March 2019 – MC Pride

Then and Now: Team Med-chem

Vidya Shree H N

Team MedChem

There is a saying ‘The older I grow the more earnestly I feel that the few joys of childhood are the best that life has to give’. Isn’t the sentence so true?

We once went on an outing and something that kick-started as a game, became our custom. And it is……

“Then and Now”

What is it and how do we play it?

The game is played by guessing the younger self of a colleague. Once the picture is displayed on the screen, all of us scream out guessing whose picture it could have been in their childhood. More than guessing the right person, what we enjoyed is the fun we have on how the person has changed over time. Sometimes we fail to find out the person and laugh and sometimes we guess correctly with a great rejoice.

Wish we all moved back in time, reminiscing our childhood!!

Introducing a new employee to a team is a very formal way, so we have now begun using this game as a platform to introduce new members to our family. This kind of helps bring the new comers get mingled with the team fast.

This game is nothing new but has brought a cheer to all of us.

Here are few pics we have played on…….

: Here is Everyone’s favourite Kamesh sir

: She is Ms. Evercool Divya

: Here is Mr. All time smiley Kalyan with his father

: And it is Ever-calm Prabhakar

: Here is our warm-hearted Supriya

: Here is easy-going Vishwa

: And he is our Artist Vignesh

: And our smiley queen Chaitra

: Here is ever-busy Kavya

: It’s cool-headed Neethu

: And it’s lovable Nishchitha

: Here is well-rounded Rekha shree

: It is Zehwa and yes it’s difficult to guess

: And it is joyous Bhanuprakash

: And it’s friendly Mamatha

: It’s Ever-silent Anandhi

: It’s Ever-grinning Rahul

: And it’s cool Sneha

: And next is charming Divya

: It’s benign Anwesha

: And it’s lively Harika

: Next is gentle Sushma

: And finally it’s me Vidya

Mandala and Warli Paintings

Prajaktha Murali

Team MNP

A “mandala” is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe. “Mandala” has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically: a microcosm of the universe. The design of the mandala is supposed to be visually appealing so as to absorb the mind in such a way that irritating thoughts are unable to get through and a spiritual essence surrounds the individual observing the mandala, which in turn allows the individual a higher consciousness or awareness, almost as though being hypnotized. This allows the busy mind to take a break while the creative mind is allowed to run free.

Buddhist monks from Tibet make sand mandalas meant to represent the world in a divine form: perfectly balanced and precisely designed. This is an extremely laborious and intricate process. When the mandala is finished, however long it takes for the monks to deal in this divine geometry of the heavens, they pray over it – and then they destroy it. The underlying message of the mandala ceremony is that nothing is permanent.

Warli paintings use a set of basic geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, and a square. These shapes are symbolic of different elements of nature. The circle and the triangle come from their observation of nature. The circle represents the sun and the moon, while the triangle is derived from mountains and pointed trees. In contrast, the square appears to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land.

Into the Amazon Rainforests!

Arathi Raghunath

Director - Content Management

: Sunset at Amazon

: Jungle of Mirrors

: Woolly monkey

: Social Flycatcher

: Amazonian Umbrella bird

: Victoria Amazonica:Giant water lily

: White headed Marsh Tyrant

: Yellow headed caracara

: Yellow rumped Cacique

: Anaconda

Arte del decoupage

Suman Samanwita

Team IT

Checkout the collection of artworks done by Suman and in case you are interested to know more about these or even buy them, please get in touch with Suman.

Contact Suman: samanwita.suman@gmail.com

A New Way of Looking at the World

Lloyd Walton C

Tech Lead Quality Assurance

: One of the most important days of my life, was when I learned to ride a bicycle

: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way!

: Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station.

: One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain

: Whether a man is a legend or not is decided by history, not fortune tellers.

: Keep calm and eat a strawberry.

: Badminton is like ballet dancing. It requires a lot of control, strength, mind play and measured movement

Conserve the Nature…before it is too late

Athira Ajith

Team RWE

Sketches and Paintings: My artwork collection

Madhushree

Team Chinese Indexing

The road less traveled: offbeat Kerala destinations

Karen VanHaltren

Associate Project Manager

Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Kerala “God’s own country” is hosts to almost 1 million foreign travelers and around 14 million domestic travelers; a considerable figure bearing in mind it’s a relatively small state with a substantial local population. Kerala tourism thrives on its “must visit destinations” like Alleppey, Munnar, Thekkady, Varkala and Veli to name the common ones. Tour packages do just that, shuttle you between the popular tourist’s spots which would already be teeming with travelers. If you already know what that feels like, then the next time you trip down to Kerala make sure you take a detour into some of Kerala’s hidden gems. Away from the city and the crowd, these places are just as beautiful, tranquil and fun.

