Sutra’s first birthday celebration

It is very funny when you mention a company outing to some of your friends who are working for enterprises with hundreds of employees. A company outing means immense planning, getting a place that can accommodate all these people and coming up with ideas that will keep everyone happy.

Well, for startups like us, a company outing means getting in the car and driving to a dhaba on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Sutra completed a year on November 28th this year, but we were in no mood to celebrate due to the terror strikes in the city, and had decided to let our first anniversary go without much glitz and glam. So, the idea behind the company outing was to celebrate our first year and for everyone to meet up, as we work across two different offices and also to spend the Christmas eve together.

The affair started at a dhaba on NH8 called Kinaara. The place, as we got from some friends, serves excellent food and alcohol; and being the food fanatics we are, we decided to give it a check. The drive to the dhaba was good and with the winters just setting in, it was quite chilly. When we got to the place, it was swarming with people but had ample of seating space. We got a table facing the garden, but couldn’t manage to get one of those tree houses they have. The tables are laid out in a very traditional way, with khaats making up for chairs.

Chicken, don

The food was excellent with all kinds of meat available; especially fish, which is usually fresh, thanks to its proximity to major fishing villages. Also, the alcohol they serve, is very cheap. The ambience is good overall but for me, the ghazals in the background were irritating and in spite of our continuous demands to switch to some good old 70′s music, the manager refused to take us seriously. However, we just managed. As it is, after the first hour, it did not even matter what was playing as all of us were pretty drunk to bother.

We are just happy, I swear!!

In my drunken state of mind, I had also decided to come up with ten tips for startup entrepreneurs for arranging outings, but Waqar has asked me to not publish it; so I will give that a go. So, after we were done with our food and merry, it was time to drive back. Waqar and Afaq do not drink so we had sane people to get through the cops.

The Sutra gang

We reached home at around 4 in the morning. Also, I ought to mention PratikSingh Gill, our friend from Directi who joined in for the festivities.

A special friend - PratikSingh Gill

So, when I go back and talk to my friends, all of them talk about their company outings where they played games OR went to some chic club, but nothing beats 7 friends around a table, having the best time in the world.

Waqar and Kartik are all smiles

I don’t need to tell you anymore why working for a startup is fun. Its fun because you are never working; you are completing a bunch of tasks with friends.

Now, I cannot publish the guide that I had thought of and have published the article with a lot of edits (this being our company blog), I will be happy to give you the details offline. Although, one thing I can vouch for is that this was one fun outing and all of us will always remember this fondly.

P.S. I want you guys to ask Waqar about the drive back home . It was freaky