Today was our last lecture at SDM-IMD. Professor S. Padmanaban spoke on "E-Governance in India: Overview Imperatives & Business Opportunities". I had very mixed feeling about this lecture. He told us a lot about the plans India has to promote online activity across the country. They are in the process of putting all income tax forms online and stationing kiosks in every state, city and village. This is much like the section of “The World is Flat” where Netscape went public and the entire world was able to band together through the internet. I think of this in a somewhat similar way. I don’t believe that it will ever work or be possible (given the illiteracy rate and amount of experience much of the country has with computers) but it’s a great idea.
Later that evening we attended a farewell dinner at the hotel Metropole. We all got dressed up and took lots of pictures. We had an incredible dinner (that included meat-yum). SDM presented us with a mounted group photograph that they had taken and SDM jackets (that jacket saved my life once we got to Chicago!). We mingled with the professors and staff, and then said our goodbyes. All in all it was a wonderful evening, and wonderful time spent in Mysore.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Meet the Press...again
Saturday (Happy Birthday Gene!) we started out on a two and a half hour bus ride to visit a few temples. They were beautiful. I have learned so much more about the Hindu religion from experiencing the culture around me everyday. We visited a few more temples; we then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a restaurant recommended by A.R. After lunch we visited yet another temple. This temple has some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen. It was incredibly nice to get out and see some sights, we haven’t been about to do much of that while we’ve been here. We got home in the late evening. It was Gene’s birthday so a group us were going to go out. As it turns out, I got pretty sick and spent the night puking my guts out (I apologize if that is too much information). I spend Sunday home in bed, writing blogs, and sleeping. I missed out on a pretty great day of more sight seeing I’ve heard.
Monday started off with an interesting lecture from Professor K. Balakrishnan on “Indian Perspectives in International Branding”. I am a marketing major, so it was especially interesting to hear him talk about the differences in Indian branding. He told us that the function of branding is to create risk, and that certain brands in India can only be sold in particular states of India (which I though was especially interesting), also the objective of marketing is to disorient the customer and the objective of the brand is to reorient the customer. I have never herd it stated quite so bluntly before, and I liked it. He then showed us commercials from a company called Asian Paints. The commercials obviously had different colors and different music associated with them, but over all I felt that they were much like American commercials.
Then we stuck around for yet another press conference. There were about four or five reports asking us question after question. I thought the MBA students that answered questions for the group did an excellent job over all. The reporters asked Harvey how Americans view outsourcing, he replied with a very honest response explaining that at this point in time many Americans are not a fan of outsourcing. I myself have been having this conflict. In the section on outsourcing in “The World is Flat” it states, “The Indian companies were good and cheap, but prices wasn’t first on consumer’s minds- getting the work done was, and India was the only place with the volume of workers to do it”. I know that many businesses need to out source to survive, and Indian workers need jobs just as much as anybody (maybe even more), but it doesn’t seem fair to exploit Indian workers for lower wages and move jobs out of our country at the same time. I guess I haven’t come to any sort of conclusion quite yet.
Monday started off with an interesting lecture from Professor K. Balakrishnan on “Indian Perspectives in International Branding”. I am a marketing major, so it was especially interesting to hear him talk about the differences in Indian branding. He told us that the function of branding is to create risk, and that certain brands in India can only be sold in particular states of India (which I though was especially interesting), also the objective of marketing is to disorient the customer and the objective of the brand is to reorient the customer. I have never herd it stated quite so bluntly before, and I liked it. He then showed us commercials from a company called Asian Paints. The commercials obviously had different colors and different music associated with them, but over all I felt that they were much like American commercials.
Then we stuck around for yet another press conference. There were about four or five reports asking us question after question. I thought the MBA students that answered questions for the group did an excellent job over all. The reporters asked Harvey how Americans view outsourcing, he replied with a very honest response explaining that at this point in time many Americans are not a fan of outsourcing. I myself have been having this conflict. In the section on outsourcing in “The World is Flat” it states, “The Indian companies were good and cheap, but prices wasn’t first on consumer’s minds- getting the work done was, and India was the only place with the volume of workers to do it”. I know that many businesses need to out source to survive, and Indian workers need jobs just as much as anybody (maybe even more), but it doesn’t seem fair to exploit Indian workers for lower wages and move jobs out of our country at the same time. I guess I haven’t come to any sort of conclusion quite yet.
