Cover picture courtesy: Alexandra Mate
Walking through the beautifully landscaped Infopark campus my shirt was soaked with perspiration. I cursed myself for not having taken a rickshaw from the hotel I was put up. It was my first day at work and I was already in a mess. I decided to hang around the lobby of the World Trade Center to get a grip on myself. The summer sun was punishing even at 9 am in the morning. Barely 2 months back it was here that I met up with my long lost friend Lekha after a decade. I had flown into the city for a day for my final round of interviews. A lot had happened after that visit. Within a span of 30 days I had to literally wrap up my life in Mumbai. I had landed in the maximum city in the middle of a monsoon with just 2 bags and a bunch of dreams.The last month in the city was excruciatingly hectic with a multitude of things to be done within a short span of time .With a heavy heart I left behind the place that I called home for close to 8 years.
after a decade
The pitstop helped me immensely and I was fresh again as I walked into the lobby of my new organisation Mindcurv. I met Venkat at the reception who was assigned to me as a buddy for the day. Being welcomed into the new organisation with so much warmth was quite novel experience for me I should say. It calmed my nerves to a great extent and I was slowly putting myself into ease.There was more on store for the day with my buddy taking me out to lunch at a restaurant which serves north indian cuisine.
Every Time on my way back to Mumbai as the train snaked through the countless tunnels of the scenic Konkan region, peering out of the window into the green vegetation drenched in the monsoon rains had always evoked in me an immense longing to come back to my hometown. As I walked back after work that evening everything felt surreal to me because it was yet to sink in that I was indeed going to be working from God’s own country.
I was initially very skeptical with the job switch primarily because I had spent a lion’s share of my career in the Telecom industry. The e-commerce domain was quite new to me and needless to say it was uncharted territory for me. But my first couple of months with a fantastic team put all my doubts to rest. I was slowly getting into my groove. Even before the dust settled I was asked to get ready for an onsite assignment to Germany. I was astonished with the leap of faith that Mindcurv was taking by entrusting me with a huge responsibility in an ambitious project with one of their biggest clients.Another memorable event* was conducting interviews during a walk in drive organised by Mindcurv to select my team.
*subject of another blog Life has come a full circle(click here)
My first Onam in Kerala in many years was out of the world thanks to the amazing Mindcurv Onam celebrations.The scenic venue and the fervor with which everyone whole heartedly participated in the event evoked a deep sense of nostalgia in me.There was a whole range of cultural events which included the Mahabali contest(selecting the guy who felt real), Malayalimanka contest(Mr and Ms personality),Group song(Onam songs).This was reminiscent of the Onam celebration* during my Engineering college days in Trivandrum which was ages back.My heart leapt with joy as I got to tick off one more item off my bucket list by taking part in a Thiruvathira** and making a mess of it but it was still great fun.
*subject of another blog Onam Memories(click here)
**Thiruvathirakali is a unique dance performed in Kerala
I was initially very skeptical with the job switch primarily because I had spent a lion’s share of my career in the Telecom industry. The e-commerce domain was quite new to me and needless to say it was uncharted territory for me. But my first couple of months with a fantastic team put all my doubts to rest. I was slowly getting into my groove. Even before the dust settled I was asked to get ready for an onsite assignment to Germany. I was astonished with the leap of faith that Mindcurv was taking by entrusting me with a huge responsibility in an ambitious project with one of their biggest clients.Another memorable event* was conducting interviews during a walk in drive organised by Mindcurv to select my team.
*subject of another blog Life has come a full circle(click here)
My first Onam in Kerala in many years was out of the world thanks to the amazing Mindcurv Onam celebrations.The scenic venue and the fervor with which everyone whole heartedly participated in the event evoked a deep sense of nostalgia in me.There was a whole range of cultural events which included the Mahabali contest(selecting the guy who felt real), Malayalimanka contest(Mr and Ms personality),Group song(Onam songs).This was reminiscent of the Onam celebration* during my Engineering college days in Trivandrum which was ages back.My heart leapt with joy as I got to tick off one more item off my bucket list by taking part in a Thiruvathira** and making a mess of it but it was still great fun.
