Today was Republic day, when the Constitution was signed and officially made India a republic and free from British rule. All hotel guests were invited to a ceremony. I was awake by 7am, so headed down to breakfast, then outside. All the staff were present but few guests. I was a bit apprehensive seeing as it was the British they’d kicked out but was made very welcome. Was a little awkward when the speech lambasted British rule, understandable, but I felt a little embarrassed. I was going to offer that they symbolically throw me out of the hotel, but wasn’t sure of the appropriateness of this!
After breakfast, I went for a stroll and saw these huge birds of prey (I think they’re some kind of eagle, but no one really knows)
After this, it was time to get ready for work. The journey was crazy, despite being told that it was a bank holiday and the traffic was quiet! Took around 40 minutes to get to the office and I was glad when we arrived.
The office is lovely, there are all kind of permissions required for photography so hope to have some photos later on. They use the roof as a sort of market. It has a shop, many cafes and coffee shops, a gym and recreation room. Very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Contrasts to the office, as we are ‘the clients’ we are afforded carte blanche and it’s all smiles but I get the impression that when we’re not there, a more strict and formal atmosphere is imposed. I caught the end of a presentation in which they were told that just because you were on holiday, didn’t mean you could switch your mobile off and you had to be on call 24 hours a day. I was a little concerned that this was stated as a requirement for all employees of my employer which is certainly not the case I was aware of