Just an interesting evening that I recently had pushed me to make this entry. I felt like I just had to share it.
The Project Management (PM) branch in my college had conducted a PM competition to increase awareness about it among students. One of the rounds of the event was conducted on the beach.
While the rest of the team/committee volunteered to help them and also simultaneously make sure that the teams did not cheat, I was made to keep a check on all the bags and belongings of the participants and the organizing committee 'coz I was late to the event because college got over late that evening.
A kiosk was set up and all belongings were dumped in there. While I stood there, the entire setup invited a number of awkward stares and puzzled looks. A few people stopped by to read the information displayed on the standees. The more interested came up to me and asked what it was all about.
Enter person 1: A chana chor garam wala
"Madam, yahaan pe kya ho raha hai?"
I answered, dismissing his inquisition for usual. "Beach ki safai chalu hai". "Oh achha, theek hai".
I was like whatever...
Next came 3 beggar girls, they were small, looked around 8-9 years old.
"Didi yahaan pe kya ho raha hai?" Oh ok, they are smart. I thought.
I explained the same thing. Said, "Jo log safed pehne hue hai, woh kachra saaf kar rahe hain". I was not sure whether they'd understand 'safed'. :P
Took 1-2 mins for them to understand. Meanwhile, my attention was diverted to a committee member looking frantic as she came up with a doubt pertaining to the round.
The saga of piercing stares continued. *sigh*
Next came in a young boy, wondering what we were up to. One team had finished the task and diverted the question to me. I told him and he walked by saying "kucch faayda nahin hai, kucch faayda nahin hai!"
As if we didn't know that already! :P
A lady aged around 50-55 then inquired and we responded. She went by uttering blessing typical of aged people :)
We smiled back saying thank you and proceeded with our work.
Phew!
Varied responses from varied people! The chana wala came again (for God knows what reason :P) but was blatantly ignored :P :P
It was a great way to spend time, observing the crowd and answering the same question in different manners. But it certainly wasn't fun being stared at like you've done the world's most horrid crime. Like Harry puts it, the gazes were like Dumbledore's 'X-ray vision' :)
An interesting evening it was for sure. The mood and enthusiasm of the participants along with the fact that the entire team was together and the major fact that we were on the beach was the boost for us. All of us, including the participants had a total blast. The cries of '3 cheers for PMI' and 'Jo bole so nihaal, satsriya kal!' brought to fore the vigor of the contingent on the beach. And while one team took the elimination in a positive manner, the other team was not so happy about it. Nevertheless, all of them had fun! :D
The Project Management (PM) branch in my college had conducted a PM competition to increase awareness about it among students. One of the rounds of the event was conducted on the beach.
While the rest of the team/committee volunteered to help them and also simultaneously make sure that the teams did not cheat, I was made to keep a check on all the bags and belongings of the participants and the organizing committee 'coz I was late to the event because college got over late that evening.
A kiosk was set up and all belongings were dumped in there. While I stood there, the entire setup invited a number of awkward stares and puzzled looks. A few people stopped by to read the information displayed on the standees. The more interested came up to me and asked what it was all about.
Enter person 1: A chana chor garam wala
"Madam, yahaan pe kya ho raha hai?"
I answered, dismissing his inquisition for usual. "Beach ki safai chalu hai". "Oh achha, theek hai".
I was like whatever...
Next came 3 beggar girls, they were small, looked around 8-9 years old.
"Didi yahaan pe kya ho raha hai?" Oh ok, they are smart. I thought.
I explained the same thing. Said, "Jo log safed pehne hue hai, woh kachra saaf kar rahe hain". I was not sure whether they'd understand 'safed'. :P
Took 1-2 mins for them to understand. Meanwhile, my attention was diverted to a committee member looking frantic as she came up with a doubt pertaining to the round.
The saga of piercing stares continued. *sigh*
Next came in a young boy, wondering what we were up to. One team had finished the task and diverted the question to me. I told him and he walked by saying "kucch faayda nahin hai, kucch faayda nahin hai!"
As if we didn't know that already! :P
A lady aged around 50-55 then inquired and we responded. She went by uttering blessing typical of aged people :)
We smiled back saying thank you and proceeded with our work.
Phew!
Varied responses from varied people! The chana wala came again (for God knows what reason :P) but was blatantly ignored :P :P
It was a great way to spend time, observing the crowd and answering the same question in different manners. But it certainly wasn't fun being stared at like you've done the world's most horrid crime. Like Harry puts it, the gazes were like Dumbledore's 'X-ray vision' :)
An interesting evening it was for sure. The mood and enthusiasm of the participants along with the fact that the entire team was together and the major fact that we were on the beach was the boost for us. All of us, including the participants had a total blast. The cries of '3 cheers for PMI' and 'Jo bole so nihaal, satsriya kal!' brought to fore the vigor of the contingent on the beach. And while one team took the elimination in a positive manner, the other team was not so happy about it. Nevertheless, all of them had fun! :D