Friday, January 11, 2008
the almighty Infosys
In today’s class we enjoyed a lecture from Dr. L Krishnan, a managing director from Taegu Tec. Taegu Tec’s primary business is cutting tools. He told us that about 80% of the company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Dr. L Krishnan also shared with us a story about how Warren Buffet acquired part of the company.
For the entirety of our time in India, we’ve been hearing a lot about Infosys. Well today we got to visit their training facilities. Like we suspected, they were incredible. I felt as if I was at a resort, not a training program. The campus in Mysore is the world’s largest training center. Employees of Infosys are sent to this location from all over the world to be trained. The new employees stay there from anywhere between 12-18 weeks, and once they leave they have what’s equivalent to a Bachelors degree in computer science. It was interesting to hear that Infosys has their own take on “The World Is Flat”. On their website it states “Infosys defines, designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help global 2000 companies win in a flat world”. They even mention employees need to “think flat”. This new and inventive thinking has put Infosys at the top as being a global leader in technology.
All of this hype about Infosys and the technology age has made me start to think about something a read in “Being Indian”. It stated, “In north India it is still a common reprimand to tell a youngster: study or else you’ll cut grass; the prospect of manual work was invoked as a threat”. Obtaining a position at Infosys seems to be the dream of all young adults in India. It seems to be an excellent company to work for to receive good benefits and pay. And in no way is it manual work. It’s funny to me that manual work has such a negative connotation associated with it in India. Here in the states, many jobs that require manual labor pay even better then office positions. Yes they’re a lot of work, but you get rewarded in the end.
For the entirety of our time in India, we’ve been hearing a lot about Infosys. Well today we got to visit their training facilities. Like we suspected, they were incredible. I felt as if I was at a resort, not a training program. The campus in Mysore is the world’s largest training center. Employees of Infosys are sent to this location from all over the world to be trained. The new employees stay there from anywhere between 12-18 weeks, and once they leave they have what’s equivalent to a Bachelors degree in computer science. It was interesting to hear that Infosys has their own take on “The World Is Flat”. On their website it states “Infosys defines, designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help global 2000 companies win in a flat world”. They even mention employees need to “think flat”. This new and inventive thinking has put Infosys at the top as being a global leader in technology.
All of this hype about Infosys and the technology age has made me start to think about something a read in “Being Indian”. It stated, “In north India it is still a common reprimand to tell a youngster: study or else you’ll cut grass; the prospect of manual work was invoked as a threat”. Obtaining a position at Infosys seems to be the dream of all young adults in India. It seems to be an excellent company to work for to receive good benefits and pay. And in no way is it manual work. It’s funny to me that manual work has such a negative connotation associated with it in India. Here in the states, many jobs that require manual labor pay even better then office positions. Yes they’re a lot of work, but you get rewarded in the end.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
For us?
Today we had class taught to us by Dr. H. Gayathri on the Indian service industry. He told us that the service industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy. This is hard to believe after some of the service we’ve received(India Air/Ginger Hotel). Also he told us that the retail industry in India is ranked among the top ten in the world, and it is the largest contributor to the countries GDP. After class we visited L&T. At L&T they provided us with lunch (the best lunch we had in India). It was delicious. They were so happy to have us there and to show us what they do. Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T Ltd) is India’s largest engineering and construction conglomerate. The tour of their facilities was impressive. They brought us to call centers and showed us where they develop new products. At the end of our tour, they gave us a gift and were thrilled to have had us there. We were shocked, no where in this country had we seen such generosity and pure honor. This company has shown us the best possible service and hospitality that I can imagine.