Kollam District, my hometown down south near Thiruvananthapuram, receives much lesser tourists annually compared to the popular spots. The district is home to some beautiful backwaters, beaches and boasts of the cleanest air quality. Here are some of my favorite picks of destinations in and around Kollam.

1. Ashtamudi Lake

Popularly known as the gateway to Kerala’s backwaters, the Ashtamudi lake is one among the most scenic and picturesque locations in Kerala. Grazed by coconut groves and flocks of waddling ducks, the expanse of the lake and its surroundings is a visual treat. One can either rent a boathouse/ferry ride in and around the Ashtamudi lake or better still cruise all the way to Alleppey on a day long ride with sumptuous Kerala meals and Karimeen pollichathu (Pearl spot).

Note: Rent a house boat or travel by ferry from the Kollam Boat House Club (near Kollam KSRTC bus stand). There are also plenty of resorts along the lake front for a relaxing experience.

2. Munroe Island

Definitely the hidden gem of the backwaters in Kollam, not many are aware of this little low lying island tucked away from the mainland. There are around 8 islands connected by canals. Coconut farms and lagoons make for a beautiful backdrop against the narrow canals that are accessible only by small boats called a canoe. The Munroe island will always be on my favorite backwater destination.

Note: There are couple of resorts in and around the Munroe island that offers boat canoeing. Rent a house boat or travel by ferry from the Kollam Boat House Club (near Kollam KSRTC bus stand) or take a bus/drive to Mundrothuruthu.

3. Thenmala

The first eco-tourist destination in India, thenmala does attract considerable number of domestic tourists. A deer sanctuary, a rope bridge and the thenmala dam are also some of the popular attractions. This destination offers boating, trekking and mountaineering experiences (nearby Rosemala). Note: Whilst en-route to Thenmala, a 13 pillar vintage railway bridge built by the British East India company across the Western Ghats and a suspension bridge dating back to 1877 possibly the oldest suspension bridge in India are landmarks to look out for. Thenmala is better connected from Kollam with the nearest railway station being Punalur.

4. Jatayu’s Earth Centre

The latest feather in the cap is the Jatayu Park located at an altitude of 1200 ft amidst a lush green valley below. Credited to be the largest bird sculpture in the world, the effigy is a testimony to the epic Ramayana, where the injured Jatayu having lost its wing falls on top of a rock. The centre also houses a museum and 6D theatre, a cable car facility, helicopter tour and an adventure park. Trek to the top or set up a camp fire nearby, the area has many hills dedicated to attract adventure-savvy trekkers.

Note: Note: For more details on visit http://www.jatayuearthscenter.com

5. Tangasseri

A tiny hamlet along the Arabian Sea, this 99 acre area has a rich history of European and Chinese trade links dating back to the 15th century. The major attractions includes the remains of the St Thomas fort built by the Portuguese, the Tangasseri light house, the tallest along the east coast of India and a harbor stretching into the Arabian sea for 2.1 km. You can climb the light house to see the vast green expanse of the coast, cycle/walk down the harbor or even try fishing by the rocks of the harbor.

Note: heir a two wheeler to explore the place and its popular landmarks

6. Thirumullavaram Beach

This is a tiny stretch of white sandy beach lined with coconut palms along the Kollam coast. As many are unaware of this beautiful beach, it’s a catch if you’re looking for a quiet and shady place for a family picnic or just to relax on a hot day. The Sunday rock which is visible only when the tides are low, is another attraction at this beach. Don’t forget to order some authentic Kerala meals from the small shops along the beach.

Trip down memory lane: As a kid, I remember family picnics to the beach on Sunday afternoons every Onam. My cousins and I would spend hours in the water, while the aunties chatted away under the beautiful coconut canopy and the uncles swam fearlessly far into the sea. And what’s even better is the tasty food from the little shops or thattukada by the side of the beach. Tapioca and hot fish curry, fried Seer fish (neymeen), crab curry, spicy prawns, mussels are just some of the delicacies we used to enjoy after a good time in the water. The icing on the top though is the sweet toddy that takes the whole experience up a notch making it the best of my childhood memories.

7. Palaruvi falls

If you’re down south in Kerala, do visit the picturesque Palaruvi falls in Aryankavu of Kollam district. The water fall gets its name from “stream of milk” and falls from a height of 300 feet. This place usually attracts domestic tourists and is a must visit for its beautiful crystal water and lush greenery. Better still there are three other nearby waterfalls as well, Oliyarik, Kumbhavurutty and Manalar waterfall all in Kollam district and within driving distance.

Note: City buses are available from Kollam town. In case you’re travelling in vehicle you will have to park the vehicle almost 2-3 Km from the falls and then walk up or board a forest department bus.

8. Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam coastal drive

This is an experience that no tour packages will give you. Hire a vehicle and drive down approx 80 kms along some fantastic beaches and backwaters with little or no traffic from Shangumugam beach- Veli- Varkala- Kappil- Paravur-Kollam (Tangasseri beach). The coastal road is a bypass from the NH 47. While in few areas, one might have to drive though the villages, most part of the road are along the coast. For example 90% of the 14.1 km Kollam-paravur road is along a beautiful coastal area, while the Kappil beach stretch runs through the backwaters on one side and sea on the other. Drive down for an amazing experience like no other. As always there’s plenty of little shops for some hot teas, banana fritters (pazhyam pori) and mouth watering meals.

There are still plenty of beautiful must visit places like the Sasthamkotta and Paravur lakes, Azheekal beach, Ayiramthengu, Pinnacle view point and Mata Amritanandamayi Math to name a few. So the next time you pack your bags for a trip to God’s own country, do make your own little travel itinerary to these unsung destinations, in many ways a gamble worth taking.

Note: None of the photos in this article are owned by me. They have been included off the internet for illustration purposes only.

Republic day celebrations:Team MNP

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-11 at 09.13.09 (1)

Aparna Sajeendran

Team MNP

Growing up listening to stories of early India and sitting through history classes learning about our freedom struggle has built up an underlying patriotism and love for our country. Somewhere along the line, we as millennials tend to unconsciously diminish this feeling amidst a rat race. A rather appropriate chance the MNP team including CCS and WCP got to bring out the patriots within us, was the “Musical Blast from India’s Past” event held on 25^th January. What started out as just an active participation eventually turned out to be one of the most memorable and cherished experience for all of us.

It began with deciding a relevant and inspirational portrayal of India’s early struggle; which after a considerable amount of contemplation came down to Rani Chennamma of Karnataka, one of the earliest queens to fight against the British rule. The next challenge was to compose an original song during which we discovered a new-found respect for music directors and lyricists out there. Following a lot of so-called Beethovan moments, out-of-box brain storming and theatrical ideas, we created a short enactment showcasing a timeline of India’s strive for freedom, up to the creation of our very own constitution. As a team we decided to polish our collective sense of creativity by making all our props from scratch including swords, shields, guns, scrolls, the constitution book and even the British uniforms.

The days leading to the 25^th were packed with a series of post-5 pm art work, round table and singing sessions (few hilariously off-pitch instances), hunt for the right Rani, B.R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and so on, practice sessions with couple of failed attempts at maintaining straight faces alongside obvious goof-ups, inner jokes and laughter; in simple words: PURE FUN !

When it came to the “big” day, we surprised ourselves as we pulled off a performance beyond our expectations. More importantly we came to realize that having each and every person including the manager, QAs and curators be an integral part of the whole experience had unknowingly brought us so much closer as a team. The day ended with posing, photos and a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment enabling all of us reminisce and take back a bit from it.

All about some Vitamin-Sea in Pondy..!

Sumedha S

Team IT

“Hey let’s go on a trip, what say?” asked Priyanka who was tired and wanted some break from office. “Yes yes I’m always ready” exclaimed Anju who had ants in her pants to go on an excursion. “On yeah let’s start planning our outfits then” shrieked Rachitha and this is how our planning for the trip started. It was the handsome guys Abhijith, Vikhil, Sampath, Arun and Nikhil who took care of the entire trip.

I was excited for this very first trip of mine with 17 people from our office. “More unfamiliar a place, better are the chances to get in touch with yourself” I had read in an article recently. Our growing affliction for living in a metro and the need for unplugging landed us in Pondicherry (now Puducherry). We had googled and found out that October to February is the best time to visit Puducherry as the climate is cooler. We tried to invade beaches rather than exploring the city side as we were craving for some tranquility.

So here I am to share few details of the trip and the blissfull moments we had during our trip to Puducherry.

Duration of the trip: It was a two days and three night’s trip. We started from our office, at 10.30 pm on Friday (15^th Feb) and reached back to Bangalore on Monday (18^th Feb) early morning.

Transportation: We booked a private mini bus from Siddappaji Travels which costed us around total 17,499/- (19 rupees per km) excluding the tolls. The best thing about booking a private bus was that we “felt like a boss.” Harsha, Gopal, Naveen, Pradeep, Chandana, Pinku, Guru, Ajay and Shashi were the source of entertainment in bus. We sang, danced, screamed out of our lungs and there was nobody to stop us from doing so (except the cops at the toll :P)

Details of the Trip:

We reached Puducherry around 9am and rushed to our cottage. We were expecting a cool pondy with breeze but to our surprise it was hot Sun that welcomed us.

We had pre-booked 3 rooms in Edan Cottage, which is located just in front of the Serenity beach. It costed us around 8800/-, after bargaining. The cottage was clean enough to relax. They had one day break-fast included which pretty much filled our hungry tummies. We then left to visit the main tourist attractions which were Matrimandir and French Colony.

