Perhaps the worst thing our superiors could have done was let us know about our Out-Bound-Training program just 2 days before it was to happen, and that they did. Writing about it is very difficult because there was just no structure, no starting point, and no clear goal. Surprisingly, the OBT was successful and pleased our superiors.
The entire batch of 22 of us was divided in to 3 teams of 8-7-7. All teams were to meet the following objectives:
My team of 7 had 4 non-sporting, more than slightly obese entities so we were covered as far as the food department was concerned but on the athletics front, our performance was poor. We brain-stormed on dishes and learnt that only one of us knew to cook. So we decided on my idea of simple-practical. A common gravy of tomato-onion with the usual spices for the two dishes (cottage cheese and chicken). And as for dessert, we received a suggestion to make coconut laddoo.
We had just 2 hours for shopping the previous evening for our inventories that included 3 serving bowls, 2 cooking pots, a gas stove, LPG cylinder, spatulas, serving spoons, refined oil, spices et all. We were totally stuck when we discovered that the whole town of Hosur was out of cottage cheese. We hunted for a substitute and zeroed in on Soy chunks, its called meal-maker but that night it was a savior. Phew!!!
I was second to reach the destination, very close to the catchment area of a dam. By making good time I ensured that our team average time would be mediocre and not abyssmal. We won 1 out of 4 management games mostly due to the athletics handicap, and finished either 2nd or 3rd in the others. The time finally came for us to prepare the meal and it was agreed that I do the dessert. I don’t know what a coconut laddoo is but that day I got my hands rogered in a paste of dessicated coconut and condensed milk. Sticky, and I couldn’t even scratch my nose when it itched. I had to seek assistance. I came up with a dessert item that was so much in demand that we couldn’t meet it. It won praises from all who were lucky enough.
Chicken was exquisitely prepared and it was rated the best among the 3 chicken dishes. The soy preparation was very salty. The lady in the team had no sense of proportion and dumped too much of it. It had to be doused with more masala. It turned out that we were the first to deliver- 5 minutes before the bell. We won the food challenge and since we used just half a litre of refined oil, there was none left. Our oil waste was minimum, no waste in the dessert, no chicken wasted and all the food was finished. No waste other than some plastic from the packaging. We got the points on waste and inventory management.
But sometimes when things are going too well, something must be wrong. So along came the news that athletic ability weighed higher than food preparation and we came in second. I expected to be third when the OBT began, but we did better than that. This post is dedicated to the team that accomplished it. Cheers!
We were to wake up at 4 am. Let me repeat that for the casual reader who’s skimming through the lines– 4 a.m. Mysore is about 165 km from where I am and to be in time to Automotive Axles required us to start early. For the first hour and a half, no one knew which way we were going. At 0830 hrs when the stomachs started making the demands, we halted at Janpadaloka for a quick breakfast. Great food. The pig-out session lasted a mere 30 minutes.
Automotive Axles is not in Mysore, we were 5 km short of the land. We’d been tricked. So this blessed place called Hunsur was quite an eyesore and not Mysore. They make axles, a component you’d have a lot of respect for should you consider travelling in usually packed-to-capacity public transport. Packed to capacity may be an understatement, the buses are regularly seen leaning to one side (God help us!). We had the most despicable lunch there. The worst factory food ever.
Next stop- JK Tyres. If you like cars, buses, trucks, and absolutely love the safety these have to offer, I request you not to visit a tyre factory. You are sure to lose your confidence. A most depressing place. Dark, smelly, unbelievably hot, claustrophobic, and everything else you’d associate with a poorly kept work environment. As one colleague exclaimed – “Yeh to pakka baniya company hai.”
We were only glad to leave. On the way back is Srirangapatna, a name that rings a bell if you ever watched Doordarshan in the 90s. I’ll tell you why. 3 rivers meet at this point (I didn’t bother knowing which). There was also a large but obscure monument or garden of sort with a huge doorway that looked like an imitation Mughal fort. Some of the chaps started to walk towards it and I enquired with a colleague who stood closest to me as to what the place was about. What follows is the dialogue as spoken:
Me: “What is this place and where are those guys going?”
Colleague: “I think they do some horse-breeding in there.”
You must appreciate the chap’s imagination, now why didn’t I think of that? The place looked every bit the sort that would inspire an enthusiast of horse husbandry. A few minutes later, I discovered that it was the tomb of Tipu Sultan. No offense to his persona or his feat but what a way to preserve a tomb huh. Disgrace. Now you know why I mentioned Doordarshan; they used to telecast the Tipu Sultan story.
We returned to Hosur at 11 pm after a couple of blunders by the man at the wheel. It took him half an hour to realise that we were as a matter of fact circum-ambulating Electronic City. Anybody can get lost-agreed, but these guys are in the travel business for crying out loud!
Out Bound Training next ..uhm.. I’ll post that in a week?
