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Mritunjay and Aziz handle the two application clients. Vishal is responsible for the web services, Praful handles the data access layer and Aman is our database expert.
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Along with the others, we are a good team, having pulled off several tough deliveries under stressful circumstances and stiff timelines. And now, there was another delivery coming up. On the 26th. The date loomed over our heads like a dark cloud about to burst into a storm, yet despite several setbacks (a key team member resigning, several environmental and technical difficulties etc.); we were committed to meeting this due date.
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The news that we were going out on an OBT (Out Bound Training) was greeted with much apprehension and skepticism by the team, as it had been scheduled to take place over the last available weekend before our delivery. The initial reaction by me, most of all and by the rest of the team in somewhat smaller proportions was to discover a way to get out of it so that we could concentrate on getting our third intermediate release (fondly called IR3) out, in time with all bugs fixed. We were all keen to go, but felt that it was just terrible timing. Losing the two-day weekend (we had been working most weekends in the last couple of months) was just simply too big a loss for IR3 to take. As I informed the team about it over our weekly team meeting, I couldn�t resist saying �So we�ll be seeing a lot of each other for the next couple of days, whether at work or at the OBT�. I even remember commenting to someone that given the pressure we were under it was likely that half the team would spend its time discussing the issues we were facing rather than doing whatever it was that was expected of us at the OBT.
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Little did I know!!
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The schedule and pick up plan was circulated to all by Friday evening and there was no doubt whatsoever that we were spending the next two days with 20 others at a resort on the Delhi Jaipur highway.
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We were all picked up (though not very promptly) on Saturday morning and driven to the Shiva Oasis resort, which turned out to be a rather scenic property with beautifully maintained lush green lawns and several wooden bridges running over little man made streams. After a quick breakfast, all 25 of us were ushered into a large hall where we were greeted by mattresses and pillows instead of chairs and tables. That completely disarmed us as we went about settling into a comfortable position (preferably with a back rest) and proceeded then to meet our two trainers (all the way from Chennai) � Keshav and Ashok. Introductions could not have been more unconventional with each pair of people not only giving their own names and signal identifiers but also repeating the names and signals of all those who�d preceded them.
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With the ice breaker complete and the smiles now adorning most faces, we then went about playing several other games and what turned out to be the most interesting aspect was that even the most innocuous game, played with extreme light heartedness somehow managed to end up with something of a moral or a lessons learnt which were vocalized by the participants themselves. Situational leadership, trusting others when blind folded, avoiding chaos and the eventual achievement of the objective collectively by the team was what was highlighted the most.
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The next game was that of a role-play in theatre style that can easily be proclaimed to be the biggest eye opener (as far as talent is concerned) of the OBT. With the promise of a Mani Ratnam film offer as the reward, we all picked up a role from a box and proceeded to intertwine together six totally different characters to weave a story that would not only be interesting to the other three teams, but also believable. Not only did people take up embarrassing roles with �lan but they also displayed an amazing ability to rise to the occasion when it was needed, by the team. None of us will ever forget Rashmi�s eunuch act or the other Rashmi�s seductive nurse act, nor Rajiv as the absent minded bridegroom, Mritunjay as the salesperson, Gaurav as the ramp model, Srinivas as the bank manager, Sheela as the pregnant man, Aman as the drunk truck driver, Aziz as the fake doctor, Praveen as the actress, Vishal as the inspector and all the other memorable roles and dialogues, as we all laughed heartily and guessed the roles each had played, complete with costumes and props too.
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After tea we broke into two random teams for a much-awaited game of cricket. Or shall I call it OBT cricket? For it had enough twists and turns to ensure that even Sachin Tendulkar would have had to relearn much of his expertise. Opposite arm bowling and batting, getting out instead of getting a six and women opening the batting as well as bowling of each innings ensured that the ten over a side match packed in all the anxiety, thrill and suspense of an India Pakistan one day international. To be honest, we may have almost lost had it not been for some brilliant captaincy and some not so brilliant bowling by the opposing side. They did field extremely well though and frankly both teams were equally matched, both in their quest to win as well as in their quest to sway the umpires at every possible opportunity.
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For those who were still on a high after the day�s activities, there were enough of games to choose from � badminton, table tennis, carom, billiards and swimming too if you could brave the somewhat cold February weather. For all others there was an hour to relax and freshen up before the bonfire began.
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In the evening, it was neither the DJ belting out some good Hindi, English and Punjabi songs that took the cake and nor was it the flamboyant dance moves of many of the group, but instead the song and joke session that took place as we all huddled into a circle of chairs as close as possible to the bonfire and attempted to discover the hidden talents that lay in our friends, team mates and maybe even in ourselves. Aman, Rajesh and Mritunjay were the stars of the singing session, though I daresay everyone joined in once Rajiv started with the jokes and it was almost impossible to stop even when we were informed that dinner was served.
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I stayed up with the guys playing billiards till 1 in the morning, none of us perturbed about the fact that we�d had zilch experience in the game, and despite the fact that I was holding a billiards stick for the first time in my life and not only missing shots but also making a foul once in a while, I was not only cheered on, but also tutored and mentored till the point that I began to feel like a contributing member of the three member team. Even the opposing team was helping me!
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Rajiv had called the 6:30 am Sunday morning walk �voluntarily compulsory� so I made sure I dragged myself out of bed to see what 6:30 am looked like. I was surprised that there was light and that there were so many people up and walking around the lawns as they looked at the dew covered grass and the mild fog the surrounded the resort. There was a calm prevalent that could help clear even the most burdened mind.
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The first game on day two focused on brawn rather than brain and for once, size did matter as we were described the scenario we found ourselves in. A 4 feet river full of sharks denoted by two parallel ropes, a net that was actually a mountain full of bees, a bucket of water that did not quite look like the African baby it was supposed to be and a 12 member team that had to make it across - together. The plank, the drum and the rope were all we had as we helped each team member make it to the other side. Both teams completed in the allotted half hour even though we�d both had to restart at least once due to someone having fallen into the river. A lot of exhaustion and team spirit was generated from this one.
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The jam bottle game was tough too � in a different way � a lot of innovativeness went into retrieving it from an island that was surrounded on all sides by sharks. But somehow what seemed almost impossible initially was easily undertaken once we�d put our minds and ideas together.
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There were a few other games � twenty questions, the animal game in which three people came together to depict an elephant, ostrich or fish and the rest of the group laughed their heads off as people tried to remember in three seconds which part of what animal they were supposed to be. Simply hilarious.
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At the end of the training, there was no easy way to say goodbye. No easy way to verbalize the bonding we felt or the fun we�d had. No easy way to reach out and say to someone � hey you�re good and I like you. So Keshav and Ashok told us to give out sugar pills. Small pieces of paper that said something quite big. A sincere comment about someone else in the group. Write as many and give them out to whomever you feel like, they told us, and believe me there was not a single person who didn�t have a whole bunch of sheets in his hand. Everyone read out those that touched him or her the most.
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The one that touched me most was � For your sporty attitude and never say die spirit. And I wanted to say to everyone, that my sporty attitude was because of their supportive attitude and my never say die spirit was because of the trust I had in them.
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Mritunjay is the guy who quotes Ghalib and enjoys singing. Aziz is the guy who loves cricket and billiards. Vishal is the talented and always positive backbone of the team. Praful is the one who shed his inhibitions to play Bipasha and make everyone laugh. And Aman is the guy who can take on almost anything and make it happen.
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We are now a great team.
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