This visit reminded me of the “Work Flow Software” flattener. This company works with branches all over the world to provide the best service to its customers and does business on a daily basis with business professionals all over the globe. In their call centers, they have people calling with issues from the U.S. around the clock. It is no more convenient to have customers call a help line in Alabama then it is to India.
This visit reminded me of the “Work Flow Software” flattener. This company works with branches all over the world to provide the best service to its customers and does business on a daily basis with business professionals all over the globe. In their call centers, they have people calling with issues from the U.S. around the clock. It is no more convenient to have customers call a help line in Alabama then it is to India.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Sandalwood, this century?
This morning we woke up, and didn’t have class- Woo Hoo! (No offense professors). Instead we visited a factory where they manufacture sandalwood oil. The factory looked much like a museum and didn’t look like it had been used in over 40 years. None the less they gave us a tour and described the process of how they extract oil from the wood. Sandalwood is a hot commodity. The tree supply is limited so it can be sold at very high prices. We stopped by the gift shop, where many engorged in sandalwood products.
Next we made out way to the Mysore Silk Factory. Mysore is famous in India for its silk, especially a special type called a Crape (I don’t know how to spell it). The silk factory was very interesting, although no cameras were allowed in. We watched them wind spools of silk thread, and then weave it into fabric. As a decorative accent they used thread made of real gold for designs. Some of the fabric we saw was being sold for about 50,000 rupees (about 1,500 us dollars). I ended up buying some beautiful silk. All in all it was a great morning.
For the afternoon, a few of us (without computers) headed back to the institute to use the internet and catch up on some blogs. With all of the blogging we have had to do online, I’ve been thinking a lot about “informing” from “The World is Flat”. Now that we have a globally connected way to communicate, the internet has become open for anyone to explore. We have the ability to search for any piece of information, article, study, video, song (and much more) that we would ever want to find. You can find directions to and from almost anywhere in the world. We have the ability to be informed about so much, but we limit ourselves to hearing only what we WANT to know about. We hardly know what’s going on in our own backyard, let alone across the world.
Next we made out way to the Mysore Silk Factory. Mysore is famous in India for its silk, especially a special type called a Crape (I don’t know how to spell it). The silk factory was very interesting, although no cameras were allowed in. We watched them wind spools of silk thread, and then weave it into fabric. As a decorative accent they used thread made of real gold for designs. Some of the fabric we saw was being sold for about 50,000 rupees (about 1,500 us dollars). I ended up buying some beautiful silk. All in all it was a great morning.
For the afternoon, a few of us (without computers) headed back to the institute to use the internet and catch up on some blogs. With all of the blogging we have had to do online, I’ve been thinking a lot about “informing” from “The World is Flat”. Now that we have a globally connected way to communicate, the internet has become open for anyone to explore. We have the ability to search for any piece of information, article, study, video, song (and much more) that we would ever want to find. You can find directions to and from almost anywhere in the world. We have the ability to be informed about so much, but we limit ourselves to hearing only what we WANT to know about. We hardly know what’s going on in our own backyard, let alone across the world.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
eggs and toast...what more could a girl ask for.
At 6am we got woken up with coffee (bad coffee) and biscuits. We again hopped into jeeps to attempt to seek out a tiger. We search hard, but again had no luck. By 9am we were starving and a traditional breakfast of eggs and toast was just want we needed. Again we had time to soak up the sun before we checked out at 11am to head back. I will miss the fresh air…
When we got back to Mysore a few of us girls took an afternoon shopping trip and ordered pizza for dinner (mMmm pizza). Later that evening we went out to the road bar. It’s a very nice bar attached to a 5 star hotel. We didn’t know what hit us with the western atmosphere and the American music. We got a little crazy and had a great time.
After returning from Kabini, we congregated in the Ginger hotel lobby to check out everyone else’s pictures of the wild animals. We devised a plan to get everyone’s pictures together on a DVD or an uploading site online so we could all share. It hit me that being able to upload your pictures to internet in Mysore, India and have your friends and family from home be able to view them instantly was flattening our world. Never before have I thought so much about the conveniences of flattening our world, but now that it has been brought to my attention, I see flatteners everywhere.
