Upset at the post office? mail a coconut!

I have never had a problem with the post office, but if I did, I would follow the example of these people in Florida, who had an interesting way of protesting their local post office being shut down.


Apparently, it is acceptable to mail coconuts without any packaging.  It costs a little over $4 to do so, and is a nuisance for mailmen to handle.   Thousands of coconuts were mailed to John Potter, the Postmaster General.

Cyberbums

I knew this was coming....I saw it coming last year when my land lady brought a homeless person into our house, and he spent 12 of the 24 hours of the day facebooking.  I admit, it was a bit embarrassing that he had more facebook friends than I did.  Shortly after finding an exit to Thailand, he released a series of hilarious facebook videos of him singing justin timberlake songs...no joke. 


Sites such as: Begslist, CyberBeg and DonateMoney2me.com all aim to give panhandlers a forum to beg for money.  Some of the sites, ironically charge up to $45 a month to be a member, but according to NPR, some of the appeals are very "heart wrenching."


The problem I have with this is that there are enough of internet scams going on, and these forums just provide a new venue for these crooks.  Living in Venice, I deal with homeless people daily, and fortunately they all realized my modest wealth, and no longer as me for money.  But the truth is, I have a personal bias against giving homeless people money.  One particular homeless man in SF swindled my roommate into helping him out, only to steal my 2 week old laptop.  Either him, or the dozens of people that have bought or sold the laptop since, could be using it for begging on these sites.

However, for the hardworking families that have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis, perhaps some good can come out of this.  It is a bit more private, and less degrading than panhandling on the street.  Personally, I would prefer to donate money (if I had any) to a site more like Kiva, that gives microloans for people trying to start a business, however most of these sites help people in foreign countries. Helping American people keep their houses and buy their childrens books are very noble ideas too.

Just as long as its a scam.  At least they already have computers, and won't try to steal mine again.

-Hyderbadass

Accountants in the supreme court

There is a huge trial going on in the Supreme Court that will drastically impact business in the US.  After the corporate scandals and accounting fraud from the Enron days (2002), Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act was passed  to protect investors from being lied to again.  There has been controversy surrounding this law since was passed, The Wall Street Journal estimates the law costs our economy $1 trillion since it was passed, and that 20% of public companies were considering going private because of SOX.

The trial is between Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and an accountant named Brad Beckstead.  Beckstead believes that the governing board should be appointed directly by the President, not the SEC, turning the issue into a separation of powers issue.  If the court rules in Beckstead's favor, than the entire SOX law will be brought down, because it does not have a "severability clause" (law is invalidated if one clause goes down)

It will be interesting to see what happens with this.  It is generally agreed upon that SOX was put together hastily after the scandals in the early 2000's, perhaps to restore investor confidence. None the less, the intention seemed to be for the welfare of the economy and the vital investors that keep it afloat.  Rahm Emmanuel had mentioned taking actions to reform the act, to help small businesses out.  If SOX goes down completely however, there might be a window of opportunity for creative accountants to take advantage of the lack of regulation..  There could be terrible consequences to the recovery of the economy if certain people get greedy again.  I am interested to hear from accountants how they feel about this....I am guessing that there will be mixed feeling, as I understand many jobs were created in auditing from the law, but it has also seemed to be a nuisance to professionals in the industry.

Outside of this accounting issue, I am not convinced that corporate crooks are finished with trying to destroy this country for their personal profit......While flying home for Thanksgiving, I read about what is UBS is doing to Detroit , kicking the city when it is down, cashing in on $400 million break-up fee from an unethical "exotic derivitive" investment it swindled the city into.  Detroit is now spending $4.2 million extra a month to pay this debt, before they can spend a dime in education, city utilities, or any recovery effort to try to fight the 28% unemployement rate.  This is going on all over the place, and I personally am disgusted to hear about it.  Weren't these the same financial institutions that were begging for tax money to bail them all out?  Why am I not getting text messages from CNN at 5am about this kind of stuff, but instead getting constant updates about Tiger Woods love affairs?

A quote from a phenomenal movie NETWORK is appropriate here,
"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

Dolphin Wars

Russia is still trying to "one up"  America, recently acknowledging that they need to catch up to our Navy when it comes to militarized sea mammals.  The US Navy apparently employs both sea lions and our beloved "Flipper" for two main reasons:
1) look for underwater mines
2) keep a look out for an underwater swimmer terrorist attack.

Dolphins are trained to use strobe lights to point out the bad guys, however sea lions, those smart little buggers, are armed with cuffs to restrain intruders.  As an advocate of swimming in the Pacific Ocean at any opportunity, I was saved from an attack from the SF bay "rogue sea lion" thanks to San Francisco traffic a few years ago.  My respect for this animal has since been restored.  One question, what regulation will oversee these new soldiers for interrogation and torture methods if they actually catch an enemy, we don't need another Guantanamo Bay PR disaster.

So, in the past month, all I have heard about the Russian military is that they are planning on blowing up clouds with their air force, and using their navy to train more dolphins and sea lions.  Very interesting....

Food for thought - via a truck

The social media guru, Mike Prasad behind Kogi BBQ spoke at my campus, and it was a fascinating perspective on how a start-up in a new industry can leverage the power of this communications channel to grow a business, and defend itself from large competitors.

The companies founders had noble intentions - to bring the street food culture from Korea to the streets of Los Angeles.  Once has resulted has been a revolution in the restaurant business, with 30 similar trucks, including a "masala dosa" truck in Santa Monica among other cuisines.  By using social media to have conversations that couldn't take place in any other medium, the businesses can evaluate demand around the crowded city of LA to determine where to send their trucks.  People wait in line for hours for the food, musicians have been known to debut their new songs at the truck locations, and it has turned into a fusion of food and LA culture, while giving people access to a new cuisine of food at a very low price point.  As a driver in this city, I love the idea, considering I avoid driving places at any cost, and having a delivery truck possibly come to my neighborhood from collective demand, it is just a win-win overall. 

In his presentation he mentioned fighting Baja fresh via blogs, tweets, and eventually proper journalism once thousands of people were tweeting about how Baja ripped off Kogi BBQ.  I haven't been too fond of twitter historically, but his presentation definitely shed some new light on the site.  The strategic steps taken to protect a company that couldn't afford lawyers to defend them from an unethical attack from a corporate machine was the highlight of morning.

Also - I am now following Kogi, so that I can catch their truck for lunch, because the food is indeed delicious.


@hyderabadass

Entrepreneurship in Academia

Some of the best classes I have taken in business school have been entrepreneurship classes - Dr. Grossman's Technology Commercialization, Managing New and Growing Businesses that teach comprehensive approaches to both written and "living cases." (living cases involve working directly with a CEO or leaders with notable organizations) Next semester I will be taking a class with the CEO and Founder for Kinkos, Paul Orfalea.  The course is open to a select number of students by invite only, and will be my first MBA class that is not taught by a prof with a Ph.D.  Other classes I plan on taking are Social Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Finance.


I believe that there is a cycle to entrepreneurship, and the ideal cycle in my situation seems to suggest two stage take place in Academia.   The first stage is  my current graduate education.  The second is a possible future in teaching and higher educational research  .   Pre-MBA, I believed there should be a experiential stage between these two, so that the second stage serves value to others, at least in Entrepreneurship.  However lately I have found myself challenging this belief, and considering an immediate transition into Academia as a professional, and pursuing a Ph.D.  Of course, a Ph.D is not needed to educate others, (Orfalea is an example of this) however it seems very few other approaches gain the credibility needed to be successful (outside of the irregular $200 million sale of a company).  


The transition from industry to a classroom had a learning curve, and I can only assume that if I delay higher educational pursuits, I will face more of these.  However, I am still weighing the pros and cons of such a decision, more importantly trying to understand the value of entrepreneurial studies in an academic environment to society, and most importantly, whether my skills and passions align with it.


Affiliation with a research-intensive university for 4 years also provides a wealth of resources to explore ideas, and possibly even pursue entrepreneurial ventures within the confines of the curriculum.  Dr. Kiesner from LMU is considered a pioneer in building Entrepreneurship into Business School curriculum, and is known for unorthodox methods.  Further, at the Social Innovation Fast Pitch event at USC, 2 of 6 judges were professors, who have been and continue to be very involved in industry.  Microfinance as we love it today was developed by a professor (Muhammad Yunus), who won the nobel peace prize.  His career is full of entrepreneurial ventures on the side, and is certainly something to be admired.  In his case, however, the majority of his contribution to the industry came after becoming a professor.  


These type of role models have caused me to ponder how long I should wait before becoming an educator.  On one hand, I might lose the entrepreneurial spirit after 4 years of intense study, and several more of research and teaching to secure tenure and never carry out any of my ideas.  On the other hand, the educational experience may be enlightening and an engine of newer, more innovative ideas that can be executed through different channels (educational grants, community involvement, published properties, or ideally for me - film).  Somewhere in the middle is the concern if I will be qualified to be an educator at such a level.  Certainly I am not right now, but I have to imagine that I need to plan ahead somewhat so that I am ready when the time comes - a Ph.D program takes 4 years.  


Perhaps the key element to all of this is timing.  Business ventures can be a careful formula of a brilliant idea and exceptional management yet still result in failure,  Every successful entrepreneur I have spoken with or studied credits timing - which involves a stroke of luck among other things.  Perhaps a person's decision to become a successful educator in entrepreneurship depends on how they time such a venture in the larger schedule of their life experiences.  As inspirational as it is learning from a professor full amazing experiences , it is arguably more discouraging taking a  class with a professor full of experience but with exhausted insights and a jaded attitude.  Sometimes these professors can have the appeal of a former hometown hero quarterback that never moved on past highschool.   


