Last Days in India

Spending my last day here in India either in bed or on the toilet.  We have the whole day free and I can not seem to keep food in today.. not even a slice of toast.  I am afraid to venture out as I might get stuck without a bathroom.  I am hungry, weak, and tired.  I was so cautious.. but there are a few others sick today in our group as well.

In Delhi we had a gym I could run everyday and lift a few weights.  It was hot and smelly there but the gym in Delhi is now considered top notch compared to the one here in Bangalore.  The hotel gym is on the top floor in a hot room that smells really bad and does not have any light expect for a tiny window.  You would have to blow the dust off to find the "on" button for the treadmill here.  It was funny in Delhi.. when I would be in the basement gym, the Indian guys who worked at the hotel would come in and turn the radio on for me.. they would give me a thumbs up and leave.. I was listening to mostly Brittney Spears!  They must like her here.

This has been an amazing journey.  I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to see another part of the world, and a whole different society.  India is an emerging market with lots of potential.  The quality of the work I have seen here is amazing.  I think of products made in China and I think "cheap".  I have never been to China, but seeing the pride in the work by the Indians has been eye opening.  India is full of color and detail..don't get me wrong though.. there are still some cheap poor quality items on the streets.  I wish we could pick up a few pointers from the India culture on apparel.  The clothes are so comfortable, and the style so unique but simple.

I can not say I will miss it here.. but it makes me want to explore other parts of the world. 

Business Visits

Our first business visit in Bangalore was Target India.

Jayme is from Duluth and has been working for Target in Minneapolis for 10 years.  He has been assigned to Target India for an 18 month assignment.  I think he was excited to see Americans when we visited.  The security at the large corporation is crazy.. nothing like the U.S.  We had to go through multiple levels of security before our business meeting.  Common work hours are 10:00am-6:00pm.. In the U.S. we are accustomed to benefits such as health insurance and retirement benefits.. In India, benefits include free transportation to work and free lunch daily.. their health care was a small room that staffs a doctor a few days a week if you are sick..  Community work during normal business hours is also encouraged by large organizations.. India is a much more collectivism society whereas the U.S. society is highly individualistic.

A last-minute business meeting was negotiated and very interesting.. Idiom is a design firm that has been in business for 6 years.  The company does design and marketing for their clients.  This was the first Indian business that was more modernized.. just like the creative companies we see in the U.S.

And lastly we visited the Vydehi Medical Institute.  This medical institute is a large hospital and medical college in Bangalore.  The Institute is very proud that they are the cleanest medical facility in Bangalore and deliver high quality medical care.. compared to U.S. standards it was shocking what they consider clean.  I had to use the restroom and the restroom in this hospital had no toilet paper and no running water in the sink.  For India, this is common.. The hospital is well equipped with state of the art technology.

This was interesting.. specimen and organs.. each jar was labeled by a patient number.

Also.. Patient privacy does not exist.  We were brought into different wards and areas while patient were being treated and they allowed photo taking all over the hospital.  Zero Privacy!

Indifferent about Bangalore

Walking around in Bangalore is much different than Delhi.  I have not liked the city much.  There is so much crammed into one area and very busy.  We spend so much time in traffic that it drives you crazy.  Women cannot walk alone.  There must be at least one male in our group if you want to venture out.  In addition, women are not allowed to be out after 8pm.  I went for a walk with one other female and three males around the neighborhood one afternoon.. As an experiment I walked about a ½ block ahead of the group and they observed the surroundings as I walked through the neighborhood.. I was stared at!  I am sure my skin color and my gender was to blame.. I could feel the stares and was very aware.. every once in awhile I would double check over my shoulder that my group was still there.  The small shop owners are constantly approaching you to stop at their shop.. then they want to bargain so you will buy.. The people in India have been very gracious, but I am ready for some comforts of home.