When we got back to Mysore a few of us girls took an afternoon shopping trip and ordered pizza for dinner (mMmm pizza). Later that evening we went out to the road bar. It’s a very nice bar attached to a 5 star hotel. We didn’t know what hit us with the western atmosphere and the American music. We got a little crazy and had a great time.
After returning from Kabini, we congregated in the Ginger hotel lobby to check out everyone else’s pictures of the wild animals. We devised a plan to get everyone’s pictures together on a DVD or an uploading site online so we could all share. It hit me that being able to upload your pictures to internet in Mysore, India and have your friends and family from home be able to view them instantly was flattening our world. Never before have I thought so much about the conveniences of flattening our world, but now that it has been brought to my attention, I see flatteners everywhere.
Monday, January 7, 2008
blueberry, raspberry, blackberry?
Happy Birthday Joan and Erin!
Over the weekend we visited a circuit board making company, had a traditional Indian meal, and did lots of sight seeing. It would take me hours to describe it all so I’ll have to show everyone pictures when I get home.
This morning we left for Kabini Wildlife Lodge and Resort. It was exactly what we all needed. It was about a 2 hour (extremely bumpy) bus ride out of the city to a relaxing and peaceful getaway. The air was so fresh and there were no honking horns or busy city noises. We lounged around in huge hammocks over looking the Kabini River and ate great food. They even had fried chicken and french fries for us. It was a beautiful day. I can’t get enough of the sunshine here.
At about 4 in the afternoon we all pilled into jeeps and took off on a safari in the jungle. We saw wild elephants, deer, bulls, birds, and monkeys. It was such a great experience. We were hoping to see a tiger or leopard, but we had no such luck. After the safari we had about an hour to kill so we laid in to sun until it was time to head to the main building for a documentary on wildlife. After dinner everyone was so beat we headed straight to bed. I believe that the beds here were the hardest I’ve ever slept on, but I still slept well (go figure).
While on our way to Kabini we were crammed into a bus from the 80’s, and riding on quite possibly the bumpiest road I have ever been on, in the exact middle of nowhere in rural India. Harvey and I were sitting next to each other chatting, when all of a sudden someone from the front of the bus yelled back to him asking if he knew the scores to the latest football game. To much of my surprise, he whipped out his blackberry and launched onto the internet. Within minutes he had the scores, highlighted plays and more. This occurrence stayed with my while I was reading “The World is Flat”. It reminded me of “The Steroids” section of the second chapter, where they describe the wireless capabilities in Japan. They stated that in Japan you can get internet access absolutely anywhere, even while traveling 150 mph through the outskirts of any city. Our world is becoming more and more flat each day, but even America has a long way to go.
Over the weekend we visited a circuit board making company, had a traditional Indian meal, and did lots of sight seeing. It would take me hours to describe it all so I’ll have to show everyone pictures when I get home.
This morning we left for Kabini Wildlife Lodge and Resort. It was exactly what we all needed. It was about a 2 hour (extremely bumpy) bus ride out of the city to a relaxing and peaceful getaway. The air was so fresh and there were no honking horns or busy city noises. We lounged around in huge hammocks over looking the Kabini River and ate great food. They even had fried chicken and french fries for us. It was a beautiful day. I can’t get enough of the sunshine here.
At about 4 in the afternoon we all pilled into jeeps and took off on a safari in the jungle. We saw wild elephants, deer, bulls, birds, and monkeys. It was such a great experience. We were hoping to see a tiger or leopard, but we had no such luck. After the safari we had about an hour to kill so we laid in to sun until it was time to head to the main building for a documentary on wildlife. After dinner everyone was so beat we headed straight to bed. I believe that the beds here were the hardest I’ve ever slept on, but I still slept well (go figure).
