Bubbye Infy..!

When I look back today, there are a lot of things to think about from Jan 23, 2012 to till date.

Joining Infy was not an instant decision. Having missed two rating cycles horribly in my previous company, the only thought that stuck in my mind was to quit and prove my worth-for-a-hike to my managers. I had two offers – Infy and CTS of which I chose the former. But...

• Paranur was a station which I had never heard off.
• Mahindra City, Chennai was not even in my globe.
• Making a note of train timings and running to catch trains hadn’t been in my daily schedule.
• Missing trains and waiting for the next train – I had never thought I would undergo it.

Gone were those days when going to Chengelpet was “Oorukku porathu” (going out of town). MCity has become an IT employment hub. Close to 20,000 people commute to MCity everyday – but MCity is actually amidst forest. There are a few more things that come to my mind when I think about my Infy life...

Train Pass:
Not being a regular train commuter, I had never had a necessity to buy train passes. When I enquired the ticket vendor about the train to board for Infosys, Mahindra City, he said, it was better to take the pass till Chengelpet as fast trains stop both in Mambalam and Chengelpet. I purchased my first train sub-urban monthly pass on Jan 23, 2012.

Samosa:
"நாலு பத்து ரூவா நாலு பத்து ரூவா சூடான சமோசா.."
Not having travelled for more than 20 minutes continuously in sub-urban trains, Samosa vendors were completely unknown to me. These vendors carry a basket full of bright-orange-coloured samosas with oil-fried-green chills. It does smell and look yummy and I have tasted them a few times.

Paranur Station:
Paranur is the station just before Chengelpet i.e. 9th from Tambaram. (Perungalathur – Vandalur – Oorapakam – Guduvanchery – Potheri – Katankalathur – Maraimalai nagar – Singaperumal Koil and... finally... Paranur)

Not having heard of this station, when I enquired about it in the railway ticket counter, he said, “The train will become almost empty in this station. Get down with the mass.” Paranur station wasn’t like the previous stations. It was completely modelled and constructed by “The Mahindra” and it is posh and attractive.

Shuttles:
Infosys shuttles picked up its employees from Paranur station to the Infy campus. The shuttle travel was about 7-9 mins. The shuttles were of 3 different models – Single centre door low platform bus, double door low platform bus and single front door 3+2 seat bus. Off late, I always preferred the second model as people could easily board and alight from the shuttle easily.

Infy Campus:
The Infy campus starts with a security check and turnstile. This is where the employee attendance is accounted. We need to scan our bags, swipe our card, go in, take our bags and walk on. The campus consists of B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, FC1, FC2, FC3, Leisure block and ECC. There are 2 bus bay entrances one close to B4 and another close to B1 from where we have to board the shuttles to Main Gate and Paranur. Apart from these, we have a cricket ground (which was never used according to me, till I was there) and amphitheatre (which was rarely for cultural celebrations alone).

Food Courts:
Infy food courts are special due to various reasons. Most of my “Jobless” times and “special-friend” times had been in the food courts.

FC1 is a dual floor food court and FC2 is a big ground-level court. KCS coffee shop in FC1 and Kaveri coffee shop in FC2 were my evergreen points to relax with my friends. Apart from these two points, the cafeteria in the ground flood of B8-C wing was my all time favourite for evening snacks. The Dominos in FC2 was my most liked treat point. Latest entry into FCs was the soda corner. Though I am not sure of the most liked flavour of mine, the memories associated with them are really awesome.

Leisure Block:
The most visited place in the Infy campus is the Leisure block. It consists of the CCD, ICICI bank, More, Bowling point, Carom & TT point, Connections and few more. I learnt bowling only after joining Infy. The times when I played and enjoyed with my friends were really memorable. Few Fridays had been special – bowling followed by treats at the Juice shop or pastry shop. My farewell happened at the CCD.

Last but not the least...


Friends:
My life at Infy wouldn’t be complete if I do not mention my friends. They made my stay awesomely pleasant and extremely memorable. Sundar Raman, Malathy, Shobana, Nayeem, Thenral, Anbu Raja and few others constituted more life, colour and spice to my life at Infy. Most of my “Enjoyed” times consisted of the above mentioned friends. Thank you friends for making my stay at Infy memorable.


Good Bye, Infosys..!