me.
I know most of us will be here for a long time to come...and the party will only get bigger and brighter.
Looking forward to even bigger, brighter Knomeets in near futrue! :)
