The birds were chirping as a bright sunny day dawned on the bustling coastal city of Chennai, India. The hustle and bustle started early as the fishermen brought in their day’s catch and the streets quickly became packed with usual throng of officegoers and schoolchildren.
But it wasn’t like every other day.
The street hawkers who usually carried toys and books had their wares replaced by vibrant sashes and greeting cards. Crowds flocked to florists instead of coffeehouses as brightly colored flowers were bought by the dozen. It was International Women’s Day and the city made sure everyone knew about it!
The energy wasn’t limited to just the city. I turned up at Perficient Towers early in the morning to find the entire place bustling. Tents were being put up and vendors were putting up their stalls, displaying their shimmering wares. Rajesh, the trusty office assistant was getting the live counters set up even as cooks hovered over sizzling vessels in preparation for the fabulous lunch that was organized.
There was a reason for all this preparation. Besides International Women’s Day, we had a very special event as well: the launch of Women in Tech at Perficient in India!
Women in Tech:
“Women in tech consists of a community of professional women committed to inspiring, educating and seizing opportunities, and I’m proud of the initiative Perficient has come up with to champion the cause!” – Gayathri Venkatraman, WiT Committee member
“We decided to launch Women in Tech at Perficient in India with a fantastic event, and what better day to kick off the start of this amazing initiative than International Women’s Day, which celebrates women from all walks of life around the world?” – Gayathri Hariharan, Director of HCM
And a celebration it was- the largest we’d had since pre-pandemic times! Colleagues crowded around the stalls bargain hunting everything from South Indian Ethnic wear to Accessories and bags and even Children’s clothes. (The men had the sole t-shirt stall at the end- it was women’s day after all. Excellent business for the vendor though).
We had several games as well as colleagues laughed and played around, ranging from mini-golf and balloon shooting to frog hopping (Smacking a frog off a seesaw to get it neatly into a box) and steady hands (getting a coiled loop past a twisty circuit without touching the sides). The highlight of the games was a good old fashioned ring toss- where we had fantastic prizes to be won– from skincare and beauty products to useful tools and gorgeous accessories. (As for me, I walked off proudly with my favorite sunscreen brand- Nice!).
Puris and Jalebi’s
As I stepped into the food stalls, I was greeted by a cloud of mouth-watering smells. Following my nose, I made my way through all the live counters, right from Traditional South Indian delicacies such as Idiyappam (Rice vermicelli that almost melts in your mouth) to North Indian ones such as Chola Puri’s (Emperor sized deep fried leavened bread) as well as Asian Street food like stir fried schezwan noodles.
My personal favorite was the piping hot Jalebis straight from the wok, and Madras Kulfis, which were made from condensed milk flavored with cardamom, and had generous chunks of chocolates, almonds and cashews buried in it like hidden treasures.
My team:
With a diverse team comprising majorly of amazing and industrious women, I can firsthand say how lucky I am to be able to work with them. Kind, enthusiastic and straight up passionate, I constantly get to learn and grow because of them.
I can say with some pride that I have been made to feel part of the team from day one!
The party’s just getting started!
While #internationalwomensday might have been on March 8th, we’re just getting started celebrating and championing women here at Perficient!
Perficient’s #WomeninTech Employee Resource group, or WiT has officially launched in Perficient in India with an nationwide event as we highlight our community of professional women who lead from the front. #proudlyperficient
Hey Vishnu, You write every blog post so well. Keep the hard work going and good luck.
The day was amazing and thanks Perficient such an amazing event!
Amazing write-up Vishnu! I am glad that your blog took me back to the day again!! Keep it up!
Thanks Vishnu for bringing alive our office happenings time to time! More events and more blogs expected!
Hey thanks Vishnu for this wonderful dedication to all our Perficient women 🙂 It was an amazing day for us at office with a lot of activities .. This blog has very nice memories of the day .. thanks again.. and best wishes to you 🙂
Great share Vishnu! Thanks for it.. Looking forward 🙂
Wonderful blog Vishnu !! You keep raising the bar every time you write-up a blog. Keep it up !!
Great Share Vishnu! Thanks for it. Looking forward to the next event!