“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson

The annual team outing of IT department was organized this year on 6^th November 2019. Our initial apprehensions about many of our team members not being able to attend this wonderful trip was dispelled when most of them signed up enthusiastically. So, off we went on a trip that turned out to be a memorable one.

We decided to have 2 pickup points: BSM office and JP Nagar Metro station. And once we all settled ourselves in the bus, we started with the most anticipated activities which began with songs and then came our favorite part of our journey: Dancing! We shook a leg to popular songs for well over an hour until we reached the “Nature Adventure Camp” our smiling faces gave the journey a befitting beginning, and Carpe diem was the word of the day!

Breakfast was served upon our arrival, and we were greeted not only by the resort staff but we also had “man’s best friend” whose presence elevated happiness amongst us. We started with a series of events which were well planned, fun-filled and it indeed awakened the team spirit amongst us. Here are those:

• Ice Breaker Session: Mr. Babu, who was the manager of the resort initiated all of us to the ice breaker sessions where we were made to stand in a circle and we were asked to perform various activities which brought a big smile on our faces. Then we were divided into teams.
• Team building games: We stated with Burst the Balloon game, followed by Blind fold team trial game where each member had to pass on a certain message through actions to a neighboring team member. The quintessence of these games had a hidden meaning which could be summarized as proper coordination, communication and trust amongst team mates are the ways by which any given task can be completed successfully.
• Wall and Rope climbing: With all the necessary safety precautions, all of us enjoyed wall and rope climbing which was followed by a sumptuous lunch. During the short break after lunch, many engaged themselves in playing indoor games which included Table tennis, Fuss ball, and Carrom board game.

Post lunch we had the following events:

• Mud Volleyball: With the idea of ‘A Little Dirt Never Hurt’, we began our post-lunch session with mud volleyball, and the saying about mud volleyball:‘If the mud ain’t flying, you ain’t trying’, was clearly understood!
• Ziplining game: It was one such game which we all enjoyed, which was followed by swimming and boating games.

The day came to an end when most of us were in water completely oblivious to the busy life filled with traffic issues that we face on a daily basis. We reluctantly marched our way to the changing rooms and refreshed ourselves with tea and snacks and boarded the bus rejuvenating the memories of the wonderful day which we all spent. We all played the classic Anthakshari game on our way back.

Though the outing was a 1-day event, it converted many of us from ‘colleagues’ to ‘friends’ and these also gave all of us a set of delightful memories that one will cherish for a long time.