Weekend Getaway
So many years in the South and havent seen the Queen of Hills - Fie ! So, if it has to be, it has to be this time only.
Finally Friday came. As usual the Onsite call early morning was enough to ruin one's day. No exception this time as there has been some change in requirements and no extra time given for the same. My team-mate declared that she is coming on weekend to work. God no please no - not again !
It was been just about a week that Strategy got over. So, this Friday morning was feeling kinda empty. So did a quick TOWS analysis to find out what are the opportunities-strengths versus the environmental threats-weaknesses. I found that the opportunity costs of not going were far too great and that I would need this trip to 'sustain competitive advantage'.
So, without further ado, was off to 'Oooooooooooty'. As the bus started uphill - I took in the cool air - my placid heart was gasping for oxygen. My soar eyes got soothed with the greenery around. I let the cold seep into my skin. I could not have asked for more !
Our first stop was at the Boat House in Ooty. As I guided the paddle boat on the serene water of lake with foliage all-around, my legs refused to move - stiff over months of non-exercise. What will one do with this junk machine! The next stop was the Thread Garden which houses 2500 varieties of flowers woven with thread on canvas. Wow - what a beautiful creation! Well I said to myself - can this 'softly-wired' brain ever think of anything beyond bugs and batch jobs ? This project took 11 years to complete with cost of about Rs 6 crores. One can only marvel at someone's genius.
Then we went to the Rose Garden. Red, yellow, magenta, green, orange roses and more roses has created a magical hue on the 3-terraced hill garden made solely for this purpose. As my roving eyes caught each rose frame-by-frame, my economics mind was thinking how much consumer surplus will each rose give to the possessor. The marginal revenue of producing will always exceed the marginal cost. But can there ever be any marginal rate of technical substitution ?
The next morning, we were off to Dodabetha - the topmost point in the Nilgiris. With the clouds and sun playing 'Catch me if you can', suddenly we got wet by a cloud enveloping us. Then the soft drizzle of the rain. I was now one with nature and all I could say was - 'I, Me and Nilgiris'. As we took downhill, the smell of eucalyptus leaves embalmed every joint of my body and relieved me of pain. Then the beautifully manicured tea-gardens, a refreshing sip of Nilgiris tea was enough to take one to a tizzy. We bought cashew, masalas, cindrodrea oil from there.
Evening 4:15 pm, just as the Toy Train from Conoor to Metyapalyam was about to leave, I dashed in the typical Shah Rukh Khan style and got on board. As the train chugged on, my thoughts chugged back to two eventful days. I realized that I now have an asset that is capable of generating some revenues. Not sure about the profit margin though. Only the next quarter results will say :-)!
Finally Friday came. As usual the Onsite call early morning was enough to ruin one's day. No exception this time as there has been some change in requirements and no extra time given for the same. My team-mate declared that she is coming on weekend to work. God no please no - not again !
It was been just about a week that Strategy got over. So, this Friday morning was feeling kinda empty. So did a quick TOWS analysis to find out what are the opportunities-strengths versus the environmental threats-weaknesses. I found that the opportunity costs of not going were far too great and that I would need this trip to 'sustain competitive advantage'.
So, without further ado, was off to 'Oooooooooooty'. As the bus started uphill - I took in the cool air - my placid heart was gasping for oxygen. My soar eyes got soothed with the greenery around. I let the cold seep into my skin. I could not have asked for more !
Our first stop was at the Boat House in Ooty. As I guided the paddle boat on the serene water of lake with foliage all-around, my legs refused to move - stiff over months of non-exercise. What will one do with this junk machine! The next stop was the Thread Garden which houses 2500 varieties of flowers woven with thread on canvas. Wow - what a beautiful creation! Well I said to myself - can this 'softly-wired' brain ever think of anything beyond bugs and batch jobs ? This project took 11 years to complete with cost of about Rs 6 crores. One can only marvel at someone's genius.
Then we went to the Rose Garden. Red, yellow, magenta, green, orange roses and more roses has created a magical hue on the 3-terraced hill garden made solely for this purpose. As my roving eyes caught each rose frame-by-frame, my economics mind was thinking how much consumer surplus will each rose give to the possessor. The marginal revenue of producing will always exceed the marginal cost. But can there ever be any marginal rate of technical substitution ?
The next morning, we were off to Dodabetha - the topmost point in the Nilgiris. With the clouds and sun playing 'Catch me if you can', suddenly we got wet by a cloud enveloping us. Then the soft drizzle of the rain. I was now one with nature and all I could say was - 'I, Me and Nilgiris'. As we took downhill, the smell of eucalyptus leaves embalmed every joint of my body and relieved me of pain. Then the beautifully manicured tea-gardens, a refreshing sip of Nilgiris tea was enough to take one to a tizzy. We bought cashew, masalas, cindrodrea oil from there.
Evening 4:15 pm, just as the Toy Train from Conoor to Metyapalyam was about to leave, I dashed in the typical Shah Rukh Khan style and got on board. As the train chugged on, my thoughts chugged back to two eventful days. I realized that I now have an asset that is capable of generating some revenues. Not sure about the profit margin though. Only the next quarter results will say :-)!
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