On 4^th May the Pearson finally shifted from old charming 482 Patparganj to big, spanking, shining, grand

Knowledge Boulevard. What a change it was, from humble pantry to big bunker and from old cozy clustered departments to huge sitting schemes! This morning as most of the Person diaspora, as they trickled into new office awed and overwhelmed by new found agoraphobia (fear of open space) felt also the pangs of nostalgia for good old familiar 482 building. At first sight at 7 th floor, the endless rows of abstemious creamy cubicles and bluish glass meeting rooms spread out till far end, echoing with mechanical whirl robotic printers reminded me of some starship enterprise.

But before this feeling could get better of us the day got a pious start with inter faith prayer meeting in which everyone read out short prayer for house warming. Then the party got started…We were still getting our stuff out of “giant” cartoons when this anorexic looking lady with mike came along with her infectious smiling asking names and giving prizes for repeating tongue twisters and saying things with funny proclamations like “sui laga ka” and “dhoti pad ka…”(wow)

Hina our chirpy girl from School Sales gave everyone run for their money by doing each of these tasks with breathless gusto. No guessing she won most of the prizes, so much so that the anchor girl suggested her to take up her job as career.

Some till now unknown singing talents decided that this is the day to let their voices be heard. No doubt Pearson can boast of some real sweet crooners in every department. Kundan the “reluctant talent” created a laugh riot of sort by his theatrics, giving sales demo of “German knife” extempore with some able star cast of Prashant, Hema, Rajnish and irrepressible Hina. Later Sanjeev, Srini, and Deepak pitched in with some delectable tango steps on “Singh is king” number!!

The final showdown was of musical chairs and what a rush it was!!

After several chaotic rounds of musical hustle it was game among Naveen, Hina and Babita. Naveen gave the fair maidens very tough fight in grabbing the chairs and then at last bowed out in gentlemanly fashion to leave it a dual between Babita and Hina. At final go it was the experienced Babita who captured the prized seat by out maneuvering Hina in thriller of a contest that went till last music beat.

After hard day work and games all Pearsonites gathered in Bunker cafeteria for their welcome party with cakes and beers. Rambir the oldest employee was given the honors to cut the cake and inaugurate the new office along with the latest new joinee. Every one had their fill of beer. Rambir reminiscing the old days talked about the one room office that could hardly accommodate four chairs when Pearson started and then shifted to adjacent rooms, then building and today into this massive big organization.

…among all the excitement and revelry as the first day drew to close I can see from seventh floor the orange sphere of summer sun after blazing the dusty plains all day sinking gloriously on the western horizon fusing the grey sky in the scarlet pool of light that filled the translucent vapors clouds with kaleidoscopic hues and the approaching dusk making the lengthening shadows of wind swept, high rise Noida cityscape creep slowly on to the fields….

It was then I realized that this not so familiar yet slightly enchanting urbane “Knowledge Boulevard” is going to be my office for days to come in Pearson and with all its faces new and old...sights and sounds…its manic mornings and mesmerizing dusk and With the moments of unanticipated joy and frustrations… ideas and introspection… I too have become the part of this new, exiting and bigger universe.

-Gitesh

The Move

I thought I’d put up some cartoons and poems about moving to our new office. The poems are mostly taken from http://officehumourblog.com/. The cartoons are mine though. So here goes...

About being “closely knit” in a new environment :

Some of us were already concerned about the lack of privacy in the new office even before the move. Now even Big Brother was watching....

'The art of pretending is tricky indeed.
It takes planning, luck, and lots of speed.
Your boss comes by so you pick up the phone,
You talk to yourself in a professional tone.
A quick click required to change the screen,
So games and emails remain unseen'

About life being governed by the shuttle service:

For the ones who were used to the luxury of waking up at 9 in the morning and still making it to office in time( and that includes me), the new schedule was rather taxing...

'Ode to the Clock

That’s why I love and hate
The way she does decieve.
She always makes me wait
For when it’s time to leave.'

About teething problems :

Even after having spent sleepless nights trying to ensure a smooth transition, there was no respite for the IT team. The printers did not cooperate, the UPS refused to get charged, the phone lines revolted...

'A loop unending won’t release its hold
And ctrl alt delete won’t do as it’s told.
With data dying a death undeserved,
The power button’s power is held in reserve.

But what ill effects would come of that act?
Would the hemorrhaging host remain intact?
The risk is great, but the current crisis is greater.
Action must be taken and it mustn’t come later.

The boot begins and words fill the screen
And the checker checks to see if it’s clean.
The file was fine or so it was thought,
But if it was, would you have what you got?

Then it happens, the moment you feared.
The program restarts and the screen is cleared.
No options are left except for the one;
Format it all for the virus has won'

About new workstations and storage space :

Unpacking proved to be an interesting excercise. Also, there was the stuff about bonding with the furniture...

'I may have never met you,
But that’s okay with me.
I do know that my love is true
Even though you disagree'

**********************************************************

-Gargi

Thanks

 

In my earlier blog post, I forgot to thank a lot of people who made the trip memorable. So here goes:

 

Thank you Navneet for teaching us how to play bluff and being patient enough to play with beginners like me. Thanks Babita for managing to capture a coupe for us where we didn’t have a single seat. Thank you Nikhil for keeping us well supplied with potato wafers, soft drinks and kachoris on our way to Goa, Dilshad for being nice enough to carry my handbag while I merrily strolled along the water’s edge. A special thank you to Angshuman (You know why). Thanks Shinjini and Praveen for your cooperation and help during the presentations. And yes, congratulations Shinjini on winning the blog contest. Hope you have a nice dinner with someone special!

 

Anindita