While on our way to Kabini we were crammed into a bus from the 80’s, and riding on quite possibly the bumpiest road I have ever been on, in the exact middle of nowhere in rural India. Harvey and I were sitting next to each other chatting, when all of a sudden someone from the front of the bus yelled back to him asking if he knew the scores to the latest football game. To much of my surprise, he whipped out his blackberry and launched onto the internet. Within minutes he had the scores, highlighted plays and more. This occurrence stayed with my while I was reading “The World is Flat”. It reminded me of “The Steroids” section of the second chapter, where they describe the wireless capabilities in Japan. They stated that in Japan you can get internet access absolutely anywhere, even while traveling 150 mph through the outskirts of any city. Our world is becoming more and more flat each day, but even America has a long way to go.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Scooty Pep+ please.
Merry and I decided to again wake up early to read and get coffee before class. Instead of class right away that morning, we had a press conference with four of the major newspapers in India. They said it would be equivalent to the New York Times coming to interview us. The whole session ended up with us asking them question after question, I hope they got enough information for their stories.
The lecture today consisted of a short informational yoga session by A.R. who has been our guide while we’ve been in India. He is a hatha yoga instructor, which is convenient for me because this is the kind of yoga I have been doing for years. We found out that Mysore was the yoga capital of India. I know how to do hatha yoga well, but it was great to learn the history behind it. The rest of the lecture was about HR in business by Professor Y.K. Shriram. He was a very expressive speaker, and seemed very enthused about the subject. After lunch we headed to the TVS plant. We were all very impressed at how spotless the plant was, especially in India where nothing is clean. At this plant they manufacture motorcycles and mopeds for the population of India. a couple of my favorite models are called the Scooty Pep + and the Scooty Teenz. during the presentation, Karl and I would crack up everytime they said these names. i don't know how you can talk about a Scooty Pep + with a straight face.
That evening we went shopping with thangum again. She took us to a large souvenir shop. Everything was handmade and beautiful. We all ended up going a bit crazy and spent lots of money…oops. Later that evening, Maleah and I hung out in my room and sat up and chatted for hours. It has been such a great experience to get to know the people on this trip. We are a very diverse group, and we all have such unique stories. It’s surprising that we get along so well.
After visiting the TVS factory, my inner conflict of whether I believe that outsourcing to India is a good thing, or bad is getting stronger. It’s great for the US because India has such cheap labor and it frees up time and space for their companies to be more efficient. It is positive for the Indian people because it creates jobs for the fast growing population and filters money into their economy. It just feels like we are exploiting the people of India for their cheap labor, and the corporations of India seem to be exploiting their own workers for the inexpensive labor costs. Who knows what will happen as the world continues to flatten. I’m sure I’ll discuss this further in later blogs.
The lecture today consisted of a short informational yoga session by A.R. who has been our guide while we’ve been in India. He is a hatha yoga instructor, which is convenient for me because this is the kind of yoga I have been doing for years. We found out that Mysore was the yoga capital of India. I know how to do hatha yoga well, but it was great to learn the history behind it. The rest of the lecture was about HR in business by Professor Y.K. Shriram. He was a very expressive speaker, and seemed very enthused about the subject. After lunch we headed to the TVS plant. We were all very impressed at how spotless the plant was, especially in India where nothing is clean. At this plant they manufacture motorcycles and mopeds for the population of India. a couple of my favorite models are called the Scooty Pep + and the Scooty Teenz. during the presentation, Karl and I would crack up everytime they said these names. i don't know how you can talk about a Scooty Pep + with a straight face.
That evening we went shopping with thangum again. She took us to a large souvenir shop. Everything was handmade and beautiful. We all ended up going a bit crazy and spent lots of money…oops. Later that evening, Maleah and I hung out in my room and sat up and chatted for hours. It has been such a great experience to get to know the people on this trip. We are a very diverse group, and we all have such unique stories. It’s surprising that we get along so well.
