Surrounded by Almonds

I wake up by 7 am today and realize that I am going to have a pretty long day as today is the first day of the Trade Fair that is happening at the Chennai Trade Center in Mangambakkam..( Phew!! these names r so tricky) pretty soon I am outside the house travelling to pick up my friend at the Madras Race Course Club.

When I arrive there I see that she is just about ready and would take just about 5 minutes. Patiently I wait,as I realize that there is no other option. Once she is ready and all set to go we head off to our destination in the Black Swift. The drive is long and annoying as the driver turns out to be a dunce who has no idea of the route and because of this we waste more time stopping and asking people for directions.




The people of Chennai seem to be friendly and guide us correctly but we had to repeat this exercise thrice before the Black Swift Crawled into the arch that leads to the Chennai Trade Centre.

The awfully long ride already got us exhausted even before the fair began. As the clock struck 11 people started pouring in.

The instructions given to me are clear,

" Move around and talk to people about our stall and what we do"

As I move around and interact with the people there I realize that the people in the stalls are actually the almonds of the company ( Read as BADAM) self coined word for the biggies.



I dont know why but interacting with them always makes me happy. It is amazing that even though they are the Presidents, Chairmen and the Managing Directors of the company,they are humble and talk to an individual with respect even if he has just stepped in.

We take a break by 12 and we have our very own Golgappa competition inspired by Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. My friend and me are at it. We have three plates each and decide to call it a draw as we get yelled by the boss to return to our table and cut the gallivanting.



When we reach the stall we see more people just coming in and observing what we have to offer to them. We hand over our business cards and collect theirs.

Soon it is lunch time, We head off to eat Chicken Biryani and we catch up on some serious talk

(HAHA serious??) Later on we eat Chocolate ice cream.



We pampered ourself to the max as far as rhe food is concerned.

As the clock struck 4 the evening crowd poured in, The workload gets higher and more people turn up at the stall. Nonetheless, the chicken biryani, pani puri and the chocolate ice cream give us the fuel to keep going and deal with the questions that tend to appear like Sreesanth s bouncers.

As the day draws to a close we pack up our bags and head to the Madras Race Course Club for dinner. We eat dinner together and the bonding is better. Call it a non veg bonanza day as we have fish and chicken yet again and then settle the meal with an ice cream.

                            

As the coffee ice cream goes down my throat I rewind my memories of the day and realize that this was among the busiest days of my life.