Mango Festival: A Fun Day at Work

This past month, on the first Saturday, we held a special event at my workplace with great enthusiasm and zeal. It was an official event, meticulously organized with the boss's approval, and it turned out to be a huge success. The event was called the Mango Festival. Mangoes are considered a very special fruit in Pakistan, known as the king of fruits, with various delicious varieties available. This festival aimed to celebrate the importance of mangoes and foster a fun and engaging time among employees.

An official email was sent out, which even included the dress code: white or yellow clothing. I had a white shalwar kameez, but it was at the laundry, and my yellow kurta, which was from my wedding, had become too tight. Wearing that would have been quite embarrassing, so I decided against it. I thought I could avoid the dress code by arriving late, but a colleague called me, insisting I come on time and in the appropriate attire since some colleagues had even been sent to a nearby mall to buy yellow t-shirts on the boss's instructions. Realizing this was the boss's way of adding a bit of fun, I took it more seriously and ended up borrowing a somewhat yellow t-shirt from my father.

When I arrived at the office, it was beautifully decorated with balloons and baskets of mangoes arranged artistically. I couldn't tell which variety they were, but they looked very appealing. Interestingly, I’m not particularly fond of mangoes—I'll eat them if they’re cut into cubes at home, but I never eat them outside for some reason. However, we weren't there to eat mangoes right away.

In another basket, there was mango ice cream, which immediately caught my eye and lifted my spirits. Our boss loves mangoes and values this tradition, so he promotes this festival enthusiastically.

Since Saturday is a half-day at our office, at around 2 PM, everyone was called to the first floor, and the event began. Our boss started with a speech, sharing the company’s vision and goals, motivating employees, and emphasizing that anyone with any issues could talk to him directly because of our open-door policy. He values all advice and suggestions for the betterment of the company. This speech was especially timely since several employees had recently left for better opportunities, causing some demotivation and a negative atmosphere. The boss addressed these concerns effectively.

Then, the boss asked everyone for their opinions on what improvements could be made, one by one. I suggested that we should work together as one team rather than blaming other departments for mistakes. Streamlining better processes and working together would yield better results.

After that, some games were organized. Though I got busy with urgent work and stayed at my seat, I watched the games from a distance and saw everyone enjoying themselves. The event sent a positive message and created a good atmosphere. We all had fun.

Later, we were served delicious mango ice cream—I had two servings! Mangoes were then distributed. After finishing my work, we took pictures with great poses, which my colleagues captured on their phones.

It was a delightful experience, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.