After visiting the TVS factory, my inner conflict of whether I believe that outsourcing to India is a good thing, or bad is getting stronger. It’s great for the US because India has such cheap labor and it frees up time and space for their companies to be more efficient. It is positive for the Indian people because it creates jobs for the fast growing population and filters money into their economy. It just feels like we are exploiting the people of India for their cheap labor, and the corporations of India seem to be exploiting their own workers for the inexpensive labor costs. Who knows what will happen as the world continues to flatten. I’m sure I’ll discuss this further in later blogs.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Subway anyone?
Merry and I got up at 5:30 am to read our textbooks for our proposed quiz today. We ordered regular black coffee from the café coffee day in the lobby of our hotel. It was delicious. Everything we’ve had here has been saturated in sugar (the other coffee/tea we’ve had, even desert) or has consisted of starch, that’s about it. Class was given by Dr. R. Jagadeesh. It was on Indian suppliers meeting global standards and supply chain management. I didn’t particularly get a whole lot out of this lecture having just had an entire semester’s class on the subject.
We had lunch on campus, and then headed to Automotive Axles for a presentation and tour. I found it very interesting that they only allocate about 3-4 % of their operating costs to labor, where as back in the states they would have to allocate about 75% of their operating cost to labor. The tours are interesting, but the only person that gets to understand what is really going on is the first person in line. Otherwise it’s too loud and busy to hear.
When we got back to the hotel, the dean of SDM’s wife (Thangum) was waiting to show the women in our group the best places to shop. She is an incredibly classy and beautiful Indian woman. First, we went to a gold jewelry shop. It had beautiful pieces that were in no way in my price range (even though I pondered getting a pair of gold earrings for quite some time). We ended the excursion at one of our favorite shops called Fazil’s. This shop carries beautiful saris and scarves. I can’t get over how beautiful the fabrics are here in India. I know that I will be coming home with lots of it. After getting back to the hotel, Mary, Merry, Maleah and I decided that we couldn’t handle Indian food once again so we set out to find some American. We ended up at a Subway. And let me tell you it was quite an adventure getting there. Randomly we ran into Gene, Harvey, Karl and Todd there. We basked in the deliciousness of familiar food, although I’m not too sure that my chicken breast sandwich was actually chicken. Oh well, what you don’t know won’t kill you right?
At first I wasn’t interested in eating any American food while being here. Little did I know that I would crave it so badly. It’s been such a switch to go from eating everything familiar, to absolutely nothing tasting the same. When I think about where I am, and how easy it is for me to get the same food that I am used to at home (such as subway, or pizza hut) I realize just how flat this world really is. Just across town Pizza Hut will serve you a pepperoni pizza that tastes exactly the same as one I would order in Minnesota. The population of India won’t even touch pepperoni, but it’s readily available for us.
We had lunch on campus, and then headed to Automotive Axles for a presentation and tour. I found it very interesting that they only allocate about 3-4 % of their operating costs to labor, where as back in the states they would have to allocate about 75% of their operating cost to labor. The tours are interesting, but the only person that gets to understand what is really going on is the first person in line. Otherwise it’s too loud and busy to hear.
When we got back to the hotel, the dean of SDM’s wife (Thangum) was waiting to show the women in our group the best places to shop. She is an incredibly classy and beautiful Indian woman. First, we went to a gold jewelry shop. It had beautiful pieces that were in no way in my price range (even though I pondered getting a pair of gold earrings for quite some time). We ended the excursion at one of our favorite shops called Fazil’s. This shop carries beautiful saris and scarves. I can’t get over how beautiful the fabrics are here in India. I know that I will be coming home with lots of it. After getting back to the hotel, Mary, Merry, Maleah and I decided that we couldn’t handle Indian food once again so we set out to find some American. We ended up at a Subway. And let me tell you it was quite an adventure getting there. Randomly we ran into Gene, Harvey, Karl and Todd there. We basked in the deliciousness of familiar food, although I’m not too sure that my chicken breast sandwich was actually chicken. Oh well, what you don’t know won’t kill you right?
