I've been in Chennai for a little over two weeks now and its been a thoroughly educative trip. And all the learnings have been made outside of the books!
First of all I reached here and my employer was kind enough to provide me with accommodation. The e-mail carried a very fancy name and so I was expecting something like a serviced apartment or a guest house. The e-mail also said it was located in Chennai.
When I did get off the train and boarded an auto to reach the venue (After willing to shed Rs 200!) i began to realize that I had a long way to go! Not surprisingly, I was in a different town panchayat when I reached my destination!!
At the serviced apartments (Which is what it turned out to be), I was welcomed by colleagues waiting with their baggage in the parking area. The place was full to the brim and no alternative arrangements were made due to a communication gap. And so, we were stranded at the parking lot waiting for alternate accommodation and at the mercy of another auto driver who had probably gone to enjoy a cup of tea (And even a short nap maybe, considering the time he took to return).
It was a relief to hear that alternate accommodation was arranged and so back into the auto we went. But the relief was short lived.
The 'alternate' accommodation was a SHOCKER!!
A 10x10 room with an attached bathroom (with brown water trickling from the tap), a defunct AC, windows opening out to a scenery of stagnant water and no cupboards. The icing on the cake was that this room was meant for FOUR! So I wasn't surprised to find bunker beds!
What a way to test Adaptability!
With that done, the next ordeal was to locate the office( which wasn't difficult, thankfully) and to find a place to eat. With these things settled it was back to the 'room' to spend the night!
More on my journeys in and around Chennai later!
No comments:
Post a Comment