Damn! It’s a saturday morning and here I am sitting on a cushioned seat of a bus to a place called Ananda Valley for a team outing - A team consisting of only a handful people whom i’ve interacted with, the rest being from different clusters. The stink sinks deeper when I recollect I’ve had to cancel the Ratangad trek for this outing. But then there’s no one else to blame but me for having got myself involved that deep in the organising phase of the outing. The saddest part was that the team outing was being conducted just because it had to be done and not for the spirit of it. I guess 28th is the last date for the submission of bills and the higher management decided to have this party organised on the 27th. Lest, the fund that is allocated every quarter especially for team building activities would have gone unused.

That said, Ananda Valley is indeed a wonderful place to be. It’s a 110 acre pristine valley about 50kms on the Nashik Highway and has been built by people who’ve been there on those lands for the past seven generations. Very hospitable people and a great unwinding spot. We reached the place at about 09:15am and after a quick breakfast head for an eco-tour cum trekking. A set of team building games follow and I get to interact with people from other clusters too. Lunch at about 01:00pm is followed by a splendid magic show. At about 04:30pm the rain dance starts. This goes on till about 06:30pm and we head back home.

The magic show was indeed the icing on the cake. Tricks can be learnt, but the way the interest of the audience is maintained is something that the magician brought about extremely well. In case you plan to have a party or a get-together, you may want to consider contacting Sallu Shaim on 09823085309 or 09325501635 for a show. I bet, you wouldn’t regret that decision of yours!

All in all, the Magic show and the Rain DJ made the day and did indeed to a certain extent help in bereaving the loss of a trek-less weekend :-)  .