Office Space

After coming up the five flights of stairs to my NGO's office, I take a minute to recover from the 100 stair climb ("exactly 100 stairs!" I was told by a colleague) before ringing the bell. Someone from one of the other NGO's we share the space with welcomes me in and is quickly back to work. I add my sandals to the large pile that has accumulated under the table in the kitchen. When I say kitchen, I don't mean that "officey" type of kitchen with only the bear essentials needed for heating lunch up. This is a fully stocked, very lived in looking kitchen that almost makes those who don't cook want to start.

I walk through the main room, that the other NGO works out of, to the small, but very warm space my new colleagues call home. The hard wood floors are very clean, as everyone walks around barefoot. An Ikea looking desk/storage unit sits on one side of the room and a simple desk and small bamboo table with matching chairs sits on the opposite. The third side is taken up by a large window with cushions and pillows surrounding a very low table that can only be used while sitting on the floor. Against the last wall is a small futon with a large red bulletin board above it. Bright orange curtains hang to the sides of the window and Christmas decorations that have not yet been taken down cover the walls. "It's not just a place to work," the director told me when we first met, "it's a nice place to relax, read even sleep. Maybe you do work better in some other environment and this will be a space for you to just come and hang out."

I walk to the office, sit under the fan and use the computer to check emails, get in touch with people I plan to visit and work on assignments for the fellowship orientation. Around lunch time I order "take out" from one of the many little restaurants in Bandra with whoever else is around. (Once I have my own place I will bring food to cook in the kitchen!) We sit on the cushions around the table and enjoy lunch while laughing about something or other. Some time in the mid afternoon I'm asked if I would like a cup of tea, as a pot is about to be made for the office.

No cubicles to disappear in, doors to slam shut or corner offices to hide behind, but somehow it seems to be one of the most productive, calm and supportive work environments I have observed. How strange...