The inauguration of our new office (at Meridian Plaza, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune) took place at the hands of our CIO, Dave Donovan on December 09, 2010. It commenced with the coconut-breaking ceremony. This was followed by the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Then, Dave lit a huge brass lamp in the majestic reception area of the new office and gave the inaugural address. After this, Srinivas Chidumalla, Executive Vice President for Cross Country Infotech, gave a hearty talk and welcomed everyone to the new workplace.

Everybody then proceeded to explore their new workplace and check out their new desks. The inauguration function ended with a delicious and sumptuous lunch.

Initiated by one of the employees, the Table Tennis tournament became the most exciting event at CCI. The tournament started in August with a lottery drawn to decide the teams. After this, the schedule of the tournament was prepared and e-mails titled―The War Has Begun—were sent to all CCIans to mark the beginning of the tournament. After the doubles quarter-final and semi-final matches, the teams that got through to the finals And on October 2010, CCI witnessed the final battle that took place at Kridangan. The winners of the first CCI TT tournament were declared. The TT tournament created an atmosphere that recharged all of us at CCI.

It was an event everyone at CCI looked forward to. Against the backdrop of festivity, the event gave us a chance to come together, get absorbed into the festive air that filled our surroundings, and celebrate our achievements and milestones. The first day of the event was a Mismatch day. One couldn‘t stop laughing as one could see participants wearing unusual combinations of outfits and accessories—a shirt with a saree, a dupatta with a pair of Jeans, a vest (undershirt) over a shirt, a formal shirt paired with a casual trouser, and other combinations. There was no end to the participants‘ imagination. It was a completely fun-filled day!

The second day of the event was a Twins day. On this day, one could see twins—participants paired up and dressed in similar outfits and accessories—roaming around. Most of them tried their best to look similar in every possible way. It was a day that most of us enjoyed a lot.

The third day of the event was a grand celebration. The office was all lit-up with diyas (lamps) and decorated with rangoli (an art form of India that uses finely ground white and colored powders) and flowers. People tried to look their best in their ethnic attire. Most teams were found busy decorating their desks and cubicles to participate in the first competition of the day—Desk Decoration. After this, everyone gathered at the cafeteria (Aahaar) for a Mega Luncheon.

After the FUNtastic games, it was time for the talent show. After the Sun went down, it was time for the firecracker show to begin. The grand celebration ended with beautiful fireworks. It was a day that bestowed upon us lots of memories to be treasured.

The Red and White day was celebrated at CCI on December 24, 2009. On this day, almost everyone at CCI was dressed in red and white. The red and white combination made the office look vibrant and reminded us about Santa Claus.

A couple of days before the celebration, the HR department requested everyone to submit one gift without a name tag on it and asked each one to pick up a chit to select the receiver of the gift. Except for the HR department, no one knew whose name was written on the chit.

Everyone kept wondering about who would get their gift and whose gift would they receive. This was done in preparation for the “Secret Friend” game that was planned for the Red and White day.

On the day of the celebration, everybody gathered at Kridaangan. The HR department distributed gifts that were submitted to them a couple of days ago. After the gifts were unwrapped, the gift givers were revealed and were called the secret friends of the gift receivers. Everybody had lots of fun while unwrapping their surprise gift and finding out their secret friend. The celebration ended with delicious snacks.