I suspect that if timing is the critical factor for success, then it will be extremely important to surround myself with the right people and environment to be able to hear the calling and respond accordingly.  Possibly I am hearing it now, and I just need to think through some of the beliefs I have established - It may be unnecessary for me to be a successful entrepreneur to be a successful entrepreneurial academic, Maybe I need to ask the following questions -  Will I have time to both explore my ambitions and teach about the journey? Will higher educational studies be the only way for my mind to generate such ideas? Will higher educational studies prevent me from being able to execute any idea at all?  


When asked in 2003 about how he felt about a lawsuit and having ties cut with Clayton Dubilier (Kinkos buyout firm), Paul Orfalea responded - 


"It's been agony, and I won't miss the business or Clayton, Dubilier," says Orfalea, who now devotes his time to building day care centers and teaching a course at the University of California, Santa Barbara, his alma mater. "I'm building day care centers. I like teaching school. I have a life. I've got better things to do." 


There are other quotes that describe his pride in building the company from UCSB's campus in an office so small " the copy machine had to be lugged out onto the sidewalk" to nearly 1800 stores, that sold for billions to FedEx.  I am extremely excited for the class on several levels, as a student, entrepreneur, and aspiring educator.  


-J

NOVICA

This company is awesome!  They took a terrible system of import/export of international art, and opened up the marketplace to give local artisans control over their business, and the result has been a successful online business that brings thousands of remarkable products from around the world to consumers.  Based out of LA, their mission reads:

"We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow......NOVICA. The World is Your Market."

Check out their website, certainly a great spot for holiday shopping.

J

Bombs over Moscow

$6 million will be spent on a Russian air strike.....striking the air to fend off snow clouds. Yes, our friends across the pond estimate that they will save $4 million by blowing up these frozen crystals in the sky before they pile up on the ground and need to be shoveled. The madness is set to start November 15th, the Russian Air Force will spray dry ice, cement, or silver iodine to create immediate precipitation.

Cloud seeding has been tested historically internationally since 1947, and was even used in the 2008 Olympics, as well as on Moscow's two main holidays. It is done at a few ski resorts in the US and Canada, and there seems to be a worry for threats of "cloud stealing" between rival nations desperate for rainfall. India and other Asian countries have used cloud seeding to improve air quality by forcing more rainfall.

Yury Luzkhov, Moscow's mayor, is being met with an obvious protest against this. Could this plan be the future for creating a pre-irrigation strategy to manipulate rainfall, or does this Russian just have his head stuck in the clouds promising a "winter without snow?"

J

Entrepreneurs are easily inspired

I think it's in our nature to be moved after hearing the struggles, failures and successes of others entrepreneurs.


Today I listened to 30 social entrepreneurs in LA pitch their causes to a room full of us coaches and volunteers in preparation of the LA social venture's "fastpitch" contest.

I arrived to the event about ten minutes late, not because of the reputable "Indian standard time" but instead because of traffic jams from driving across LA that reminded me if only two possible places- Bombay and the infamous Hyderabad. Nonetheless I quickly realized that I made the proper decision to involve myself with this event and gained comfort that my idea for filming a documentary around it is very possible. What I witnessed today in the USC library conference room was something magnificent. Seasoned leaders humbled themselves after years of putting their hearts and souls into a cause to convince a room in 3 minutes they were ready for funding. This was a coaching session for an event 3 weeks away - I felt like Simon from American idol a few times with my critiques however the overall vibe was extremely supportive. When a pitcher got nervous and blanked out the room did their best to help them get comfortable so that they could regain composure. It struck me as odd watching so many aspiring civil servants compete against each other. Furthermore the level of class with the people in the room is something unmatched in my limited experience in business. I am just glad that I am not the judge who has to pick one of these many passionate entrepreneurs to fund their selfless cause to make LA a better place. There are some very clever ideas in this sector and my passion for social entrepreneurship was fueled today.

I left the event to drive across town for my MBA class "managing new and
growing ventures". The class has one of my favorite professors of all time but she has absolutley no tolerence for lateness in her classes and therefore I risked several traffic violations to make it in time for class - afterall her brother did fly down from the bay area to speak at our class tonight.

I made it in time for one of the most inspiring/disturbing/strangely familiar story I have heard.

This CEO spoke about a 9 year venture that truly pushed the limits of a new entrepreneur. Mind you, two hours before 30 mother Theresa's were pitching me on startups that were designed to save childrens lives, raise literacy rates, fund the arts, and save our beautiful oceans. Now I was in a classroom listening to a man who left a comfortable job just days before his son was born to start a company with his best friend who he later fired along with firing his father and 100 other employees months during the dotcom bust. Months before he regrettably refused a multi million dollar buyout. As cutthroat as that is, his business decisions - which we were fortunate to hear in a very detailed and logical presentation, were somehow absolutley sound. This was an entrepreneur who initially turned down half a million dollars to keep his best friend and founding partner in the company. (2 years prior to firing) Every decision he made was carefully calculated and although he admits that they are neither right or wrong- given the circumstance I agreed with each one. perhaps the most moving quote he shared was one regarding the autonomy entrepreneurs seek when they choose to start their own company. He stressed that this is a common misconception and in fact we entrepreneurs lack control of our environments and are similar to floating kayaks in a sea of large ocean liners - being pushed back and forth between their waves.

This has defintely been the hardest lesson for me over the past few years and through this mans humble account of a decade of experience, I have come to understand my own struggle in this chosen career. I got into this business thinking I could call the shots but quickly learned the power of financiers, competition, platforms like apple iTunes and other stakeholders.

He exited one venture mildly successful - diluted his and founding partners/investors shares to almost nothing. However after what seemed to be the 20th change in business models, he made a power play, against the initial opinion of the board, and directed a profitable exit for the company.

Perhaps my first venture may someday be looked as a failure. Tonight I gained a tremendous amount of inspiration that I am in the company of very intelligent and successful people who have also had years of hardships. I am comforted however that success is a lifelong challenge. These rolemodels of mine don't define their success by any one successful venture. They in fact prefer thinking about their losses over their wins. Perhaps because they are easier to understand - many succesful entrepreneurs are quick to admit the starring role of luck in their successes I know I've certainly made my share of mistakes however i can look back at this early journey and stomach each loss with the assurance that "it's not for nothing". I don't know if I will ever be successful enough to be able to hire and god forbid fire my own father, but it's going take something major to extinguish the fire in my belly right now. I will continue to embrace the uncertainty of the future of my entrepreneurial pursuits knowing that as a failure I will be in the company of many legends, and by succeeding in survival i will hopefully avoid the comfort of quitters.

J

As previously mentioned - I lack Internet at my house, but wrote this post from my phone. Please excuse any typos.



Sent from my iPhone

Neglected Blog

Here is an explanation of what happened between April - October.

April - August - I worked with the CEO of Ranker.com to launch their website. 2 hour a day commute to Hollywood from West LA, too many hours looking at computer screens, 10 week struggle with Apple to get our iPhone app update accepted for the 3.0 OS, started playing bass guitar for a band in Hollywood.

August - Present - moved to the beach next door to Willie Nelson in a tiny studio with no internet. I have been focusing my writing into music, and am on a bicycle the rest of the time when I am not working on the app or studying. I have consulted 3 other start-ups since the summer, and am figuring out what to do for 2010, and post MBA graduation in May. Currently really into the social entrepreneurship sector, and reading "How to change the world: social entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas" By David Bornstein. I will be going to Prague, Munich, Zurich, and Milan from May-June to conclude a 1 year research study in this field by interviewing local entrepreneurs and stakeholders in Europe. The exciting part of this new interest of mine is constantly reading about successful case studies from Indian social entrepreneurs.

Conclusion: The future of this is unknown. I may post in it here and there. Maybe I'll the and write posts for the 180 days I missed. Just maybe...

Recession Inventing

Let's deal with this current pirate crisis and start moving forward again as a civilization. Its amazing that with all the accomplishments humans have had throughout the years, we are so helpless in the ocean. NFL players drowning at sea, shark attacks, hurricanes demolishing cultural landmarks, and Somalian fishermen shaking the planet up by seizing a US ship. I have been upset about the pirate problems for years now, trying to figure out a safe way to film a documentary on the phenomenon. But now it is something everyone is interested in, and there is sure to be a blockbuster movie made about it.

Heres to the future - 3D printing, miniture medical devices, biofuels, smarter phone apps, electric cars, on demand entertainment, nanotechnology, cancer cures, gadgets powered by human bodies,

-Jason

Bollywood Bargaining

Over in India, negotiations and bargaining have always been a part of local culture. Bollywood is no different. Indian movie producers and distributors are playing "hardball" with big theatre chains, refusing to release any new movies unless they get half of ticket sales revenue (during the first month of the release.) The industry has been suffering in recent months, and producers are having a tough time getting financing for new movies. This slum-dog-millionare-badass hasn't seen a good Bollywood movie since I was in Hyderabad, and is very disappointed to hear about the cinematic slump in Bollywood. Hopefully both sides can reach an agreement.

-Jason

Google Ventures

It's no secret that VC funds have been dry in recent months. Last quarter, not a single VC backed business went public with an IPO, and overall its a frustrating time for entrepreneurs trying to raise capital for their start ups.

Google is adding another division of their rapidly growing business, and has a $100 million fund for start-ups.

“At its core, Google Ventures is charged with finding and helping to develop exceptional start-ups. We’ll be focusing on early stage investments across a diverse range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and, no doubt, other areas we haven’t thought of yet."