At first I wasn’t interested in eating any American food while being here. Little did I know that I would crave it so badly. It’s been such a switch to go from eating everything familiar, to absolutely nothing tasting the same. When I think about where I am, and how easy it is for me to get the same food that I am used to at home (such as subway, or pizza hut) I realize just how flat this world really is. Just across town Pizza Hut will serve you a pepperoni pizza that tastes exactly the same as one I would order in Minnesota. The population of India won’t even touch pepperoni, but it’s readily available for us.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
From India to L.A.
Today we had class as usual. The lecture was about the Indian court system. This class was conducted by an Indian lawyer. It was so refreshing to have him be completely honest with our class about the way India actually is. He had no problem telling us about the corruption in the system, or the fact that it may take anywhere from 20-25 years to go through the four levels of courts. It was very interesting to learn that many of their laws incorporate their religious beliefs. Marriage for instance can be conducted through the court system (for couples from different religions or non religious people), or they can be conducted through the religion. Each of these different marriages have different laws associated with them.
After class we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. Indian food is getting to be a little repetitive by this point. After lunch a few of us headed out to explore. And we had quite the adventure. We ended up finding a beautiful open air market. It was an incredible place. There was vender after vender trying to sell their prized processions. It was so hard to see all of the underprivileged families and children. I once again wanted to hand over everything I had to them. I can’t imagine living like this; it’s such a shock to see the level of poverty in this part of the city. This trip is definitely helping me to realize how fortunate I really am.
We ended up meeting a group of boys who were playing cricket. Gene and Harvey jumped right in a joined them. There, we also met a man who told us he was going to show us to a craft market. Little did we know that he was bringing us back to his family’s home where they were hand making incense sticks and selling oils. Harvey got his arm rubbed up and down by a former body builder, while Gene bought some sandalwood oil to supposedly help him lose weight (we’ll see). Karl, Merry and I got to taste some really great chi tea, we didn’t know until after that it was fresh goat’s milk. Hopefully we won’t get sick.
We were soon to find out that this little hole in the wall incense and oil shop sold their incense to a company in L.A. Talk about small world. They gave us a sample of the boxes that they use to package them and send them to the states. We visited the website and were amazed to see that the price of the same product sold in the states was ridiculously higher. I realized what a flattener this was. Here we thought that we were being brought to this man’s home in the middle of nowhere (I don’t’ think I could find it again if I tried), when in reality he was doing business with people from our side of the world.
Later that afternoon, Maleah, Merry and I broke down and ordered pizza from Pizza Corner. The familiar American food was just what we needed. I felt like I had received a new stomach after that meal.
After class we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. Indian food is getting to be a little repetitive by this point. After lunch a few of us headed out to explore. And we had quite the adventure. We ended up finding a beautiful open air market. It was an incredible place. There was vender after vender trying to sell their prized processions. It was so hard to see all of the underprivileged families and children. I once again wanted to hand over everything I had to them. I can’t imagine living like this; it’s such a shock to see the level of poverty in this part of the city. This trip is definitely helping me to realize how fortunate I really am.
We ended up meeting a group of boys who were playing cricket. Gene and Harvey jumped right in a joined them. There, we also met a man who told us he was going to show us to a craft market. Little did we know that he was bringing us back to his family’s home where they were hand making incense sticks and selling oils. Harvey got his arm rubbed up and down by a former body builder, while Gene bought some sandalwood oil to supposedly help him lose weight (we’ll see). Karl, Merry and I got to taste some really great chi tea, we didn’t know until after that it was fresh goat’s milk. Hopefully we won’t get sick.
We were soon to find out that this little hole in the wall incense and oil shop sold their incense to a company in L.A. Talk about small world. They gave us a sample of the boxes that they use to package them and send them to the states. We visited the website and were amazed to see that the price of the same product sold in the states was ridiculously higher. I realized what a flattener this was. Here we thought that we were being brought to this man’s home in the middle of nowhere (I don’t’ think I could find it again if I tried), when in reality he was doing business with people from our side of the world.
