Christmas 2014

Greetings:

6 years down, our office Christmas Party and its accompanying activities have become something of a tradition.   A week before Christmas we bring out the tree and the tree ornaments that were packed away the year before.  




Once it's up someone or other begins putting the finishing touches to it.  It's never very clear who, because at some point we have every staff member except the lugubrious Lalan, going up to it and fixing/adjusting/adding to it.  

The annual "work station dressing up" competition is another tradition. It tends to uncover rivalries never seen before.  Dinesh is an annual winner at this one with the rest frothing at the mouth each time he wins. 

However,this Christmas,  we had a very young, very new joinee,who among all the other decorations at his work station, also hung up a disreputable looking black sock . This boy is a final year law student, who decided to work while studying in order to make ends meet.  

 

When I approached his desk to judge,  he asked anxiously, 
"You do know Ma'am that stockings are hung up at Christmas and then Santa puts gifts in them?" 
I nodded solemnly.
"See," he said pointing to a slip of paper peeping out of the mouth of the sock. "Santa has already put a Christmas gift in my stocking".
I peered at the paper. It read, " Job at Law Allies."
Touching, no? 

He shared the prize with the not-to-be-beaten Dinesh, whose work station was truly a glorious sight!








Another Christmas Party tradition is the "Lucky Dip".  A carton of small gifts is placed at the bottom of the tree and every staff member, including security personnel, cleaners, and office boys pick a gift. Since some of the gifts are really good ones and some are as silly as a jar of Amrutanjan pain balm or a kilo of rice, no sooner is the carton in, people begin casting speculative looks at the wrapped parcels, trying to figure out which parcel looks more promising.





A new game at this year's party was "pick-up-the-packet" .   It involved picking a small paper packet off the floor without touching any part of your body to the floor- just with your teeth. No one except the lathe-thin Anuradha could manage it. 







However, what made this game and this year's party truly unforgettable was my Project Manager's tight formal trousers exploding wide accompanied with a loud rending, as he bent to pick up the paper packet. A memory to cherish forever.....(yes I have the video but will not share it)
If he is reading this, remember Friend, that I do love you and forgive me.

Incidentally, this post is dedicated to Shree Laxman, the invisible Santa at our Christmas Party.

Rosemary