This is a good move for Google, and a breath of fresh air for the entrepreneurial community. I am interested to see what projects get funded by this.



-Jason

"Hump thru the slump"

A leading dating site has found its match. This recession has helped Match.com realize a 26% growth in membership from last year. Existing users are also using the site more often. It makes sense, online dating is probably cheaper and more efficient than offline. People can screen and filter each other out, avoiding disaster dates and interpersonal encounters that cost money.

Some friends of mine started a dating site in Chicago that is blowing up, called CrushMe.com. They are Michigan entrepreneurs, MSU alumni, and have a fresh approach at online dating. Rather than focusing on the compatibility testing and long profile descriptions, its a site based on pictures. The tagline is "it all starts with a look." Check it out. They are always throwing parties around in the windy city.

If you read part 1 of this blog, you would have certainly heard about my beloved Tata Indica that transported me around the dreadful streets of Hyderabad. Satyam drove it like a champ, and it played an instrumental role in my adventures. If you want a Tata for yourself, you no longer need to go to Hyderabad, or anywhere else in India for that matter. The Tata Nano might start selling in the US in 2011. It is the world's cheapest car, selling for a mere $2500, allowing many Indians to own a car for the first time. Check back in 2 years to see if the imports come with a Satyam-like driver.

-Jason

Badass is back

One year vacation from posting in A Hyderabadass - complete.

It was intentional. I needed to unwind. The adventure was intense, but the intensity is long missed. Thanks for everyone who read the blog, commented or emailed and supported me through the trip. Some people might be wondering what has been going on with The Hyderabadass, TheWedLink, and Satyam. Fear not, answers are on their way.

This is the second chapter of the story

The world has changed so much since my temporary sabbatical from the blog-o-sphere. I don't really know where to begin. TheWedLink just launched an iPhone application on iTunes. 2008 was a challenging year for us just like everyone else. I will recap our outsourcing experience and a true review about Threshold in the times to come.

As a mirror of my own life, this blog may lack focus, direction, structure, or timeliness. It is passionate however, and the writings will continue to be optimistic for the future. Success stories that I hear about during the recession will always be posted, so please email dmelloja@gmail.com every time you hear one. Lets let the failing newspapers talk about bankruptcy, foreclosures, unemployment, and heartbreak for now, and just focus on the good, badass stuff here.

Yours again,

Hyderabadass

Goa + Rajisthan = Returning to Bombay with a mustache and a story

Here is rough recap of the travels that a blog can only touch the surface on trying to summarize...

Travel problems seem to follow me wherever I go, Rome, Leipzig Germany, Hyderabad, and now most recently Bombay. The 10 day vacation planned was all set, flights, hotels and trains all booked through much appreciated help from family and friends all around India. Marie, my American travel accomplice was set to come in on the 11/30 night, and we were off to Goa 5 hours after her arrival to enjoy the country I had made my place of employment. I was ready for a vacation.

But...Maries flight did not reach the 30th. The time difference was overlooked, and although her arrival time on the eticket said 11/30, the plane reached 12/1. Go figure. We managed a last minute flight to Goa the following morning in the end, and barely made it on the plane on time as the security guards and I had an 30 min confrontation about my guitar possibly having a bomb hidden in it....yes, these guys wanted to disassemble my guitar to remove the electronics inside, suspecting I was a terrorist planning on the blowing up their airplane. Apparently, I get that a lot. The funny thing was that not a single person asked me for photo id. We finally made it on the jet and enjoyed 3 days in Goa, a place full of warmth both on the beaches in inside the native people of the land.

My family is from Moira, a village just outside of Mapusa, and it felt damn good to be back there. My grandmother and aunty prepared a huge seafood feast for us, and shared pictures telling stories about our family history. Most of the stories were told about my grandfather, a man I will always strive to be like. I was surprised to hear the actual details of his job as head of affairs for the Palanpoor Newab. (Muslim king) The stories I heard that day from my grandmother will always stay with me, and it was one of the most memorable days I have had in India so far. Since arriving in August, I have constantly wished that both my grandfather and my cousin Nigel were still around to witness my move back to the motherland. My fascination with the Newab and Nazim rulers was only to understand more of my grandfather;s life. This afternoon spent in a small Goan village finally filled that void.

The following day, my auntie took Marie and I north to a remote beach shack that her friend Toffee lived at. Toffee was another character I met in India who I will always remember....By far the coolest woman with a very unique perspective on life, and the most relaxed attitude with absolutely no tension. She was sort of like a female version of the character Johnny Depp plays in Pirates of the Carribeean.

With little no no commercialism, Mandre's beach gave us the ambiance we were looking for in Goa. We sipped on Kingfishers, ate fresh seafood, made friends with crazy Britishers/Argentinians and soaked in the sun without being marketed to by dolphin boat companies, women with beads, or any other members of the tourism industry which unfortunately has taken over the state. The only salesmen I met on this beach pitched me on an ear cleaning service costing only 15 rupees. Awkward...

Later that night we met up with some of my Hyderabad friends also visiting Goa and got a glimpse of the internationally famous nightlife. We started off in a club on Baga beach that looked like identical to the club in the movie "Scarface." I was joined by 4 attractive girls all wanting to dance, and dance we did. Wild night, and I have to modestly admit that I might have owned the dancefloor this crazy night in Baga. In fact, A group of guys came up to me and simply shook my hand, no words spoken. Straight up respect.

We wrapped things up in Goa and made way for Jaipur, the pink city of Rajisthan. We left Jaipur 2 hours after arriving and hopped on a train headed for Udaipur, the city of lakes . Two of my friends from WMU invited me to visit them in their beloved hometown. Accepting their invitation would prove to be the wisest travel decision I made in India.

With a change in transportation mode from planes to trains, I was still not able to avoid confrontation. We started off this trip with a mix up in our tickets, sitting in the wrong train compartment. The rightful owners were very upset about our honest mistake, and apparently called us "dumb white monkeys" in Hindi. I was irate when my cousin translated his words later in the night. I like monkeys tremendously, but I hate racism.

I have been met with similar racist remarks often on this trip to India. My father and mother shared the came citizenship as these people, but that has certainly not earned me any more street cred than any other foreigner with absolutely no Indian heritage. This public humiliation was something I did not expect when I decided to move to India. My father has never experienced anything similar to this in his 25 years in the US. Moreover, I feel embarrassed that this happens to a guests like Marie and other westerners. They are respectful people genuinely interested in learning about Indian culture. This is something that needs to change in India, starting from the tourism industry which blatantly charges white people 10x more for entrance fees into the beautiful attractions in the country. They charged Marie 200 rupees to get into places that darker skinned people and only had to pay 30 rupees to go to.

Back to the train...I let the situation on the train go without retaliation, much to my own regret but for the peace of the travels we had ahead of us. The result was that we had the best 4 days in Rajisthan that anyone could hope for.

Check out the pictures
Album 1
Album 2

Summary of Rajisthan - Stayed in a palace penthouse, beautiful scenery, architecture, boat rides to island palaces, met the Maharana (King) of Udaipur by interrupting an important business meeting to introduce myself as"Jason D'Mello from Kalamazoo" and took a picture with him (see below) riding unstable elephants down over populated streets, watching Rajisthani performers and dancers, eating on lake front palace restaurants next to the 2 British men who I had interrupted to meet the king 2 hours earlier, heavy bargaining and negotiating in fabric stores with my cousin Sonia, and mischief throughout the Palace Penthouse.

The King and I

Got back to Bombay in high spirits, parted ways with my travel friends, and made a last minute trip back to Hyderabad for business. It was a vacation that couldn't have been scripted, it was just simply brilliant. I wish you all will have a trip like this sometime in your own bad ass lives.

-Jason

They Just Won't let me leave!

It seems fitting that my departure from Hyderabad would be an struggle. 4 months ago, I would never have imagined over 30 people coming to see me off. The day itself was chaotic, as the work in the office was not completely finished, but as with any start up endeavor nothing really goes as planned. I said my goodbyes at the Threshold office I had tenured at, went to my house to say goodbye to my new family. I bought a beautiful painting of a famous lord krishna scene to thank them for the generosity the past 120 days. After all, they gave me a wonderful home without charge, and showed me the kind of warmth and hospitality that traditional Indian household's are famous for having.

While we ate dinner, the neighbors stopped over to say goodbye. The young boy, Aditya presented me with a handmade card. He probably had taken a liking to me because my American accent reminded him of the place he was born. The gift was completely unexpected and caught me off guard. Days before he woke me up at 7am to play cricket, pounding on my door with his brand new bat. I only woke up to answer out of fear that the Indian officials were after me for somehow violating my visa. I couldn't refuse to play with him when I saw how excited he was with his new sporting equipment, and went outside to bowl to him.

His gift (below) put to shame the painting I had gifted to my host family *Note that he called me “Jason Uncle” like the kids we had taken to the park for Children’s Day through the AIDS organization....I don’t know if Im ready for that title.


(It was nice meeting you we had a great time and lot of fun. Look forward meeting you again and playing cricket with you again. Have a nice trip around the world. See you again buddy bye bye. It’s a Four4 Dude)

2 hours later I was on my way to the airport, after the third round of goodbyes at Bottles and Chimneys. Satya seemed down all day, but got me to the airport as soon as possible. For the first time, Satya was not able to get me to my destination in time however, as the airlines refused to let me leave Hyderabad. I had arrived just 5 minutes after the check in time, and they closed the gate while I was in line.

Obviously I was pretty upset about the situation. People were still going through security check! Moreover, Goair never mentioned to me anything about a final check-in time. I've flown over 15 flights in India the past 4 months. Only 3 flights have ever left on time, so I assumed the usual 30 min rule I use for air travel really applied. Lesson learned - Indian Standard Time is not something to depend upon with airports.