Later that afternoon, Maleah, Merry and I broke down and ordered pizza from Pizza Corner. The familiar American food was just what we needed. I felt like I had received a new stomach after that meal.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Morning After
Lucky for a lot of people, we didn’t get picked up until 10:30 for class today. Our lecture was by Professor J. M. Subramanya. It consisted of teachings about business ethics from Indian scripture and Gurus. I thought that this lecture in particular was incredibly interesting. He explained to us that in order to be “successful” you need to acquire wealth, and have no anger, jealousy, miserliness or bad thoughts. The idea of generating wealth can only be meaningful when combined with good conduct. There is somewhat of a bad stigma associated with living your life for money in the states, but here, they realize that it’s the only way to survive. Another point that I really enjoyed was when he stated, “you cannot be ethical in your work life without being ethical in your other life.” I think this is so true, and many people think that there is a difference between the two.
Later that evening we were invited back to SDM for a concert. The Mysore Police Band preformed for us in the open air amphitheater. It was such a new cultural experience for all of us. Some liked it more then others, but I personally thought they were great. Maybe there were a little unprofessional, but unique just the same. At one point during the performance, a man was giving a flute solo when his cell phone started to ring. He proceeded to stop playing, take out his phone, look at for a few seconds, silence it and replace it back in his pocket. This surprised me. Back home first of all, this would never happen, but even if it did, the audience would be in an uproar. All in all, it was an absolutely beautiful night. We have so far had the most beautiful weather. It’s been about 80 degrees and sunny everyday.
We then went back to the Ginger Hotel for dinner. The hotel has surprisingly very good Indian food. I am fortunate that I enjoyed Indian cuisine before I came on this trip. A few of my classmates are having a hard time with the spice. Three meals if Indian food a day it getting a little hard to handle. We may need to break down and find some familiar food soon. For the rest of the evening, we read our textbook and sat around and chatted. There are some of the greatest people on this trip. I couldn’t have picked more interesting individuals to travel with if I had tried.
As I continue to read on in the book “Being Indian” I find it incredibly interesting to learn about what drives the Indian people and economy to accelerate at such a rapid rate. The book says, “the competition between people has only accentuated the desire to succeed.” This seems correct in many cases, such as higher education and job placement in large corporations. But on the other hand, because of the many years of having a caste system (even though it had been abolished it is still very prominent), many people aren’t allowed to move above their rank. India has such a large population, and only a few positions available in comparison. How are these people going to be able to get in the game? It seems to be leaving them behind. Can this be changed? Is there anything being done to change it?
Later that evening we were invited back to SDM for a concert. The Mysore Police Band preformed for us in the open air amphitheater. It was such a new cultural experience for all of us. Some liked it more then others, but I personally thought they were great. Maybe there were a little unprofessional, but unique just the same. At one point during the performance, a man was giving a flute solo when his cell phone started to ring. He proceeded to stop playing, take out his phone, look at for a few seconds, silence it and replace it back in his pocket. This surprised me. Back home first of all, this would never happen, but even if it did, the audience would be in an uproar. All in all, it was an absolutely beautiful night. We have so far had the most beautiful weather. It’s been about 80 degrees and sunny everyday.
We then went back to the Ginger Hotel for dinner. The hotel has surprisingly very good Indian food. I am fortunate that I enjoyed Indian cuisine before I came on this trip. A few of my classmates are having a hard time with the spice. Three meals if Indian food a day it getting a little hard to handle. We may need to break down and find some familiar food soon. For the rest of the evening, we read our textbook and sat around and chatted. There are some of the greatest people on this trip. I couldn’t have picked more interesting individuals to travel with if I had tried.
As I continue to read on in the book “Being Indian” I find it incredibly interesting to learn about what drives the Indian people and economy to accelerate at such a rapid rate. The book says, “the competition between people has only accentuated the desire to succeed.” This seems correct in many cases, such as higher education and job placement in large corporations. But on the other hand, because of the many years of having a caste system (even though it had been abolished it is still very prominent), many people aren’t allowed to move above their rank. India has such a large population, and only a few positions available in comparison. How are these people going to be able to get in the game? It seems to be leaving them behind. Can this be changed? Is there anything being done to change it?
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