Journal post entry #5 Saturday/Sunday/Monday January 11/12/13

The home stretch!  We got an early start in Mumbai, visiting the home where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his political activities in Mumbai, Mani bhavan.  I was startled by the wealth in certain parts of Mumbai, particularly as we drove past the Lamborghini and Rolls Royce dealerships and Antilia, the skyscraper single-family home of Mukesh Ambani. 

 

Our final day in Delhi was completely worthwhile for me as I got to see all the buildings of the Capitol.  Given an extra day I would have liked to have visited the president’s place, but there’s only so much we can fit into 10 full days in India.  We had the opportunity to check out an authentic outdoor shopping experience before catching the final flight home.   

In all, I can say there is little I would change for this trip.  I paid to see how IT in India operates, and by the account of all the firms we visited, I got more than my fair share of IT overload!   

Journal post entry 4 Wednesday/Thursday/Friday January 8/9/10

The time spent in Pune was probably the most “IT” related I think I’ve ever had in my entire life.   To get started we had visits with global IT juggernauts Infosys, Wipro, Syntel, and IBM, in addition to a more boutique IT service firm Spiderlogic, owned by Wisconsin-based Wipfli.  The thing that stands out to me the most in Pune is the magnitude of the IT campuses.   Sure, it was interesting to hear what projects some of the firms are working on, but really what was mind blowing is how much money the clients must be spending on those projects.  The buildings of Infosys, for instance, could have been easily located in Las Vegas with even an Olympic sized swimming pool outside one of the buildings.  The only thing I can think of is that these buildings must be made to encourage workers to stay on-site.

Journal post entry #3 Monday/Tuesday January 6/7

Back in Delhi!  Because of the late night arrival due to the fog, we were all a little groggy Monday morning.  We had two company visits scheduled for this day: Impetus and Pacific BPO.  Monday was a great –albeit long- day.  We actually got to see what goes on at Indian “tech” firms.   Despite the cultural shifts, the thing by which I was most intrigued was the fact that the employees at these firms seem to be generally interested in working in the industry.  In many respects the working conditions of Impetus reminded me of an Indian version of “The Office”, with plenty of cubes and eyes that peer over the walls.  Not to say work isn’t getting done.  It just feels like an environment that could just as easily be found in the United States or anywhere else, for that matter.  Likewise, Pacific BPO also serves the need of its clients by offering outsourced opportunities for far less than it would cost the onshore competitors. 

In the evening, we had a nice visit to a modern mall and dinner with the family of Prof. Adya.    The hospitality of Indians seems to be much higher than that of typical Americans, although it could just be my perception.  Am I getting tired of Indian food every day? No.

Visiting the Great India Place mall was really eye-opening.  I felt like once inside I was transported to a modern mall somewhere near Chicago.  It really could have been anywhere and a fry cry from a typical street-vending experience.

Tuesday morning we had a more leisurely start to the day as we headed off to the New Delhi Institute of Management.  We were greeted by a grateful faculty, and ushered into a series of comments by faculty and invited professionals in Delhi.  Many of whom, as far as I could tell, didn’t know they were expected to present.  It was quite an interesting time…but it’s India, it’s not up to me to judge the organization of campus events.  Eventually we all got to take a turn on stage, most of whom got to say a word or two.  Whether it was or was not value added to the listener, I suppose it’s also not up to me to presume.  But experience aside, what I saw was a room full of students working towards a masters degree, with the hope that it would get them ahead in Indian commerce.    

That night we boarded a plane for Pune, the Tech center of West India.

Journal post entry 2 Saturday/Sunday January 4/5

Jaipur!

This was the first day we got to "sleep in" although there won't be too many days like this. That said I still woke up around 5:30 and went for a very short jog down the street in front of our hotel. It was dark, and the air thick. Our day included a visit to Amber fort just outside Jaipur. It was the original home of the maharaja prior to the development of the walled city of Jaipur. 

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan.  I found its history to be fascinating.  Evidently it was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city has been named.  Today Jaipur has a population of 3.1 million and is known as the Pink City of India.

As we were told by our guide, Jaipur is unusual among Indian cities in the number of, and the width of, its gridded streets.   We visited the observatory, Jantar Mantar, which is one of the World Heritage Sites.  Clearly astronomical sophistication has existed within India for many generations.

Another beautiful site we visited while in Jaipur was Amer (or Amber) Fort just outside Jaipur.  Amer Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I and is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake. We returned later in the evening to see a nighttime presentation of the fort’s history.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early for the long bus ride to Agra where we got to visit the world’s most beautiful mausoleum – the Taj Mahal. Quite frankly, so much has been written about the Taj Mahal that I’m not sure where to start or even if it’s really all that important. I’ll just say that I came away duly impressed. There was fun incident prior to stepping from the Taj’s gardens into the building site itself where an early teenage girl with her “auntie” wanted to take my picture with them. It was kind of fun knowing that I may be a little different. The drive back to Delhi that night was harrowing, to say the least. Fog that was so thick I’m not sure the driver could see the lines in the road. Fun times, and we made it.

 

Journal post entry 1 Wednesday/Thursday/Friday January 1/2/3:

The trip started with a snow storm and a two-hour delay in Chicago, but after a quick de-icing we were in the air we on our way to India, a land short on snow and ice....which was fine by me! The 14 hour flight gave me some time to indulge in the Indian culture. I watched a fun Bollywood movie called Special 26 which was presumable based on a true story of the CBI, India's equivalent of the FBI. The construction of the movie was a lot different than I had imagined considering my perception of Bollywood films always included a long song and dance routine. This film had none of those. It was a fun heist movie where the protagonist (who in this case was the thief) was a failed CBI recruit bent on proving he could outwit the CBI through an elaborate jewelry heist.

In any event, the flight was generally uneventful and pleasant and took us directly over Kabul and blazing white snow-covered mountain ranges. Upon landing I was shocked to see how the airport was clean and modern, far different than my first experience of Indian airports at Dum Dum near Kolkata thirteen years earlier. Delhi feels completely different than Kolkata. There is a modern and developing feel to the city. Traffic is crazy, as it should be in a city as populous as Delhi, but to see mid-rise modern hotels and office buildings is the tangible manifestation of progress.

We woke up early Friday morning for a 6:05 train ride to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. The Delhi train station was not as bustling as I remember Howrah station near Kolkata 13 years ago, but we did have our first legitimate encounter with a beggar. We also ran into a family from Duluth Minnesota...of all places! The train provided a great opportunity to observe the changing Indian countryside as fields for agriculture were being converted into highways and midrise skyscrapers.

As a father, the one thing that caught my attention during the train ride more than anything else were the kites. Kites flying from the rooftops of buildings, flying from the streets below. Kites being flown by children like my own who share the same joy in life but are separated by half a world. I wonder what the lives of these children are like. What are the conditions of their homes? What are their fathers like? Do they love swinging the cricket bat like my son loves swinging the baseball bat? I hope that before I leave India I can make the acquaintance of a family.