*subject of another blog Onam Memories(click here)
**Thiruvathirakali is a unique dance performed in Kerala
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com/
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com/
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com/
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com/
Picture courtesy: http://www.rahuldevakumar.com/
our team in its infancy
Landing in Germany exposed me to a different ball game altogether. First of all I was blown away by our beautiful office in Essen. It was actually a house which was converted into an office space with kick ass surroundings. It reminded me of the palatial mansion named after my grandmother in Kerala where I spent a good part of my childhood.
My first visit to Europe was special for a variety of reasons. It felt good to be living and working in a foreign country.Rubbing shoulders with the founders of the company Amjad and Naaz was definitely the highlight. Lunchtime conversations at the boardroom with Ross,JP,Maik,Vincent,Timo etc was always engaging. Fiercely played table tennis matches at the basement of our office with Andrea, Jens, Dennis and Warren helped us to switch off momentarily amid the hustle and bustle of our work day. Goofing around with Jens with the toy guns on some Friday afternoons was always fun.Whenever, I felt homesick all I had to do was to walk up to either one of Mani,Shibin,Amal,Shalini,Kannan and speak in Malayalam for a few minutes. Bar hopping with Deepu,Jinoy and Jerald was one of the main activities over the weekend.
Another blog during my time in Germany Rush Hour(click here)
On the work front being the understudy of Sunil was equally challenging as well as rewarding. The kind of efforts he puts into each of his tasks and his constant zeal to understand the nitty gritty of everything made me seriously ponder on every task that I did at that time. During the chillier mornings when we used to grab a piping hot coffee enroute to the client location and the conversations that we had when we travelled to and fro were indeed memorable.
In my last week in Germany I was also lucky enough to be part of the amazing Christmas celebrations of our Essen office where we had a great party with our families in attendance. Ozghur in his Santa Claus attire distributing gifts to the children made me miss my family back home. This was also a great opportunity for me to socialise with a number of my colleagues from other office locations like Cologne and Utrecht who had congregated at Essen for the big party. It was a night of fun and frolic and everyone enjoyed it to the core.
Being back in Cochin gave me bragging rights over my time in Germany. Our team was finally taken a shape and we started off in the right earnest just before the new year. Soon everyone was keenly anticipating the annual event of Mindcurv which was scheduled towards the end of January. I had observed that many a times my colleagues used to go ga ga and with great fondness recollect the previous annual events. I was also eager to know as to what was the big deal about this event. 
Picture courtesy: Vincent de jong
Picture courtesy: Terri Tu
I wasn’t disappointed to say the least, the event was held at the Grand Hyatt Bolgatty, a 5 star Luxury Hotel in Cochin. The day started with a sumptuous breakfast buffet followed by the official ceremony accompanied by cultural events performed by our very own colleagues. I was dumbstruck by the energy levels of my younger colleagues as they performed on stage. A good number of our colleagues had also flown in from different countries for the event. The entire Leadership team was in full attendance to take part in the annual gala event. The highlight of the day was definitely the cruise arranged in the Vembanad lake in the evening with a live musical performance on board.
Picture courtesy: Vishnu Madhusudanan
Picture courtesy: Vishnu Madhusudanan
Picture courtesy: Vishnu Madhusudanan
Picture courtesy: Vishnu Madhusudanan
Dusk was falling,the waves were lashing against the cruise vessel the party was getting into the mood. The musician was playing the song “Welcome to Hotel California”.Deep in thought I stared into the horizon on board ‘The Nefertiti’ . Exactly 1 year back when I was slogging in Bombay never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that in the near future I will be partying with my colleagues aboard a ship in the scenic waters of the Vembanad lake that too after wrapping up my successful maiden assignment in Germany. Fact is often stranger than fiction. I truly consider myself as blessed to be working for a wonderful company like Mindcurv.
Picture courtesy: Vishnu Madhusudanan
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