Since the airlines mishandled the entire situation, refusing to let me talk to anyone in charge until the flight actually took off, I felt the need to vocalize my frustrations. I created a scene worth writing an episode of curb your enthusiasm on. I spent 45 minutes yelling at the man in charge for how his company acted at the check in, for not printing flight details on etickets, and for just being an obnoxious human being. My most trusted friends in the city witness all of this, as they came to the airport immediately after hearing I missed the flight, and stayed with me until 3 AM.

This man, a complete stranger, had been observing my behavior since I arrived at the airport.
He eventually interrupted my monologue damning GoAir to years of soft business. He surprisingly took my side in the argument, telling the GoAir manager that it was completely unreasonable not to put me on the plane saying "come on yaar, this is India."

After I realized that i succeeded in humiliating the manager, I wrote down all of the employees names. I told them that they "handled the situation like a bunch of monkeys" I drafted up a statement, describing all of the incidents that had happened at the airport, and presented it to the manager, who agreed with everything I had written. I asked him to sign the document, and he refused. I called him a coward, and left it at that. It was an ugly scene, I am not proud of my behavior, but I don't regret it... I said all that I needed to say.

I needed to get to Bombay, so I booked a 3am flight with Spice Jet (which was supposed to leave at 9pm the previous evening).

That was my exit from the city I was not ready to leave. I was off for a 10 day adventure through Bombay, Pune, Goa, and the Rajisthan cities of Udaipur and Jaipur. The joke of the whole debacle in the airport was that in two weeks I would return to Hyderabad on an unexpected business accidentally book a flight with the same airlines trying to avoid an airline that I had also had problems with in Goa. I was reunited with the crew I had publicly scolded, and yes, everyone remembered me the second time around. They made it very clear of this at check in time. To their detriment, I arrived to the airport not just 30 minutes early, but an hour and thirty minutes early. Not even GoAir could screw me with that kind of timeliness.

Last night in Hyderabad

I couldn't bring myself to end this blog on a post by Neil Diamond.

My days here have unfortunately run out, and I haven't found the right words to conclude this experience just yet.

The past week has been a mixture of ups and downs, new exciting ventures that are tempting me to come back here not before too long, but at the same time we are overcoming challenges with finishing TheWedLink. It is a stressful time, but I don't wish to share the stress with the badass readership here. While I gather my thoughts in the next few weeks of traveling, I will work on an appropriate final post for this blog. I would not feel right about referring to myself as A Hyderabadass while living in Detroit/Santa Monica, but who knows what will happen.

I am saying goodbye to all my new friends here tomorrow at Bottles and Chimney's, jumping on a flight to Bombay at midnight, meeting up with my friend coming from the US, traveling to Goa, Rajistan, and then finally returning to the USA Dec 14th. I haven't even started packing! This is my 8th time moving in 2 years though, so I have become an expert in confining my life into 2 suitcases and a guitar case within 24 hours of preparation.

Its been a wild ride these past 3 months, and I have a feeling we are just getting started.

-Jason

Neil Diamond's confession

I don't know why a Hyderabadi newspaper picked this story up today, but I have to say that I am a bit ticked off to hear the inspiration of one of my favorite pub songs, "Sweet Caroline."

Dear Mr. Diamond,

Please explain how these lyrics could have been written about a 9 year old girl 40 years ago. Going forward, I will refuse to sing along to this song in bars, even the "bah bah bah.......so good, so good, so (*&^ing good."

Disgusting

Where it began
I cant begin to knowin
But then I know its growin strong

Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Whod have believed youd come along

Hands, touchin hands
Reachin out
Touchin me
Touchin you

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
To believe they never would

But now i
Look at the night
And it dont seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when Im with you

Warm, touchin warm
Reachin out
Touchin me
Touchin me

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no

Sweet caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Ive been inclined
I believed they never could
Sweet caroline

Happy Thanksgiving from Hyderabad

Happy Thanksgiving to all back home. This morning while walking the streets of India , I spotted a turkey, and chased it. Unlike Lil Bush's friend in picture above, the turkey made a run for it. I didn't have the determination to continue chasing it, however I hope that visual adds to the enjoyment of your day. Don't worry about me, I will be also celebrating my favorite holiday eating turkey at either one of 2 thanksgiving parties. Only regrets are that I will be missing the football, my mom's sweet potato dish and indo-stuffing, and the company of our closest friends and family. Does anyone have the recipe for Turkey Tikka?

6 days left in Hyderabad, a lot to be thankful for.... so to anyone who still reads this, my most sincere thanks to you all.



-Jason

Dancing on the street

Yes. My business is with weddings. I read about weddings, I study them, I pretend to plan them, and some nights I crash them. Today was sort of one of those nights.

Tonight, I didn't really crash a wedding, as it was a friend of a friend's neighbors wedding, and for some reason since I was on a distribution list on an email invitation (probably by accident) I was was drawn to a Telugu wedding.





These weddings go on for days. We were told to show up to the family's house at 8pm for just a small portion of the celebration. We were informed that the wedding party would make their way back there around that time in an outside procession of song and dance, traveling from the venue a few kilometers away to the house. Having waited until nearly midnight, we finally made our way outside when we heard the thumping beats from the drums.

As Hyderabad slept, 60 people gathered around a bridal couple riding in a horse carriage decorated with brilliant flower arrangements. The outfits resembled imagery I have seen in classical paintings of historical India. Ten men were leading the procession, pounding on drums that hung from their shoulders. They played variations of the Bhangra music that my heart beats to. Within minutes of arriving to the scene, our group of foreigners were immediately welcomed and invited to dance next in the middle of the group of young people while the elders and newly weds watched. Only half of our group accepted the generous offer to join the party. I admit that I felt awkward dancing sober with complete strangers at a wedding where I didn't even know the bride and grooms name. However, it would be poor form to turn down an opportunity to display my gracious Bhangra moves to the present company. Instantly, the shoulders started moving back and forth while the fingers went up in the air rotating the wrist in a motion that has to drive the ladies wild. I admit, I am no Shahid Kapur, but this Hyderabadass can hold his own to the Punjabi sounds.

Fireworks were going off, and the drummers played more intensely. I couldn't believe the police had not locked all of us in jail for the noise. It was hours after midnight. When we reached the house, half our group had dispersed and the rest were fatigued so we called it a night. I spotted Satyam enjoying the parade from a distance. He ran up to us and complimented one of the girls who was dancing with us. Keep in mind that Nafessa is a seasoned dancer, and was even in a music video for an Indian band.

I, on the other hand have no official training. I admit that I am usually a horrible dancer- the thumbs go up and the shoulders move way too fast so I normally avoid dancing in public. Bhangra is my specialty, and I was a bit insecure that Satyam only complimented the girl and did not say anything about me. I asked him how my dancing was..... there was an awkward pause followed by a blatant lie "you were...... ok, sir," then looking at Nafessa "You were very good!" That damn Satyam.....had to pull that in front of the girls. Needless to say, my self-esteem would suffer for months. It was an outstanding night, even with Satyam's comment. One of the girls in the group was in euphoria afterwards, having always dreamed to be part of such a wedding that she had grown up watching in movies. It really was a phenomenal way to celebrate a wedding, this a auspicious Wednesday night.

*To my colleagues and friends back home...I may have found a new profession tonight. If I ever suddenly leave the US again, and move to India, you should know that I have left the western world to learn how to master the Dhol drum, and can be found on the streets of India on various other auspicious days playing in these wedding processions. Don't worry Eddie, I will continue to market TheWedLink in between songs if this happens.

Punjabi MC-ly
-Jason

Sunday at the park

Nov 14th is Children's day in India. The universal date is actually Nov 20th, but in honor of Pandit Jawaharial Nehru, India's first prime minister who was very fond of children, the holiday is celebrated on his birthday.

How does a Hyderabadass celebrate this holiday? How about by spending a Sunday afternoon in a park with 30 kids playing cricket, tag, having 3 legged races, learning how to eat rice with my hands south Indian style, being drenched in water from mischievous little girls who teamed up against me in a water fight in the park fountain, carrying kids on my shoulders, letting them play with my mobile phone and getting genuine goodbye hugs after 5 hours of solid fun. Today I spent Children's day playing in a park with these young suffering victims infected or affected with HIV and AIDS.

It is estimated that there are between 2 million to 3.6 million people infected with HIV in India, ranking it third behind Nigeria and South Africa in the list of most infected countries in the world. Less than 15% of these people receive antiretroviral drugs (AVRs), a treatment proven to significantly delay the progression from HIV to AIDS. Ironically, this treatment has been available to rich countries since 1996.

The UN has state the following:

• India's adult HIV prevalence will peak at 1.9% in 2019.
• The number of AIDS deaths in India (which was estimated at 2.7 million for the period 1980-2000) will rise to 12.3 million during 2000-15, and to 49.5 million during 2015-50.
• Economic growth in India will slow by almost a percentage point per year as a result of AIDS by 2019.

Nonetheless this community face tremendous hardships in India. They have faced violent attacks, rejection from families and communities, refusal of medical treatment, and even denial of the last rites before dying. Few are informed how they can prevent other diseases. Volunteers and non profits are also faced with resistance with their efforts to help the victims. I am disgusted to hear that for every four people infected with HIV, at least one will be refused medical treatment in India.

