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The Pandemic, lockdown and the remote working that followed have put a pause on our annual celebrations. Now that they are all now past us, early December is marked as the right time for our annual celebrations for us at Samskriti.

We wanted our getaway to be a refreshing pause from the day-to-day hustle and bustle. A hard reset that is rejuvenating, a peaceful retreat that clears our mind and a peppy holiday that re-energizes our spirit.

So where do you find the best possible combination of sun, sea & shore?

We scoured the entire South India to find the right destination. And finally found one on the southeast coast of India – Pondicherry. Plans were chalked out, travel bookings were made and we were on our way to the Pondey in no time.

But the weather seems to have other plans. As we are on our way to the coastal town, a cyclone was in making with heavy showers expected for the next 3 days. And yet we went ahead.

But to our surprise, the cyclone brewing in the Bay of Bengal subsided and on its way out, it presented us with the most pleasant ambience Pondicherry has ever seen.

The cool breeze and fresh air of this coastal city lifted our spirits and our swanky resort with its manicured meadows welcomed us all.

And in no time we were ready to explore this quaint little town.

The First Taste of Pondy - Hitting the Rock Beach

Having been used to the hustle and bustle of Hyderabad, we wanted a quick reset that gives us the taste of Pondicherry. Naturally, Rock beach has become a unanimous choice.

Rock beach which runs along a scenic coastal line is beautifully clustered with tetrapods. This gave an excellent seated view to watch the unending sea. But no one can resist the beautiful sand and incoming waves, nor did our team. Soon the beach was filled with our free-range games, beach races, and sand castles by our team.

Post sunset the beach road was buzzing with hawkers and we enjoyed the street delicacies the beach strip had to offer. We went on a stroll on the beach road that was closed to motorised vehicles post 6 pm. The rest of the evening was for our taking.

Chic cafes, Mediterranean-style houses, bakeries, rock memorials, bustling markets, elegant boutiques, Portuguese-style architectural buildings and streets; the location of Rock beach is the perfect place to get the first taste of this amazing place. The author of this blog himself has rented a cycle to explore the place. The team was scattered into groups so the snaps were private.

We were back at the hotel by 10 PM and called it a day. Except for a few who ventured into the resort pool at midnight for a party – but that shall stay secret for now.

Auroville & The Search for Zen

The day started with a long walk to Auroville, a one-of-a-kind universal city that is built for people of all countries to live in peace and harmony. It is spread over 20 sq. km of forest, beach and semi-urban area. We were not really aware of the city and were slightly taken aback 2km walk to reach the destination – Matri Mandir.

We started with a destination in mind which was kilometres away from our starting point. But with no end in sight, we gradually began to immerse ourselves in the natural habitat.

Natural food forests organic farms, artistic hand paintings, orchards, dairies, wildlife regions, sustainable living – the place beautifully blended artistic beauty with natural living. It seemed like every inch of the place rose from that exact place by itself.

The cool and fresh breeze of trees, the scent of flowers and the chirping of the birds silenced our inner and outer voices. By the time we reached our destination, the golden Matri Mandir, we were freed up from all our thoughts and were completely in the moment; some call this meditation and we cannot agree more. As the legendary Robert Pirsig precisely put it:

“The only Zen you find on tops of mountains is the Zen you bring there”.

What we thought we would find at our destination is what we found along our way to that place. This is the strong reset we needed from the everyday hustle and bustle of city life. To top this off a sizzling beach was waiting for us 20km away from Sandunes beach and we were game for it.

Rejuvenating in the Sandunes Beach

With the fine shimmering sand, splashing waves and a windy sky, the Sandunes beach brought out the kid in every one of us. Having fully prepped up on the rock beach we decided to go the extra mile to make the most out of the evening.

We played games that we do not know they exist, a few made sand castles, a few were into kabaddi and beach ball, and a few enjoyed a leisurely stroll in the fresh breeze; but everyone has their pie of the beach time. Yachting, A TV, horse and camel rides, shooting and Aqua Park and more Sandunes has got everything for everyone at Samskriti.

The more we played more the beach energized us and why not? We must head to the ‘Boss Party.’

Finding Our way to the Main Course - The Boss Party

The shimmering beach, sun and lively nature of Auroville hit a reset and refreshed us to the core and we are all set for the main course – our annual celebrations.

The stage was set, and the dance floor was laid in its full glory as the party-clad team arrived one team at a time to assemble for the speech of our boss. Our CEO kick-started our party with a short and simple congratulatory speech that touched upon the accomplishments of Samskriti in 2021 and 2022.Some of the key points of his speech that resulted in a jubilant cheer:

• Despite the pandemic, Samskriti retained its growth. Our overall clientele grew by a healthy 25% in 2021 and 30% in 2022. We successfully were able to on-board and deliver outstanding results for the new global clients
• Samskriti was selected as one of the most promising IT companies by the IT, E&C department of Telangana. Our head of Digital Marketing Shri Shyam Prasad was felicitated by IT minister Shri KTR garu for our company’s outstanding performance.
• Samskriti is now earmarked for 6000 sq. ft. office space in the upcoming Kompally IT tower and is slated to shift base into the plush office soon.

The short speech ended with a cake cutting celebration and the stage is all set for dance hour. For the next hour, the dance stage was set on fire with energetic and diverse solo and team performances by Ms Vinathi, Mrs Sukvinder Kaur, Ms Keshavi & Mrs Meghana Kaur.

The solo performances were followed by graceful team performances led by our Manager Mrs Madhavi Anumula. On that note, we want to convey special thanks to all our team members (Ms Pavitra, Mrs Swetha, Ms Swetha, Mrs Jayasri, Mrs Alekhya, Mrs. Alekhya, Ms Jaya) for enthralling us and filling the evening with mesmerizing energy.

What followed was a mad DJ night that brought everyone on the stage. On that hazy night, all men turned into dancers tapping their legs to the music that went on till the wee hours.

We had a sumptuous dinner, the author only remembers only the decadent dessert though. And we retired to our rooms hoping that we are intact for our annual team photographs tomorrow.

Samskriti’s Annual Photograph & De-tour to Mahabalipuram

It’s a decade-long tradition at Samskriti to get every one of our winning team together for the annual team photograph and here we are in our whites:

Our stay here in Pondicherry gave us a whiff of the spiritual city of Mahabalipuram and the scenic route that takes us there and we were ready in no time. The route to Mahabalipuram runs along the coastal line presenting a breathing taking view from the bus window. There were traces of a storm that has touched the villages but as things settled down, the aftermath led to a captivating view of the coastal line.

As we reached the famed Mahabalipuram, the showers were in full flow. But that did not stop us from visiting the scenic Shore Temple on the beach. Equipped with umbrellas we went along the way to visit the 8th-century complex of temples and shrines on the shore of the Bay of Bengal.

The drizzle that got heavy did not cut short our visit but our return train to Hyderabad did. After a brief visit to the unique temple, we quickly hopped on the bus to catch our train and that concludes our annual trip that now opens up a flood gate of memories as I write this.

Fun outings, spiritual tours, beach games, nature walks, pool parties, DJ nights - this tour offered a refreshing pause and quick reset that we all needed and left us memories for a lifetime.

We may visit a beach again, or even tour Pondicherry gain for that matter. But the freedom, the company and the camaraderie of the Samskriti Family are hard to replace. This 3-day trip to Pondicherry gifted us memories of a life time that we will cherish forever. We are all indebted to our boss Mr Sravan Kumar Paka for making this possible.