The most uncomfortable thing since I have been in Bangalore is the fact that I am confined to either the group or the hotel.  We have had more free time here but it seems harder to get around.  There is no convenience store to buy a water or a soda.. besides they do not believe in refrigerators.. everything is served warm.. water, pop, even beer!  Gotta love the warm Kingfisher!

Here during one of our walks, we approach some cows just hanging out.  (There are cows everywhere!)  Matt decides to feed it some peanuts we had.. not sure what the cow thought of the peanuts because he moved his head like the Indian head nod.

The smells in Bangalore are a little better than Delhi.. while walking you would come across a corner when all of a sudden there would be a strong urine order.  We can only figure that is the bathroom area. The people in Bangalore have a different dialect and for me I have found it harder to communicate. 

In this city you will see many signs like this.

I asked a local Indian why.. he said that was government property. 

The Muslim community is much more noticeable here.  A few group members ended up in a part of town that they said was very uncomfortable with mean-like stares.. after speaking with our new tour guide, Anil, he said they were in a part of town that is very unsafe.  There is tension between the Muslims and the Hindus.. and the Muslims hate Americans. 

 

The picture below is quite unique.. Hindus hang these.  I have seen them on the front of vehicles, in windows and hanging from doorways.  They are a string of peppers and a lime.  The Hindus hang then to ward off evil and change them every Saturday. 

Silk Market

We had a free day when we arrived in Bangalore so we visited the markets.  Silk markets are the thing to do here I guess.. At one silk market we had a sweet talker.  In the U.S. we would call him “metro-sexual”.

Transportation

This is transportation in India

The first day we were driving in a modern car and Anil got pulled over.. Now getting pulled over in India is not a police car turning on their lights behind you.  Here in India the police officer is standing on the side of the road, and with a hand signal you must pull over.  He walked over to our car and had a confrontation with Anil in a local language that we do not understand.  They settled on a bribe of 100 rupees and the officer let us go.  Anil told us that had he not bribed the officer he would of had to pay a fine for us not wearing our seat belts.. but instead of a fine the officer will pocket the bribe money. 

Traveling

Flying in India you board at the front and the rear of the plane.. there is no first class seating.  What I’ve read about India is wide social and economic differences are undesirable. 

Security was unlike the U.S.  There is no order.  You place your bags and purses on the belt for scanning while Indians are shoving their stuff in with yours.  All women are brought behind a curtain in patted down by a female officer.. in the meantime your wondering if your purse is still there!  An Indian women in front of me must have sensed my concern because she turned around and said “I don’t think anything has ever been stolen here”.

The plane ride from Delhi to Bangalore was only 2 ½ hours but it was very bumpy and a little uncomfortable.. especially the sudden drop that made everyone gasp about 2 hours into the flight.

I have had a sick stomach since day 2 in India so the flight was nauseating.  When I arrived in Bangalore, I was happy to see more bland food on our buffets. In Delhi everything was spicy unless you were eating raw vegetables and bread.  I like spice but this spice was not agreeing with me.  It took about a day in a half of eating no vegetables or spicy foods for my stomach to start feeling better.

Headed for Bangalore

In the early morning hours we will be saying “Phir milen-gay!" to Sushil as we head to Bangalore.  The Indian have greeting us with great welcome and been very gracious.  Delhi and Agra have shown us the poverty, the poor infrastructure, the lack of sanitation, and the karma the Indians believe have shaped their lives.  As a foreigner in their country it is hard to understand their happiness, their smiles, their harmony.. Our group sat down for an open dialogue last night to discuss our feelings, our thoughts on this journey in a country that has formed by religious faith.  This contrast between the cities of Delhi and the rural villages to Agra only can be really understood by seeing it first hand.  You cannot smell, taste, or hear the country of India in a picture.. and you truly cannot understand the driving experience until you are playing chicken with every other vehicle on the road!  With that.. Sushil told us that you need three things to drive in India. 

1. a good horn.. 2. good brakes.. and 3. good luck (Karma!)

