The entire office was buzzing all day about an office party hosted at Rohini Nilekani's house in the evening. We were much less productive than usual! The organization is Rohini's brainchild and she generously throws a yearly party, welcoming every employee to her house for dinner. Who knows where the time went, but before I knew it it was 5:30 PM and we were all very excited.
The company had arranged for cars to take us from the office to the party (beginning at 7 PM), but of course, we needed to look nice! All of my jeans need to be washed and our clothing doesn't come back from the tailor until Wednesday, so I borrowed one of Shruthi's churidars. It was a little bit too long but otherwise worked well.
The other intern, a girl from Delhi, is staying in a PG near our office. A PG is a paying guest house, in case I haven't explained it before. Single men or women can opt for this instead of searching for a lonely flat, and they will live with others around their age group. Many PGs, including hers, even provide three square meals a day. The downside is that guests in the PG are privy to the rules of the family in charge. This includes curfews, no male visitor policies, no late night television, etc. Still, as a single girl working in a city where you have no family, it is a fun safe option and a good way to meet friends.
My fellow intern loves hers, and I accompanied her there today so we could get ready for this party. She lined my eyes with kajal and had a lot of fun primping me up, whereas I had thought I looked fine having put on the churidar and washed my face.
She had a small bottle of liquid eyeliner and couldn't figure out how to use it, so we went downstairs to another flat in the building, and this girl she had never met before offered to do it for her. That would be the advantage of PG life- lots of great instant girl friends always willing to help you through life's small challenges.
By the time we set out for the office, we were cutting it pretty close on time. We couldn't find an auto willing to take us such a short distance but finally stumbled upon one driver who would settle for a price of 20 rupees. When we got to office, the lights were off and the guards told us everyone had already left. Luckily there was still one cab lagging behind and so we were assured a ride.
The house was spectacular, I've truly never seen anything like it. The backyard was gigantic, with softly lit statues, beautiful flowers and walls that coupled with thick foliage, entirely blocked out the sounds of Bangalore so that we could have been anywhere. Black banquet tables were set up and there was an impossibly long buffet table.
After some speeches and the presentation of a few gifts, we tucked into dinner. One of the things I love about this organization is how unobtrusive the hierarchy is. One may be CEO and one may be chai-wallah but all speak as equals and listen as equals. Tonight, everyone rotated constantly between tables, joking and exchanging stories.
Every single person made an effort to know everyone else and to make the rest feel comfortable. It is a really welcoming environment of talented people, truly incredible!
But the best and most memorable part of the night was how I left it. So the party went from 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm in Koramangala, quite a distance from Jayanagar. I was obviously not going to find an auto, and my plan had been to hail a cab. But I didn't know what time to hail the cab for, and no one knew the address beforehand since cars had been hired to drive us to the party. Additionally, the cab services have in my experience been reliably unreliable when it comes to timing.
There is a sweet-tempered man who works for the organization and lives very close to our apartment, and he offered to bring me home, so I agreed. He has a motorbike...
I was petrified! I've been on a motorbike before, obviously, but not in a very, very long time. Everyone had a great time scaring me senseless with nonsense about 'how I would know when I had to stand up' and 'what I should do when I inevitably fell off'. Eventually, however, they stopped roaring with laughter long enough to actually assure me that I would be fine. This guy has a reputation around office for being the most careful driver possible, and pretty much the entire office looked on while I secured myself on his bike.
Up until Christ College I clung so tightly to the back of the bike I'm sure my knuckles were white. The first turn, the first speed bump were heart-jolting and stomach-turning. But then I relaxed slightly, and enjoyed the night breeze. The roads were traffic-free and the ride was short and easy. It was fun! I got to see a side of Bengaluru I'm not normally able to access, and felt perfectly safe the entire way home.
It was a wonderful adventure and a great end to a fun night. Pictures to come soon, hopefully!
DIMPY YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!! - more pictures please!!
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