I am thankful that the children I met today are unaware of the politics. Many of them have lost their parents because of this epidemic. A few of them were coughing throughout the day. Some cried, others consoled them, but at the end of the day they were all smiling. I have never seen such a caring group of kids get along so well, enjoying the simple games and toys we brought to the park. I can only imagine what their eyes have seen so far in life, and a day in the park spent with 4 big people with funny accents eliminated any need for misbehaving.



I couldn't talk to most of the kids since they spoke only Telugu, yet we had no problem communicating. One of the kids, Akhil was one of the smartest 11 year old kids I have ever met. He spoke 4 languages including English, and offered to translate for us if our other methods of communication failed. obviously leader of the group, he was responsible for much of the success of the activities. At one point of the day he took one of the volunteers for a walk to the museum, telling him much he loved history. His father had taken him there many times, and had recently died from AIDS. He came back with a ball for the other kids to play with, and began an unorganized game of tag/dodgeball/volleyball/football (or soccer for you Americans) tug-o -war, monkey in the middle, and keep away. I had been nourished earlier by a generous serving of yellow rice. There was no silverware, so I was forced to eat for the first time with my hands. The kids exploded in laughter at my pathetic attempts, but after they taught me how to hold my hands I figured out how to eat rice in the present etiquette.

During the madness of the next 5 hour recess, the kids found their way to the fountain, and started a massive water fight. 4 young girls conspiring against me tricked me into getting close enough to the oasis so that they could mercilessly drench me. One of the other volunteers had also been trapped and tried to make a run for it, but slipped and fell on his ass. Everyone erupted into laughter, as it was slapstick humor you find in a movie. Later in the afternoon, this same character was tied up by the kids and used as a trampoline.

While all this was going on, I secretly sent Satyam to pick up a cricket set from the nearby store. When he returned with the sporting goods, the boys were absolutely thrilled, jumping around all over the place waiting to play the beloved national sport. When language does me no good here in India, cricket never has failed in helping me connect with me. We paused the game to jump in a large tug-o-war contest and other games such as the 3 legged race. At this point Satyam had taken over organizing activities. He was the expert with explaining the rules to the kids and is a surprisingly resourceful guy with an eagle scouts skill with tying knots. At one point he single handedly challenged a dozen kids in a tug-o-war match, but his raw strength could not prevail over the euphoric kids. I have never seen him so happy. He admitted that he wish he had brought his own son to the park that day.

We ended the day sitting in a circle sharing fruit. Akhil quickly offered his fruit to us uncertain that there would be enough for everyone. All of the other kids followed his lead, in a very generous gesture. It turned out that there was, but his offer was something that I will not forget. There was something about this kid that hinted that he had a greater purpose in life. He was the only kid I noticed who wasn't smiling during the playtime. He had a very humbling presence. His maturity was that of a boy much older than him and the confidence he projected made it easy to forget that he was also an HIV AIDS patient. I will never forget this kid, or what he has taught me today. While saying goodbye my heart sank thinking about the reality of these children's lives. Today would probably be a highlight in their years to come, and we will probably never see each other again. I still remember the "big people" I admired when I was a kid to this day, and also remember the sadness I would feel when they left. Today I had the same feeling, even though I was on the other side of the goodbye. I nearly broke down when Akhil came to me to say bye and wrote my number on his hand, saying that he wanted to call me and the other volunteers to his summer camp. Unfortunately I don't have a number to give Akhil to reach me at next summer, as I am leaving Hyderabad in 10 days. I have a feeling that this kid is bound for something great. The fun I had today I now know will be impossible to ever repeat again. I guess sometimes life gifts us with these opportunities to remind ourselves what is important.



Youthfully,
-Jason

Recharge your cellphones by going for a walk

I have seen bikes used for charging cellphones while attending a music festival in the desert at Coachella, and I have seen knifes being sharpened in India with energy generated from the same pedaling action, but today I have heard about technology being developed that would recharge mobile phones simply by the motion of walking. For a man who is notorious for running out of batteries on my cell phone in the worst times, such as downtown Chicago an hour before having to meet my ride back home to Kalamazoo, this is the technology I have been dreaming about.

Microfinance 2.0

At one time if you were to ask me about microfinance, I might have thought you were referring to the lack of money I have saved so far in my life. Today this micro financing concept was redefined to me while discovering the site http://www.kiva.org and I thought it worth mentioning this to all you bad asses out there.

Kiva is a non profit organization that is revolutionizing the concept of true microfinance through utilizing modern technology. The site allows for developing world entrepreneurs to receive funding from anywhere in the world through private donations and negotiable credit terms. So far there has only been a .2% default rate (apparently these entrepreneurs/lenders know something our sub prime friends missed out on) and $14 million from 144,000 lenders have been transferred through their network. It is a damn cool concept, and has been made so convenient through online social networking and mobile technology.

Personally, it breaks my heart to see the poverty everyday here in Hyderabad while riding in my Tata Indica to work, especially the same children day in and day out. Although I would like to give every homeless person something to help them out, it is an impossible endeavor for someone like myself who has no income. Further more, if I decided to give 100 rupees to someone, then I would be expected by the other hundreds of poor people to also give them money, and it just gets more depressing.

However, being a young entrepreneur who someone has taken a chance on, I can personally relate to the poor hard working, ambitious people on Kiva.com who are asking for seed capital for businesses. The required loans are usually under $1,000, and can be donated/lended by several people in collaboration. The process Kiva has set up for the loan transaction gives the lender peace of mind that the money they contributed went to specific use, monitored by a local financial institution in the developing-world nation. And for a person like myself who has every intention in returning the favor my investor gave me to another young visionary if and when I have the means to, this site makes it possible for me to start today with just $50.

Unfortunately Kiva does not appear to have a local field partner in Hyderabad, otherwise I would have Satyam on the site, with an avatar like the picture below except with his beaming smile next to the famous little white Tata Indica, and his written dream of being able to self support his growing family and bounce back from the hardships live has thrown at him. Perhaps we can start with this blog.... If/when I can get Satyam on Kiva.com, how many of the bad asses would contribute to the cause? (Remember, it is not a donation, it is a loan managed through Kiva and a local field partner)



Micro financially,

Jason

Satyam and the carrot juice

I am a big fan of carrot and apple juice, and it has become a daily beverage choice for me out here, as I can get it made fresh at one of the many street juice vendors for under 50 cents. After being cheated a few times at local restaurants, Satyam volunteered to pick up my takeaway orders for me at places I am not sure about. While heading to the office one day, we stopped by a juicer and I told Satyam to get a carrot/apple juice. 10 minutes later he came back with a juice that resembled nothing close to the orange color or texture of the vegetable juice. Instead he brought one of the worst tasting, over sweetened drinks I have had in my life. I drank it out of guilt, but nearly puked afterwards. I asked him if he was sure if it was "carrot juice" 2 times and he smiled and said "sir, I am sure of it"

Well, needless to say, I held of on such juice orders for a few weeks, and the mystery drink that I had that day was not mentioned. This week the story came out. I came to the car from the gym with a carrot juice, and decided to show him what it looked like. He saw it, at once started laughing. He then admitted that he thought I said "Curd Juice." (We still have issues with pronunciation)

The juicer was extremely confused why anyone would order curd juice. (Curd is a yogurt substance south Indians eat with rice daily to conclude every meal) Satyam has actually taken the trouble to buy the curd separately from a different store, and custom order my juice. He is really silly sometimes. For anyone who hasn't tried Curd and Apple juice...you are best off avoiding it altogether.

-Jason

Foreign Films

Sometimes I feel like my life is like a foreign film. A better man than myself would have certainly learned the local language by now, and I really don't have an excuse worth mentioning here. I have found myself several times around a group of friends who are native Telugu speakers and while they will make every effort to speak directly to me in English, they immediately go back to Telugu when talking amongst each other in front of me. It is very awkward, but understandable.

So, while wonderful conversation goes on around me I have developed a tendency to try to guess what the people are saying, similar to how I would in a foreign film. It really gives a new appreciation for observing body language, tonality and timing in speech, facial expressions, and other non verbal cues. On a road trip we played a game between myself and a Telugu fellow who barely spoke English. We would play a song in English and he would try to explain what he thought the lyrics were in Telugu. Then they did the reverse for me with Telugu songs, having be try to interpret what they meant in English. I failed miserably, but the car had a blast listening to me try. They call the language the Italian of the East, and it truly is a beautiful language to listen to.

A friend of mine invited me to see the hindi movie Oh Shanti Om tonight. It was the first time I watched a hindi movie here without subtitles or my cousin to translate all the dialogue to me. I was surprised on how well I was able to follow along. Living my 3 month Bollywood film here in Hyderabad made it possible to enjoy this movie just on Shahrukh Khan's overacting (surprisingly, this was his first movie I enjoyed his performance in ), and the expressions on the face of the gorgeous Deepika Padukone. The movie was interesting, as it was a spoof of the old Bollywood movies. My favorite part of it was a colorful musical scene with Deepika acting with Bollywood actors in famous classic movies from the 70's using effective editing techniques. Also, the bright colors and wild outfits have a total different look when seen on the big screen versus my laptop, and I found a new appreciation for set design and cinematography in this genre of film making. The movie synopsis can be found here. The song is still stuck in my head. All the most famous people that work in this town were in this movie, it was like the all star game for Bollywood, goofy masala movie that is not meant to be taken seriously. All the gossip on the movie related to the fact that Khan was able to develop abs for this movie. They are not there in the first half of the movie, but somehow magically appear after intermission. There was suspicion that they were air brushed on, and I am curious how long they had to stop filming so that he could build the muscle for them. And, yes, they have intermission for movies here, like a musical theatre performance would have. The movie was over 3 hours long, and the intermission was much needed. English movies also have these intermission, but are awkward pauses in the movies, unlike the planned Hindi movies who incorporate the break into the screenplay, pace and intensity of the movie.

