Love it or hate it, Technopark is here to stay. To the rest of us outside its walls, the campus and the 45,000 plus people who work inside it have come symbolise the future; a space where opportunities abound and where dreams and fortunes are to made. But what do those who actually work on campus think of Technopark? Do they love it? Do they hate it?
In fact, the love is overflowing! Techies really can’t stop waxing lyrical about good ol’ Technopark... That the campus lives up to its claim as ‘the greenest IT park in the country’ is what gets it the maximum likes. “I love how green it is here! It’s quiet, it’s unpolluted, there’s no traffic. Just looking out into the greenery is a stress-buster. It’s really a home away from home,” says Lakshmy Menon, a software developer, who has been working on campus for four years now.
Nayana Rachel Simon, another software developer, who has been at Technopark for one–and– a–half years now, agrees. “You rarely feel the heat when you step outside because all the walkways are under a canopy of trees. Sometimes when I feel stressed I go for a walk on campus and the greenery just soothes you. Actually, I love that the environment here is calm inside as it is outside. My colleagues and the other techies I’ve come across are all very helpful and good to interact with,” she says.
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Geetu Sateesh is another fan of Technopark’s green spaces. “I have been to visit friends in Bangalore and other tech centres where it’s just buildings and more buildings. Technopark is so refreshing when compared to those drab, dry and altogether clinical environments. I love it that here we can cycle to work or relax with an evening walk, breathing fresh air,” says the software developer.
While the greenery gets top billing with Warangal-native Kota Mogili too, it’s the networking opportunities that are plentifully available on campus that endears him more to the campus. “The camaraderie here is amazing, beneficial to one’s career too. Park centre is the nucleus around which revolves everything in Technopark,” he explains.
Vineeth Chandran, a project manager and five-year veteran of Technopark too enjoys all the opportunities to network. “There are many activities on campus that you can be a part of and which brings you in touch with other like-minded people. I have worked for a while in Infopark, Kochi, where this level of camaraderie and commitment is missing. There it’s all about work and more work. We are a real community here in Technopark,” he explains. Geethu adds: “True. Such is the camaraderie that it’s really like a college campus in here, only we have more freedom and money in our pockets!”
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That’s not to say all’s fine with Technopark. Techies have a few pet peeves too. None more so than the transportation situation in campus.
“There are no KSRTC buses after 8 p.m. from campus and we end up depending on autos or the company cabs, both of which are not all that safe for girls. Even if we take autos the fare is so expensive to go even the short distance to Kazhakoottam that you would rather walk,” explain Kota and Geethu.
While Nayana abhors the 150 or so steps one has to climb to access the back gate (“it’s great for exercise), Lakshmy would like to change the misconceptions that society has towards techie life. “Why don’t people get that we are normal people, living normal lives?” she ponders.
Vineeth, on the other hand, wonders why more people don’t turn up for inter-company activities. “Every other day events happen in Technopark but only a 100 or so out of potential thousands of people turn up? People have to realise that by virtue of being in Technopark allows us to make a positive impact on society,” he says. Come share the love!