A week long apprenticeship in the hills
I have been working as an apprentice (intern) with Team Hackergram, from April 2020 with breaks in between. I have been working virtually from home, first due to the raging Covid-19 induced pandemic and then because my college was still on. However, now that college is over, I got the opportunity to visit the Hackergram Safe Space in Naukuchiatal, Uttarakhand to explore, learn, interact and work with the team in-person.
Onset
I started off on a solo trip on 8th August, and reached Naukuchiatal on the 9th, I was welcomed by Karan sir and Deepta ma’am who have been my mentors for the apprenticeship. After conversing with them, I then headed to the Hosteller, Naukuchiatal a new-age startup which provides accomodation for backpackers, solo travellers (although I found that families liked to stay there too :P).
Weather
The weather in Uttarakhand can be defined by one word: Moody. Yes, it used to change from time to time, like in one day one could observe all the seasons of the year, summer, rainy, winters (just an exaggeration). I had a tough time adjusting to the weather, but once I did, it was quite comfortable and soothing.
Food
I tried out almost all the operating cafes near the Hosteller campus. I tried sandwiches at the Speed Breaker cafe, which were delicious, I tried the Maggi, Samosas and Aloo Paratha at 9th Dimensions, which was tasty too. I even had Maggi and Coffee at the in-house cafe at the Hosteller which was good. I also had Chicken Soup at the Machan Restaurant in Bhimtal which was hot and tasty. It was also quite heart-warming to have home-cooked meals at the safe space which made me feel quite homely and calm.
Tourism
Naukuchiatal as the name suggests refers to the nine cornered lake which is the center of attraction in the town. I also went on a bike ride with Karan sir uphills on bike, here is a snapshot of the lake as well as the town from above.
We also went and explored the Garud Taal one day, which is a bit ahead of Bhimtal, a town 8–10 KMs from Naukuchiatal. Bhimtal also has a large lake with the same name which defines most of its geography along with the surrounding hills.
Work
My daily schedule involved hiking up approximately 500 m approximately to the safe space. I have attached a photo of the same:
I was alloted a dedicated space where I used to setup my laptop and worked henceforth. I was thourougly guided by Karan sir whenever I used to get stuck or experienced any sort of problems. Instead of directly telling me the solution he led my way to the solution, resulting in a proper learning curve. We also had various discussions with Deepta ma’am, Arjun sir and Karan sir regarding multitude of topics ranging from my home state Madhya Pradesh, politics in India, culture in Uttarakhand etc. which were a nice exercise for the brain.
Conclusion
Overall, I had a pleasant experience working at the Hackergram Safe Space in Naukuchiatal. I learned a lot regarding the technological tools by Hackergram as well as learned about new and upcoming technologies by the means of various discussions with the team at various points of time. It felt like a home away from home, to be honest. The views and the environment in the hills is ofcourse quite stunning. I wish to explore more the next time I am around :)