Day 1:

Matrimandir: Abode for spiritual enlightenment

We found Auroville one of the most popular tourist attractions in Pondy. The highlight of Auroville, however, is Matrimandir, which literally translates to “temple of the mother.” We heard that inside the Matrimandir is an incredible and breath-taking meditation chamber and one could spend a considerable measure of energy to unwind and contemplate. It is told that this place is good to stay and soak in the spirit of doing the things you really love and it does not belong to any specific religion or faction. This circularly formed structure is a sight one can’t forget. We couldn’t enter the temple, as we did not have entry passes which were to be taken in advance.

After gulping some water and having yummy ice-creams, we reached the next destination.

Promenade Beach: Centre of Attraction

“Give time a break,” says the Puducherry Tourism Department slogan. Pondy gave us time to ponder and re-discover the parts of ourselves we had lost while hurrying in the day to day life!

The famous promenade of Puducherry is situated along the gorgeous seafront with a rocky beach and hence it is aka Rock beach. We found it one of the liveliest areas in Pondy. It was easily accessible for us as it is located in the heart of the city. We enjoyed the cool breeze which was winding along the wide roads locally known as Beach road. Unfortunately, the water here was extremely deep and we were not allowed to enter the beach. We spotted a magnificent statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation right in the middle of the promenade.

Hello waves..!!

The Sun wouldn’t stop being happy seeing us! Soaked in the sweat and exhausted, we searched for some restaurants to refill ourselves. After boosting our energy, we left for the next place.

French Colony: A glimpse of France in India

For most travelers, the charm lies in exploring this colony and yes not forgetting the photoholics who would love this place as it would let them experiment their photography skills. This place is also called as White Town. Walking around this colony, we spotted bright yellow and white walls; beautiful doors, arched gates lined with bougainvillea, and clean European-style streets, making this area surreal and super picturesque. The stunning French-inspired architecture made French Colony a visual delight. Here are the few pictures which we clicked while wandering through the town.

It was evening by the time we reached our cottage. Ahh! Such a tiring day, it was! We relaxed by taking a peaceful walk besides the serenity beach which was just in front of our cottage. We hogged some delicious seafood, pizzas and it was now time for some chit-chats, indoor games, pull each other’s legs, laugh and spend time amongst ourselves until next morning…

Day 2:

After applying all possible branded sunscreens, hats and sunglasses on, we left to invade the beaches of Puducherry.

Serenity beach: Come, find some serenity!

We made it for the beautiful sunrise here. What would you not give to just enjoy the peace, leave aside all the worries sitting by the beach glaring the sunrise and sunset! The sound of sea waves and the aroma of fishes were so mesmerizing. We held each other’s hands and jumped into the beach. We enjoyed every minute here building sand castles, clicking pictures, doing some yoga and waiting for the big waves to sweep in and splash ourselves into the beach.

After spending some quality time here, we moved to the next beach which was 17km from here and took us about an hour to reach.

Paradise beach: Indeed closer to Paradise!

A bounty of the sea and sun sounded like the perfect antidote to alarm clocks, traffic-choked streets and air-conditioned cubicles. This is undoubtedly the best beach that this town can offer. It has a beautiful colour of light emerald and sometimes light blue sapphire. It is located in Pudukuppam and has two parts. One part has lot of activities like Jet Ski, Beach Volleyball etc which will surely keep you entertained. To enter this region you need to go by boats which has fee of 300/-. We went to the other side of the beach which did not require any boating. We spent most of our time sauntering on the beachfront, playing kabaddi and dumb charades.

Monkeys goofing around..!!

Pichavaram Mangrove Forest:

After a heartening flavor of the ocean treasures, we decided to watch the beauty of trees amidst the water.

Getting around the forest requires boat rides. We had to buy ticket before getting into the boat. Packed in a boat, we were off to discover the small creatures and rare trees in the forest. The boat is anchored mid-water and everyone gets into life jacket. It was a tour of 1 hour where we were exposed to the aura of nature’s beauty which included the swishing of paddles and chirping of the birds. This was the icing on the cake in the entire trip.

Delighted and lost by the beauty of Pondy, we were unaware of the time that waits for none. It was hard for us to digest the fact that we were already at the end of the trip. It was time to bid farewell to pondy.

Puducherry isn’t an average holiday destination; it’s so much more than that! The memories of Puducherry still echoes in my heart, soothing my mind. I’m glad I made a

visit to Puducherry to reveal in its unique charm. I count myself lucky to be a part of this trip. All thanks to the wonderful 17 people who made it work.

It is surely a place that I would love to visit again and again. So what are you waiting for?

Signing off with some hilarious pictures captured during the trip!!

Thanks for reading.. Adios until next time!