Poverty in India

We have no idea what poverty is in America.. When I first took many photos like these, I could not bring myself to post any of them.  It took me a few days of being here to grasp the poverty of this country..  but after Sushil told me the story behind the baby picture, I realized by the tone of his voice that this is life in India. 

In this picture above, these two little boys were playing in a garbage pile.  The have some sort of material wrapped around them to cover them up.. every once in a while the material would fall off and they would be running around naked.. their mother is laying on the ground sleeping with a naked baby. (She is around the corner and not in this picture).

We stopped at a gas station outside of Agra because one of the ladies in our group has gotten sick.  During this stop, we witness a crying baby on the ground with a rope tied to the baby’s ankle.  The other end of the rope was tied to a brick.  Sushil explained that the baby’s parents are working near by.  This is ok in India’s society to leave the baby while the parents are working.

Also.. because this was an emergency stop, the group had its first experience with really bad bathrooms in our standards.  The ladies bathroom is a squat hole.  Nothing fancy like I posted earlier.. and poor Donna who is sick had to use the squat hole.  Oh.. and I almost forgot.. you have to pay a nominal fee to the shop owner to use the squat hole!  The other twist to the bathrooms is the gentlemen’s bathroom is a western style toilet that we are accustomed to in America.  Of course, Sushil told the men on the bus to use the bathroom Indian style so they didn’t have to pay.. of course they had to try it!

Here is CSS MBA students using the public toilets in India.. 

I fully warned them.. they set themselves up to be posted ;)

Business in India

We have visited three businesses thus far in India.  Below are pictures of manufacturing laborers in India.  They get paid $150-$250 rupees for an 8 hour day.  That is equivalent to $3-$5 a day.  The conditions of these factories would never pass U.S. safety standards. 

This is Distribution in India.. These men are delivering finished product on their bikes.

Then there is corporate India.  United Health Group in Gargaon was our first corporation.  

In the conference room of our meeting, this plaque was one the wall.

Taj Mahal

We visited the Taj Mahal at Sunrise.  The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan after his favorite wife died in childbirth.  They had 14 children together and the Taj took him over 20 years to build.

The Agra Fort was built by Shah Jahan also.  One of his sons kept him prison here for the remainder of his life after he built the Taj Mahal.  This is a group photo on top of Agra Fort looking out at Taj Mahal on the right.. The Taj is faint because of the haze :/

Here-See how Scott (on the left) is holding his camera.. He takes many pictures like this of random life in India.  He is capturing moments that he can go back and look at after the trip instead of taking every photo through his eye of the lenses.. Interesting concept. 

Agra

The hotels welcome you with a necklace made of real flowers and a Bindi for both men and women..  (the yellow dot on my forehead).

 

Indian Cuisine

Meals time in India seems very traditional.  Soup is always served before lunch and dinner, and desert always follows.  On our way to Agra we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Manthra, a small manufacturing town.  In India, it is very normal for the servers to watch you eat.  They hover around you and continue to offer more food while you are eating.  The server’s boss walks around and continuously asks if the food is good.. while you are eating.  The service we have received in India has been outstanding!  It is amazing how much they want to please you.. I have really enjoyed the sit down mealtime the Indian culture has provided us.

The CSS Capstone Abroad-India Group

Negotiating in India

We took a road trip to Agra by bus.  The trip from Delhi to Agra is 220 km.  Depending on traffic the trip is anywhere from 3-5 hours.. and as we experienced depends on whether you have to detour or not.   We passed through many rural villages along the way.  In this particular village, the police official put up a barrier as we approached.  Corruption is rampant in India.. It is embedded in their way of life.  As you will see in the video our bus driver is negotiating to let us through.  The police official wanted 2000 rupees to let us pass.  We offered 200 rupees.  After 5-10 minutes of negotiations, the police official settled for 300 rupees.  

I am having trouble getting the video to work.. Below is a picture of the bribery for now.