I guess Deepika is not even 20 yet, and this was her first film, after being a famous model. One of the girls who was in our group is from the same school Deepika went to, and the girls mother met Deepika at a school function and scolded her for not studying hard enough. The actresses marketability for advertising endorsement increased ten fold after her role in this movie, co staring with Khan. She can now make rupees 80 lakh's for an advertising endorsement. I will have to do some tough negotiating to get her to endorse TheWedLink on our India launch.

In other important news, in a foreign land called America there is a new business starting up that I know you all wanted to hear about. You might have heard of the concept of a "wing man." Well, instead of rolling to a bar with your buddies and trying your luck meeting women, a company has started a dating service that replaces your male friend with a paid "wingwoman" who supposedly is able to make friends with the girl the customer is interested in, and introduce the customer in such a way that takes away the pressure of pick up lines, CB's, and other reservations that the girl might have with strange men approaching them in a bar. The wingwomen cost $75/hour, and will only meet in public places.

Personally, I think it is a ridiculous concept, that is probably crazy enough to work. I pity the women who are fools to the wingwomen scheme, and wonder how they will react when they find out that their new romance was actually initiated by a professional woman paid 1/4 the rate of a prostitute. It is an interesting approach to dating services though, and if it brings joy in people's lives, then i give it my seal of approval. Perhaps it will be a source of more users of TheWedLink.

-Jason

Green Marketing in India

Sustainability has become a global buzzword. There are obvious trends with automobiles, hotels, manufacturing, and other sectors that drive companies to promote anything they do that helps the environment.

In India pollution is obviously a problem that the government is trying to control. Recently a list of the top ten polluting cities in the world was released, and 2 cities in India made the top 5. (Sukinda and Vapi). I have mentioned the traffic problems here, and as you can guess, over 70% of the pollution in the country is estimated to be caused by the vehicles. Interesting enough, there are only 7 cars owned for every 1000 people compared to western ratio where nearly 350-500 cars are owned for every 1000 people. With a growing middle class, India is estimated to add 2 million cars (passenger vehicles) to the roads by 2010. The manufacturers are marketing new cars that are as low as $2,500.

I can't imagine what the traffic will be like in 2010 with sales of cars doubling per year. I have noticed that the government is slowly trying to control the traffic. Last week the 100,000 auto-rickshaws were on strike in Hyderabad. In 3 days the government has caught over 1000 of these 3 wheeled taxis having tampered meters, and is looking to enforce digital meters as a consequence. Even if the meters are installed free of cost, the drivers are refusing to install the meters. They are also demanding to carry 8 school children instead of 6.

Some people think that the move is a subtle move to get these vehicles off the roads. A proposal was recently introduced to replace all auto-rickshaws with taxis to ease traffic congestion by offering 4 year loans with cheaper interest rates. The private sector is also trying to help the cause by introducing a car that runs on air.

But, one of the more comical stories I have heard in on this topic is an initiative being taken to promote cycle rickshaws. Since fuel prices in India are insulated from global crude prices, Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) lose money everytime a sale is made. Public sector oil companies are losing Rs. 240 Crore per day, or $1,546,804 as a result. Private sectors apparently are still free to charge what they want, but their pumps have been shut down by "predatory pricing from public sector OMC's." Satya will tell you that the lines at the pumps are very long these days.

Now...here are the details to the solution called Indivelop, which the OMC's are promoting. They will themselves adopt the cycle rickshaws (different than auto-rickshaws), redesign them while employing riders who will be properly uniformed, groomed, and given social security, shelter, health care and a savings account at no cost. The rickshaws would generate extra revenue by selling advertising slots on the vehicles, uniforms, and rickshaw stands. Riders are going to have to obtain a license to operate these vehicles, and they are looking at creating battery operated rickshaws as well. Kramer might have been on to something....

Greenly,

Jason

Soundtrack in my Tata Indica

I had just finished a tough work out at my gym after traveling all night on a 10 hour 3rd class AC train from Tirupati back to Hyderabad. The weekend was something I had yet to experience here in a city that 50,000 pilgrims visit each day. Beautiful scenery - the pictures do more justice in summarizing it than my clumsy words.

But back to the drive home....I have had a lot of thoughts going through my mind the past weekend. The weekend was definitely a humbling experience for me, and I have been sentimental about leaving in less than a month. As luck would have it, I happened to be playing music on my computer in the soundsystem-less automobile. While on shuffle, the song "All My Life" by KC and JOJO came on. Satyam and I exchanged eye contact, I am almost certain he has never heard the song that I instantly traced back to my 8th grade crush at St. Monica's graduation dance. The awkward moment, similar to the car scene with Chris Farley and David Spade from Tommy Boy, prompted us to both break into laughter, and I let the song play. While driving through hustling streets of Hyderabad to this R&B classic, I have to admit I let my emotions get the better of me.

I started to think about the sadness in my host mother's eyes when the subject of me moving out comes up. She has told me many times she thinks of me like her sons who are now living in the US. The other night, I told her now she has 3 sons to visit next time she comes out.

I became a bit homesick when I saw how close the families in Tirupati were, and how the childhood friends behaved around each other. Their reactions to the Diwali gifts I presented them made the effort completely worth it. (I gave them each cricket jersey's with the company logo on the front and their names on the back)

All the friends I have made out, Sainik, Sumpath, Kirthi, Nafessa, Ankur, Sharad, Srikant, Aditya, The neighborhood kids who I play cricket with once and awhile, the guys in my gym, my office friends and the various expats and other random friends here have been incredible, but I do miss those closest to me back home. My first friend was my driver, Satyam. We have finally reached an understanding with each other. He is more loyal to me than ever before.

He was driving with more ferocity today than I have ever seen him, and nearly got us into a fight at one point with a much larger SUV. I asked him what the problem was and he explained to me that tomorrow is a big day for him, and he is stressed out. He will be in court tomorrow fighting a case for his pension money. As I said before, he once had a decent government job for 12 years, until the division was shut down 5 years ago. He had saved 300 rupees a month in a retirement fund, and when the layoff happened, the money was never paid out to him and 8 other government employees.

They have been fighting the case for 4 years now, in and out of court every six months, just to get transferred to a new court the next time. The money he is owed is 1/3 the capital he needs to buy a car so that he can build his own business. He has had a tough time getting bank loans here, and if he is able to purchase his own car then he will be able to earn 2000 more rupees per month in profit after his loan payment and all other expenses. (He only earns 5000/month currently). Within three years, he will be making at least 15,000 rupees per month on the car, three times his currently salary. With a second child on the way, this is a move he needs to make soon.

I saw his face change, and light up when I told him that will not be giving him money, but will do what I can to help him obtain funding for his own business through a micro financial market. We are going to try to get Satyam his own car, so that he can pay off the loan in 3 years, make nearly 2x as much profit per month than his currently salary in the meantime until he can retain up to 4x his current salary once the car is paid for. He is a good man, and it saddens me to see a good man broken by a lack of education, misfortune, government inefficiencies, and endless court battles.

And, during the climax of the late 90's hit, I started to regret the fact that I only came here for 4 months. If I knew what sort of position I would be in out here at this time 3 months ago, I would have surely planned to stay here at least a year. The people make India the place it is. Not the beautiful scenery, the spicy food, the tropical climate, the exotic wildlife, the historical wealth and treasure-filled palace. It is inside the homes of the simple Indians where you find the beauty this country in unique for. And thanks to a bit of luck, a lack of planning, and a hyderabadass attitude I have been fortunate to get a glimpse of this amazing country....only to be left hungry for more, perhaps my next tenure here. I hope that my next trip here will be for a more noble cause, as I have truly been inspired by people like Nafessa and Leigh Anne who have a genuine passion for social change.

The song ended, as we over took and auto rickshaw aggressively, running a red light, and Satyam slamming on the horn to the mysterious soundtrack that plays in his mind while driving. I thought about the past 3 minutes, felt embarrassed that the song had such an effect on me this Monday evening. But much to my surprise, KC and JOJO were followed up by Jimi Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic." A much more appropriate song for the occasion, and Satyam started comically bouncing his head in unison to the rhythm of the Experience. I reached home in no time.

-Jason

The American Dollar

It is a topic for discussion almost every time America come up in conversation out here, and it is something I can't ignore while scanning my trusted news sources. Most of all, I am feeling the pains of this economic backlash first hand, as the value of the dollar to the rupee is at an all time low. Since my contract with our partners out here is fixed, they too are feeling the pinch, as the agreed price now is worth less than when we negotiated it. Other outsourcing companies that deal with Americans have experienced similar pain points, and have in some cases renegotiated the deals, or outsourced the project themselves to a country where the operations would turn a profit. There is talk about some Indian outsourcing companies setting up office in the US itself, as the operation costs would be cheaper to run there than in India, with the weak dollar.

