I have come home. It always feels nice to be back home. It feels nicer to have come home with loads of good memories; memories about a very short period of my life in an Island, far from my home, its people, its culture and many many other things. Like every other human, I also long to keep all joyous memories safely and dearly. And as long as I can retain the memories of wonderful days of my life at Kingston in Jamaica, I know it always carry a potential to bring smile on my face. It’s adorable; largely because of some kind hearted people.
Let me be frank: I badly wanted to get back home. This was on day one. I began counting days. But soon I got used to the environment, the people, their dialect, the music by the pool side of my hotel, the courteous staff in there, the strange and weird gestures by the street walkers, the hot climate, the sight of beautiful lush green mountains, but not certainly the food. As such I’m notorious for my poor eating habits. So the last thing that I want to discuss in here is about food. Barring that, I have only very fond memories of my journey to a Caribbean Island.
The tall man standing next to me is Devindra Sharma. People call him Dev. He was one of the first two people, whom I met at Fujitsu. That he is an Indian is painted all over his face. But it surprised me to discover that he was born vegetarian. To snatch from him some information around the secret vegetarian food outlets in Jamaica stood high on my priorities. Thus began my company with Dev that may have started with a very casual conversation around Vegetarian food or probably around the details of his favourite chauffer at Kingston, but went on to several other topics: some personal, some historical, some geographical, some cultural and what not. If I know that Lignum Vitae is the National Flower of Jamaica, that’s because of him. I wouldn’t have known that the consumption of unripe fruit called The Ackee, also the Jamaican National Fruit, invites disaster, but for Dev’s detailed explanation. A few hours of conversation with him seemed like a quick flip through the pages of an Encyclopedia! Does anyone here needs more explanation on why I love exposure to the people the most. I thank Dev for all the wisdom that he shared, for all the time that he gave me in shopping around, hanging out in Indian restaurants, driving me around and lastly for his drop at the Norman Manley International airport in Jamaica during very early hours on a fine Saturday morning. I admire him for his linguistic capabilities and several other qualities.
Dev introduced me to Conrad, his colleague. Together we had some fun at a couple of Indian Food Outlets in Jamaica in the evenings.
On the other hand, during the daytime, empowered by the energy and enthusiasm of a youthful audience, I sailed through my assignment at Fujitsu rather smoothly. There weren’t any hiccups in the program that I can think of. Well, if there were any that I am now unable to recall, I believe one among the group in the picture would show up and comment loud and clear. I thank each of them for all learning and fun in the class.
 |
On the final day of the Boot Camp, they very kindly offered me a drive to the famous University Of West Indies. I found it difficult to turn down such an offer, especially when a visit to the UWI was always on my ‘To Do’ list while at Kingston. Consequently, I found myself taking a stroll in the huge campus of UWI, accompanied by some of its alumni. They would have had a stream of memories about their college going days while taking me around the beautiful University Campus. By the time we drove out of the UWI, I had just over a dozen hours left in Kingston.
Again, I am happy to be back home. I’m happy also to have got an opportunity to spend two weeks of my life in a beautiful Island, spending some quality time with some wonderful people, the memories of which, I hope, shall take a very long time to even fade. Farewell, Kingston!