Thursday April 19, 2012

Yesterday was very hot.  Sweat ran down your back as you stood in the shade.  We visited the Lotus Temple.  The Lotus Temple is a religious monument that was built in the late 1970’s for the Bahai Religion.  The temple is for prayer.  When entering the Temple you must remove your shoes and socks, and maintain complete silence while in the Temple.  We learned a lot about different religion in India and the many Gods they worship.  

While at the Lotus Temple, we had our first public restroom experience.  Although this restroom facility had modernized squat toilets, it did not have toilet paper or running water.  Good thing I packed my napkins and hand sanitizer that day!

I have witnessed a lot of Indian men peeing in public, all times of the day.. so after this experience with the restrooms, I asked Sushil about the public restrooms in India.  His response was this: “The public restrooms in India are you go anywhere and everywhere.  We don’t want our people to wait to go to the bathroom.”  This would explain why we see Indian men peeing in the streets. 

We visited the open markets today to look at traditional Indian wear for women.  Sushil told us we can try on and bargain.  We asked him what a good price to pay for traditional Indian wear.  He said 350 to 500 rupees, hand stitched will cost even more.  I had no idea how much more until I entered a shop that displayed gorgeous Indian dresses that were beaded, etc..

In this shop there were couches to sit on.  They ask you to sit and say “What do you like?”  They show you a variety of dresses in different colors and accents.  I picked a few to try on.  I asked “How much?”  The response: “6000 rupees or only like $120”.  Wow!  I thought I need to leave.  He says “You like. You buy.”

I did not buy.. would have loved too, but "no".

Reflections

Traveling between Gurgaon and New Delhi in addition to seeing Old Delhi I see many distinct differences.  Gurgaon is a suburb of New Delhi that has become modernized in the last 10-15 years.  As you drive along the  freeway system you see many large corporations, such as 3M, in buildings much like what we have in MN.  The shopping areas look like our outlet malls or like Arbor Lakes shopping area.. but what you see around these large modern buildings is old India.  Old buildings, partially crumbling, garbage along the roads and in the street, and many structures made of tarp, branches, and other scrap materials that make up people's homes here.  Cows roam the street.  Some garbage piles are smoldering during the day.  At night fires burn to either stay warm in the winter or to cook food all year around.. I would guess these fires create the haze in the sky that acts as a ceiling at night..

40 percent of the population in India do not have electricity.  Blackouts are common throughout the day.  Many businesses and hotels have back-up generators that kick in after everything goes dark for about 60 seconds.  Imagine running on the treadmill in a room with no windows and the electricity goes out.  That happens here!  Most streets are uneven and do not have sidewalks.  People walk and bike in the streets with traffic.  There is no running outside in most of where I have seen.. unless your running across the street in front of traffic to avoid being hit!

In New Delhi, many streets are lined with manicured lawns and flower gardens.  This is particularly noticable around the Foreign Embassies and the President's home.  New Delhi is the capital city of India.  I can only describe the area around the Foreign Embassies and the President's house as much like Washington D.C.  I have never been to Washington D.C. but heard of the homelessness that surrounds the Capital area.  In India, there are large grassy park areas where the Indians beg for money, and where you see Indians sleeping in the lawns.  The roundabout in the Capital city is not like our new roundabouts in St. Cloud.  Here it is congested with stopped traffic.  While sitting in rush hour traffic, we watched monkeys in the lawn.  Sanjiv (Tony) explained the monkeys like this:  Do not make eye contact.  Keep your windows and doors shut because they will look for any opportunity to enter your home and steal your food.. they even know how to open cupboards and/or the refrigerator.

Today, we visit more of the city.  We have also confirmed a meeting at United Health Group this afternoon, a Minnesota company doing business in India. 

