Too many stories to tell. But they cannot be accommodated in just one blog. But if I do have to tell a story, I would have to take you back to 13^th September 2019 – my first day on the office floor of a culturally beautiful company that I worked for. 

As I sat on the first empty chair that I saw, there was a sense of fear of the unknown. But that fear was short lived. A few minutes later the Program Manager approached, not me but the person sitting next to me. She pointed towards me and said to him, “He has been sitting here for the past 5 minutes, and you haven’t said hello or welcomed him to the team!” 

Well! That was the moment I realized, this was a beautiful place to be. 

Fast forward three days as the weekend passed – the 16^th of September 2019 – my first day on the project. I was the last to leave office that day. The place had a strange sense of belongingness even though it was just my second day on the floor. Many late outings followed, but they were as amusing as they could get. 

Work, learning, laughter, tea breaks, friendship. I got it all. Even today I fail to understand how an introvert and a shy person like me could make so many friends. I wished this could go on, forever. But fate had other plans. 

As my project ended and a new one started, I had to change floors. I felt sad. It was tough not seeing familiar faces every day. But then again, newer doors opened. The new faces had the same old vibe, same old positivity and same old happiness. The best part – I still had the old familiar faces, with new ones. Friends like family. Office life was great again! 

But I guess fate does have an overactive mind. We were in the midst of a pandemic. Commute to the office stopped. Workstations were slowly created at home. Work did not stop. Learning did not stop. Conversations did not stop. Just the way of interaction changed. It all went virtual. 

Sometimes I do miss the commute to office. I do miss the campus which had gone empty then. I do miss that floor, my desk, my chair. The laptop was the only thing close to an office that remained. 

During an office video call, the smiling faces of my teammates made me realize – it was never about the material things – the office building, the floor, the desk, the chair. It was always about the environment, the conversations and most importantly, the People.. 

– Prateek Godiyal