My thoughts are that is seems like the best time to start a business outside the US, and convert those profits from the local currencies, such as the rupee, back to dollars to get an added boost from the exchange rate. US exports are improving because they are now affordable abroad, and helping to reduce the $800 billion trade deficit. So...how does TheWedLink export to India? (or any foreign country for that matter)

Perhaps there is an opportunity to piggyback on the matrimony sites, such as Shaadi.com or BharatMatrimony.com. These sites alone have arranged over 1.6 million weddings. TheWedLink, (or perhaps TheShaadiLink in this case) would happily help those couples, (who represent more than half of the total number of US wedding couples) make their wedding day spectacular, and share the memories with all their friends and families in the most simple and modern way possible. One thought I had was to employ the Eunuch as a secondary marketing distribution channel to get other families on the website....The Eunuchs as I said before have a network that somehow informs them of every single wedding and child birth in the cities they live in. I might have to work with them on their customer service, and sales approach, as I don' want the company to be branded along with the negative opinions of this third gender of India, but perhaps it could be an amusing experiment. In all seriousness, we are learning about the Indian wedding industry as quickly as possible, and if the mix of what we can offer matches the demand, I will be happy to let you know when we and if we decide to put our fingers in the air and do the bhangra dance to launch our glocal version of the site here. Ideas are certainly welcomed on this topic

Finally, as the topic of this post related to America and money markets, I heard something interesting which I wanted to share on here. Most of my thoughts recently have been on shifting from the US to India, and the financial implication of doing so, however even with a weak dollar and a struggling economy, there is no shortage of demand for immigrants coming into the US, especially from India. With the recently updated Immigration Policy, they number of Visa holders have been cut in half, and it is damn competitive to get to the US from India. Some of the factors that go under review is having a minimum balance in the bank of 30 lakh rupees. (3 million rupees, or about $76,000). You might be aware that due to high taxation in India, most of the wealth people have is hidden in black money. Those that don't have 30 lakh's to show can't get a visa, and therefore a form of bridge financing was introduced in the banking system. Originating from private investors, who would float the money to show the required balance during the time of immigration, legal banks have started doing this, recognizing it as a profitable business. The customers are willing to pay something like 30,000 rupees for this service, or $760 (1% interest) for this short term loan, to reach the land of dreams. For those who qualify though, the competition has become so high, that there is a lottery system to pick who actually gets a visa, and the $200 dollars spent on a visa application is non refundable. Perhaps these Indians will start making threats like the Chinese to switch to euro's eventually, or instead stick around and build enterprises here in the motherland. Schools like Indian School of Business (ISB) make a good argument to continue grad school here in India rather than going abroad to study like in the past. I n fact, American schools like Harvard are opening branches here itself in Hyderabad. It will be very interesting to see what happens in the upcoming years with immigration, education, and spending/selling dollars.


-Jason

"Woman Like a Man"

I met some of the worst Indian gangsters, street thugs, and criminals the other day. It was a really awkward encounter, as it happened at 8am outside the Imax theatre. I had met some friends for a treasure hunt, which is actually a race around Hyderabad that an automobile company organized, where 100's of cars drove around finding clues, solving them, and racing to a final destination where they would be awarded something close to $5,000. My friend, a real estate agent invited me, and I thought that with my wit and his knowledge of the city, we might stand a chance. Needless to say, we only made it 8 out of the 10 stops before giving up and spending the afternoon at the water park resort.

The morning started on a very bad note, which I blame for our lack of concentration and stamina throughout the contest. Standing outside the theatre, a sudden commotion presented itself on our group. I only knew the fellow that invited me, but we were joined by a crew of 3 other guys, which under any other circumstance I would have felt comfortable to defend me in a fight. You learn a lot about people after just meeting them, and sharing such a confrontational experience with them, and watching them react. That is one thing I have learned in my travels...

This particular morning, the confrontation that took place was initiated by what the locals call "Hijaras," or Eunuchs. To make a long story short, the belief is that these castrated men wearing saris have special powers which when used to curse someone who does not pay them money upon request, giving bad fortune to the cursed recipient. Most of these Eunuchs were born as men, but it is believed that some were actually born without male of female genitalia . The process of castration is something I would rather not discuss here, but if you would like to read about the origins of this community, please feel free at your leisure.

These people roll around town in groups, like gangs and harass the people that are frightened of them. They are some of the wealthiest people in town, earning something close to $100k per year supposedly. They have such a strong network, that they know about every wedding and child birth in town, and show up on the day of the family celebration and cause a ruckus, singing and dancing and disturbing the event until they are payed to leave. When this source of revenue is not enough, they just stroll around town, stopping cars, or approaching random folks, like the group I was with, and demand payment. When they are unsatisfied with the payment, or the response in general, they rudely flash their missing genitals, curse and touch the person in the most uncomfortable ways you can think of.

I have heard and seen these people before. They are rumored to have the strength or 3 men, being build like bulls, but as feminine as Martha Stewert. When the group of 5 of them approached us, I considered several ways I could react. I thought about my uncle in Canada, who told me he once got so irritated that he hit one in the face, and ran away. I thought about my friend, Ian, who usually handles situations like this in an effective manner, and decided he would probably do the same. We were being watched by a group of 50 or 60 people outside the park, who were mostly amused my my facial expressions at the time. As I prepared to go Oscar Del-D'Mello on a particular enu-thug, I looked at the guys faces around me, as they helplessly gave up the money being asked. I was shocked to see one of these Hijaras' grab a $20 bills from my friends wallet, and him just stand still. Fear is something the face never hides.

I gave these people 20 rupees, hoping that it would suffice. It just got them to bother me more. I decided that there was probably a good explanation why the men around me were so frightened, however I refused to pay out anymore, and ignored them until they finally left. Luckily one of the other guys gave them 700 rupees so they left. Their 10 minutes of harassment earned them the equivalent of $40. That is $240 per hour....the rate of a decent lawyer. (I know a few lawyers who might get along with these people)

I held back a lot of insults to the guys around me for their reaction to the situation, as they explained to me that they genuinely fear the curses that the Hijaras' put on them. Furthermore, they explained that if we were to put up a fight, the 50 - 60 people around us would have sided with the Hijaras and it would have been, as my friend Ian likes to say, "A really bad scene." They were upset they lost so much money, but glad the the 3000 rupees in my wallet was safe. That is the part of the Indian mentality that has really touched me, the people who care more for their guests welfare than their own, even when money is involved.

A part of me wants to make a documentary on this community....It is really fascinating how they exist, and profit from human fear. The sad thing is that since they can't reproduce, in many cases little boys are kidnapped and forced into this lifestyle. Some people also believe that since a homosexual lifestyle in India is prohibited, this is the alternative many young confused men seek. Young men are said to save up for months for the operation to join the community in some places, and it is estimated that the total population of these "girly men" is over one million people. They are arguably India's "Third Gender."

1 Month Left in Hyderabad

My time is nearly up here, but the adventure seems to only be beginning. I had a lot of concerns about coming out to India for this project, many people have spoke quite negatively about working with Indian vendors, including even many Indians I spoke with. Some of the challenges were there when we started, but we found ways to work around them, and create a unique dynamic that seems to be working. Check out the office...

[The Office]

[Front of the Office]

[My receptionist Yaswanthi]



[Inside the US Embassy of Hyderabad]

[The Lounge]

[Marketing Dept]



[Engineering Dept]

[Sitting with the directors of Threshold -Bharath, Ram, Shiva, Nevine, Prashanth, and Ramu]

Business and money aside, I was very honored that they would think about inviting me to their hometown of Tirupati. This weekend is Diwali, the biggest festival in India, and everyone gets together with their families to celebrate the festival of lights. I grew up participating in dances at the Diwali function in Kalamazoo, much to my displeasure and my mothers amusement of forcing me to wear strange costumes, and involve myself in silly dance moves on stage while hundreds of Indians in the audiences clapped and whistled to their favorite songs.

At the time I was petrified of the whole thing, imagining what my American friends would say if they saw me like that, but today I am thankful I was forced to do it. Now, instead of wearing a costume, practicing dance moves for months, collecting a trophy and hiding any picture/video that could tie me to such an event, I am going to be joining 30,000 daily pilgrims along with the 5 founding members of my partnering company to one of the most beautiful parts of India to celebrate it in a small town with the local people. It should be a wild experience, and I am trying to prepare myself to adjust to any situation that might present itself to me, as every day is going to be something brand new for me.

I am anxious to meet the families of the men I work with. They have been raised to be outstanding gentleman, who truly care about each other and show a level of friendship which we do not see too often in the US. They all are roommates, business partners, and best friends, and I have felt the extension of this friendship through this thoughtful gesture of inviting me to Tirupati. It was nice enough for them to invite me to play on their cricket team. The 6 of us are usually good for 1 or 2 jokes each day, which really makes the environment in the office fun. I brought some trail mix to the office yesterday, which my mom had brought from the US. I offered this to a few people, saw a favorable response to the new food, and decided to walk around and offer some of the snack to the 20 some people in the office. It was damn amusing to see their reactions to the various mix or nuts, fruits and candy. One of the larger men in the office got the biggest laugh when he snatched the bag away from my hands when I offered him a handful. I finally had to tell him that he could get sick from too much trail mix, so that I could get some of the bag back. A mild mannered and entertaining fellow, he had the entire office hysterical with laughter at the time. I have noticed that remarks about peoples weight in the office is not offensive here, as its usually he first observation someone makes about you when meeting.

I have a pretty clever Diwali gift up my sleeve for the office, which I am working on getting. The season is very similar to Christmas, as many people exchange presents with friends and families. This morning, to start the celebration in the office, we had a pooja. The people in the office welcomed me to participate in the tradition, and I was given my first red dot on the forehead, drank coconut water, and was showered with flower petals on my hair. Very interesting way to spend a Monday morning in the office. They seemed thankful that I joined them without any hesitation. Enjoy the pictures coming soon....

-Jason

Back from Bombay

I spent a week in Bombay, read Shantaram again, and dreamed about the side of the city I will probably never see, besides the Johnny Depp production of the book, under the direction of Mira Nair, and starring Johnny, Amitabh Bachchan, and possibly Shilpa Shetty.

It was great catching up with family again. I truly appreciate the place each time I visit, not because of anything except the good people.