The India Gate

The India Gate is a large monument that was built in honor of the 70,000 Indian soldiers that were killed in World War 1 in 1921.  There are names of 15,000 soldiers engraved on the inside of the monument.  This is as close as you can get to the monument, and it is guarded by men with machine guns.
While we were at the India gate, we were constantly begged by young children and young Indian women (who looked like Gypsies to me) for money.  Sushil had warned us that these women would try to draw on us and then demand a tip.  At one point while near the monument  I saw a young child, who had been begging, give an American dollar to what appeared to be a father-like Indian man.  I wondered if the end goal of their actions were to help financially support their family.  I could only imagine it was...  Sushil also urged us to try the Indian ice cream while we were here.  As we purchased and consumed ice cream, I was followed by a few young children.  A young pretty little girl, who looked to be about my daughter's age, followed me as I ate my ice cream.  She wanted me to buy her bracelet.  When I kept walking away, she quit asking for money but instead started asking for my ice cream.  She wanted to trade me her bracelet for the rest of my ice cream.  I could not finish my ice cream as I wanted to just give her my half-eaten ice cream bar that she begged for.  I wondered what she'd do with it though besides just eat it.. it had no monetary value.. she could not give her father-like Indian man a half eaten ice cream bar!

This field experience in India is meant to put us in uncomfortable positions at time.. This was one of mine today.

Old Delhi

It was really hard to pick a photo to post out of many photos I took in Old Delhi today.  Sushil grew up in Old Delhi and gave us about a 20 minute tour within the city.  This was the culture shock experience that we were suppose to experience.  I had very mixed feelings as I walked through the city of Old Delhi.  I cannot replicate in a photo the smells and the full view of what one sees while you are physically there.  Some areas I felt ashamed to take a photo as these were peoples lives, and we were a group of 14 Americans.. so naturally we were looked at by everyone!  As we walked through the streets  we would pass through living quarters that would have a bed and sometimes a dresser or television.  Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between someone's home vs. a street shop vs. the street itself.  We walked through much of the inner walls of Old Delhi as the streets are too narrow to drive anything but a bike.

The following photo of a street lined with shops, full of color.  It may be hard to tell in the photo, but as we turned down this street it was like an array of colors.  Shops were lined with everything from scarfs to jewelry.

The narrow streets within the city walls of Old Delhi.

In the photo below we are leaving Old Delhi in our tour bus.  Our destination from our hotel in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi, to Delhi was 12 miles.  It took us about 1 hour to travel 12 miles.

Indian sweets

This is Sushil.. pronounced "shoe-Scheel".  He is our tour guide throughout the city while we stay in the Delhi area.  Some of these treats are cashew based and others lentil based.  Sushil explains Indian treats like this.. Indians love their treats.  At weddings it is common to eat treats before the meal.  I think he said, and I quote "fill up on treats before the main course".  He described it as six-courses of treats and a five-course meal.

We arrived in India!

We arrived in India last night.  It felt like we were flying "Forever"! It really took a full 24 hours CST to get here between flights and layovers.  When we landed in India there was this faint smell of like burned rubber or maybe burned plastic.  When we stepped outside the airport the smell was very powerful with so many other smells mixed in.  It was 11:30pm.  The air was humid and almost choking!  The thick haze in the sky made it feel as though there was a ceiling above you even though you were indeed outside.  As we walked to our tour bus, I noticed there were no Indian women.  Only Indian men.  Some of them trying to take our luggage and looking for tips in return.  As we got to the road I noticed two stray dogs laying in the middle of the road.  Then I remembered what Tony had told us in the Amsterdam airport.  Animals in India are sacred.  It's a Hindu religious belief.  Buses and other vehicles simply drove around them, even coming within inches of the dogs paws.  The dog never moves.
It is 9:00am here on Wed morning.  We are preparing to visit the Foreign Commercial Office today and tour the city of Old Dehli.  This is suppose to be our culture shock.  So we are told...    More to come!

Amsterdam airport

During our 5-hour layover in Amsterdam, Paul and I met our first Indian businessman, Sanjiv Chopra.  Just call him Tony.  He was coming home to India from the United States.  Tony does Acupuncture in India for a nominal fee, but his main business is a furniture business.  We got lots of helpful tips for our journey here.  Especially in regards to the Indian Cuisine.
**Next update will be India! :)