Goan Rhapsody

Its been more than a week since the culmination of our Goan Rhapsody, but time has been flying at lightening speed and lots of eventful things around caused me to return to blog-board at an interval greater than the usual.
This trip was special to me in multiple ways; right from the inception of the idea to the planning and successful execution of plans. Our team has been so much used to be shown carrots which never really flourish, and trinkets that can charm babies but not bombastic software engineers, that we tend to look at every object with a jaundiced eye. So it was no surprise that when the news of this trip was split to us, the initial reaction was that of complete disbelief with that distinct element of sattire ! Even a couple of weeks later, when the dates came really close, dark clouds loomed large over us when the impending release was as if stuck up in a bubble gum, unwilling to make the egress. Expectation is the root cause of misery felt really apt, since our blase reaction ensured that news of possibly not going to Goa failed to dampen our spirits...
Sometimes Lady Luck also decides that enough mockery has happened and hence, the lucky BE team actually got the green signal to make gala plans for Goa. A string of unpleasant events in the course of that month, which came to visit me like ghosts of the past almost made me jump off the bandwagon as a silent mark of protest to the ensuing happenings, but ultimately good sense prevailed and all of us were on for the jaunt!!!
Then the angel or the good guy in me stepped up to the challenge and decided to enjoy this to the fullest; that's how I landed in the .org domain and was soon looking at travel arrangements and catering related activities. This was also veiled by my hidden agenda to network more with people and increase the feel-good factor within myself.
When the Goan Rhapsody day arrived, we were in high spirits and set off vy Goa Express towards Madgao. A couple of hours of train delays only confirmed the reliable and predictable nature of the Indian Railways. Rains seemed to be playing spoilsport on Friday morning and looked like we were in for a lot of indoor activites, courtesy the rain gods, but the Sun came shining down upon the ocean waters the moment we stepped into Gomantak territory and this was enough to cheer us up.
The Radisson White sands resort was exquisite and classy in its design and service. The room was pretty cosy and had great interiors, befitting any 5-star hotel. The next 3 days we gorged upon the choicest of desserts, fruit, bread and Indian delicacies during every meal..Non veggies savoured upon sea foods and Goan fish curry. What stood out during the visit was the team spirit which was rejuvenated or rather created for the first time since a long time...
The length and breadth of activities we did there were really stupendous. Just to name a few, got a taste of steam bath and a jacuzzi followed by a nice head ache :-) . Beach volleyball turned out to be the ultimate charmer, in addition to water polo interspersed with some mocktails and pints of beer for few of us.
Kojagiri night celebration on the beach was a truly romantic setting, though I lacked the ammo (read wife/gf) to fully exploit the situation. The campfire experience which never really caugght fire still remains etched in my memory.. Our cultural nite was another highlight of this Rhapsody.
As if this was not enough, we did manage to snuggle in a few more activities like the bowling alley, air hockey and dancing on the discotheque to the tunes of Indi pop and Samba.. Some nice firang dancers were icing on the cake and were really soothing to our sleepy eyes.. And then the great fun we had in Charan's room was remarkable to say the least...
Did have a lot of fun on the trip and made quite a lot of friends and acquaintances as well. Was indeed a Rhapsody !!!!!!!!!