What better way to start the 2010 RTI Area 1 blog than to speak about the absolutely fantastic weekend that was Pandimonium. The area groups has been inundated with scores of mails from all over the area thanking and congratulating the tablers, circlers, ladies, twinklers, and square legs of Madurai for hosting a superbly organised AGM. A lot goes into making an AGM successful. Be it the name, the venue, the liquor, the theme socials, the AGM sessions, the liquor, the transportation, the accommodation, the liquor, the games for ladies and twinklers, the food, oh and did I mention the liquor?!?!?
Starting with the name "Pandimonium", I feel the tables of Madurai had a winner on their hands. It was so inviting that I didn't need to think twice before registering. There is an element of fun and mischief in the name and it manages to capture the attitude of the Madurai tables.
The two venues; The Gateway Hotel (hence forth referred to as, The Taj) and Heritage Madurai (hence forth referred to by its original name, Heritance) were inspired choices. The Taj, with its very own hill, was the perfect place to host the AGM. From the moment you climb the hill you know you are in for some real fun, with photoshopped pictures of the AC, AVC and IPC (present), peppered all the way up to the reception. While the Heritance was ideal for the informal night and the themed social, with its blend of old and new. While the amphitheater was put to good use during the informal night, the stunning pool side dance floor was the highlight of the social. The themes for a change were relatively easy to stick by and added colour to socials.
The AGM sessions were hosted with ease and every whim and fancy of the head table was catered to. The sessions were more or less conducted on time and the lights, projectors and computers more or less managed to work. But the overall effect was great with several of the tablers, ladies and twinklers choosing to participate in the sessions. Of course this would never have been possible without the incredible effort put in to co-ordinate transportation between the different hotels and venues. Vehicles were at our beck and call at all times of the day or night. Kudos to the transportation team. The same goes for the accommodation team. The hotels selected and the rates were out of this world. Tablers staying at the Taj and Heritance were truely amazed by the shear size and opulence of the rooms and the properties themselves.
The ladies tea party was a roaring success with most of the Area 1 ladies making it back just in time for the saturday night social. The games and interactive sessions were truely inspired and everyone had a ball of a time. It was a great way for ladies from all over the area to meet interact and socialise.
Now the important stuff, the food and the liquor. Admit it! If these two elements fail, then nothing else matters. But this is Madurai we are talking about, the land of mutton biriyani, brain fry and mutton chukka. From the awesome mutta keema dosai on friday night to the homely ela sadhya on Sunday, every meal as a delight. The highlight of course was the Sunday afternoon lunch. To everyones surprise and delight, the tablers, circlers and ladies of Madurai decided to redefine hospitality by personally serving the food. This made the already awesome food taste even beteer, and for that I solute each and everyone of you.
Moving on the last item in the agenda, the Liquor, what can I say except it was cheap, it was flowing and it was everywhere. It didn't matter whether, you were are the AGM hall, the lunch counters, the dinner counters, or in your room, the booze was flowing, and served more often than not by the tablers themselves, always with a wicked smile and a cheerful salute. I hope the collections were good guys!
What more can I say, except thank you to Anachi and his whole team. every element was perfect and you have set the bar high for the rest to follow. This AGM clearly proved that "Together We Can, Together We Will", "Let it Grow".