Some good people in Hyderabad who invited me to their house gifted me the book "In Spite of the God's: The Strange Rise of Modern India." I am looking forward to reading that, as it is supposed to be a book that "illuminates a land of many contradictions." After seeing the lecture on the "Games Indians Play" this book sounds damn interesting.

Google's stock closed at over $700 today. They are also going head on with Facebook, in an interesting move to build an open social platform that all social networks can use. I hope that TheWedLink will be able to be incorporated into this. Things are going well with our progress out here, and I saw parts of the site working today as they will when we launch, which was really exciting.

This weekend will be filled with extra hours in the office. Next week is Diwali, so we need to work ahead before the holiday begins. There is a slight chance I might travel to Dubai next weekend, but for the most part I think I will stay in Hyderabad. Sunday I am doing a scavenger hunt around the city with my buddies Sainik and Kirthi. Should be a good way to see the city, it ends with lunch and drinks at some resort just outside of town. My absence for 5 days has been received by my daily contacts quite surprisingly. I actually felt missed, coming back today and having all the folks at the gym question me about not coming for so long, thinking I had already moved home without saying goodbye. 1 Month left in Hyderabad, much more to do.

-Jason

Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm

Indian Karaoke is something that will always be dear to my anglo-indian/goan heart.

A few years back, joined by uncle in Karaoke bar in Bandra (Bombay) I serenaded the prettiest girl in the watering hole that night, to a tune which Tom Cruise brilliantly lip sang in a bar...."You've Lost That Loving Feeling"- Righteous Brothers. The duet was a hit, and the delivery couldn't have gone better. Like George in Seinfeld's "The Burning", I decided to leave on a high note, and avoid the Japanese custom, which is translated to "empty orchestra," for nearly 3 years, following Jerry's advice: "Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and
walk off......That's the way they do it in Vegas."

Tonight, after being invited out to Hyderabad's own "Ten Downing Street" - TDS as the locals call it, I was forced to take the mic up one more time. It may have been a pretty site, but it sounded awful. I was not too thrilled about singing karaoke without a wing man, my uncle in Bombay fills that void without a problem, but tonight, none of my table guests were willing to humiliate themselves. So I took the plunge alone, requested the song I knew I could win the people's hearts with....after all the original singers of the song overdosed on Cocaine in a hotel in my hometown of Kalamazoo not too long ago - the least I could do was sing their song in my new home of Hyderabad.

The problem with Karaoke lay not in the vocalist, I am convinced. I can sing along to any song I know on the radio without missing a beat, maybe a few notes here and there if it is a Mariah Carey song, but I am confident that I can hold my own. No, my problem with this skill is having to adjust to video of a song when the timing of the highlighted words go off. Totally throws of my perception, and my sense of tone in consequence, resulting in sounds I would not wish upon anyone. That is exactly what happened tonight. There is nothing worse as a karaoke artist, than when the song starts skipping. At least the chorus came and I regained my composure leaving the song with some dignity, but I was secretly hurting inside....My street cred from Bombay 2 years back was no longer.

Some commentary on the night otherwise. The song selections were quite funny. Mostly slow love songs like "Lady in Red" and "Dream Dream Dream." A few of my favorite songs, that have played in Indian parties without a fail for the past 20 years included "Coma coma coma coma coma Chameleon, they come and go, they come and go oh oh oh." and "Give me Hope, Johanna"

One of the fellows in this pub tonight was heavy into gangster rap. He rapped the Puff Daddy part over Stings"Watching you" even though they monitor did not display them. He busted out 50 cent's "In The Club." Alanis Morresette's annoying voice has plagued me in every bar since getting to India, and tonight, although her voice was replaced with some British woman's, it just made things worse. I loathe the song "Ironic"



To conclude the night recap, I admit that I was not as considerate as I could have been been. My guilty feet walked me over to a man with no rhythm and stole the mic away for the last song of Karaoke at TDS. In tribute to my friend back in the US, who worships George Michaels, and has been known to rock the song "Careless Whisper," I hijacked the stage and put some much needed soul into this classic. I believe George Michael has gone down a tough road recently, a few trips to prison in addition to his semi tarnished reputation overall. I still think we owe him a thank him, at least a mach3, for sharing this song with us. I want to believe that the crowd at TDS thanked me for sharing the song I selfishly stole from another with them tonight. The highlight was when the host of the night did a memorable harmonizing bit with me at the end during the words "now that your gone."

I believe that I did redeem myself tonight from the earlier performance, leaving the night on top, like Costanza. It will take a lot of convincing for me to change this status, and take the mic again, but then again I am off to Bombay tomorrow.

Carelessly,

Jason

The Games Indians Play

The Games Indians Play

I continued the Expat experience tonight by attending an event hosted by TEA (Twin City Expat Association) The evening was spent in a gated community, called Whisper Valley. I came to know from a friend who's uncle built the subdivision that this was the first gated community in the entire country.

The speaker at tonight’s event, V Raghunathan gave a brilliant presentation on the Indian mentality. His book, “The Games Indians Play” appears to be an economic study of the Indian mentality, using concepts from game theory and the prisoner’s dilemma to explain why things are done the way they are here. He claims not to be a reformist, however his book is meant to inspire change of his people, so that Indian's can be a true force internationally.

He pointed out that many of the problems India faces, including corruption, water supply, garbage removal, and a general distrust from international trade is because of short sightedness as well as not enforcing public policy. He claims that Indians in general are very intelligent, however they make decisions that will benefit them in the immediate future, versus for long term satisfaction. He used the example of game of chess, and the difference between lightning chess and the conventional form of the game. In a fast paced chess match, the players only consider a few moves ahead, while in a slow, conventional form of the game, moves are thought out several steps in advance. While this mentality is good for the individual, he claimed that it has very negative consequences for the larger population.

Without going into too much detail about the various examples he spoke of, all which I have seen here first hand, I would encourage you to read this book. He is a very intelligent, highly articulate speaker, and his words really hit home for me tonight. One of the more humorous parts of the talk was discussing an insurance company in Bombay for people who ride the train. There is an actual company that charges a small fee per customer who ride the trains in Bombay, for the unusual situation where they are caught riding the train without a ticket. This insurance company will pay the fine for the illegal rider. Since the enforcement of this policy is so poor, the insurance company makes out with a profit, as they rarely pay out, and the riders get extremely cheap transportation, as their monthly insurance fees are much less than the cost of the ride. Take that on for size State Farm.

Tonight’s talk got me really interested in Game Theory. An example was given which talked about a hypothetical case where Bill Gates decides to give away $1 billion to a lucky person. The method for giving this money away is a strange one however, and involves writing letters to 20 people around the world. The letter congratulates each recipient as being one of the only 20 people considered for this donation. The recipients are given a list of 3 steps on how they will be able to receive the $1 billion.

Step1: Write back to Mr. Bill Gates, to inform him that you would like to receive the money.

Step2: Do not attempt to contact or track down any of the other 19 recipients. If you attempt to make such efforts, Gate’s team will find out and you will be disqualified.

Step3: You must be the only person to write back to Bill Gates. If any of the other 19 people, even just 1 other person writes a response, no one will receive the prize.


This dilemma is a curious one, as it is highly unlikely that Bill Gates will have to part with the money. Human tendency suggests that each person will likely take the chance of mailing a response, as they have nothing to lose by doing so. At an individual level, they are satisfied with this, as they would rather attempt to receive the prize than to let someone else get it by deciding to not send a response. They are all equally as intelligent in this scenario, and would rather screw the entire group over, than be screwed over themselves, by letting just 1 person write a response and receive the prize. So, what to do in this situation?

V Raghunathan tonight suggested that if each of the 20 recipients put 20 numbers in a bowl, guessing a number which if picked out at random would be the only way they would write back to Mr. Gates, the entire group would have a 38% chance of getting the prize, and at the end of the day the money would be donated rather than retained by Bill Gates.

I found this very interesting. He claimed that this mentality starts to explain the Nuclear arms build up between India and Pakistan, it explains how everyone is in a hurry here, even in holy temples causing fights, the frequency of running red lights and disregarding traffic laws, the low water pressure from everyone getting water pumps, eventually bringing the water pressure back to the origin, before the first guy discovered he could use his own water pump, only to be followed by his neighbor and their neighbor and so on and so forth.

Perhaps it explains why I got in a shouting match with the owner of Paradise restaurant, coincidentally the best Biryani in town. I ordered a Mutton Biryani for my driver, and 2 naans and Chicken Tikka Masala for myself. I heard my order called out and went to claim it, but was told I was in the wrong part of the restaurant. (They called the area “parcel pick up.” Ten minutes later a Muslim man, with a cigar in his mouth came up to me and took my receipt, bringing me back just the mutton biryani. When I asked him about the rest of the order, he pointed to my receipt saying that was all I had. I told him I had certainly ordered more food, and had payed 3x what the receipt was showing. The cashier came over to see what the fuss was about, and denied that I had payed him 200 rupees, which really took the cake. The owner pulled me aside, and insulted me, accusing me of trying to cheat the restaurant, and even taking my receipt from inside the dining hall and trying to use it to get free takeaway. I was outraged, and started to lose my temper, which is not a good thing, when just then a delivery boy called out my order again, “One Chicken Tikka Masala, one Mutton Biryani, and two Naan’s. Since it was an unusual order, it was quite obvious it was mine, as I had pleaded with him the previous 10 minutes that I had ordered that very combination. He finally gave in, gave me my food, and without apologizing for insulting me, told me “Sir, this is the system here, get used to it.” I held back every inclination I had of dumping the chicken tikka on his head and knocking that god damn cigar out of his mouth, and choked out the words, “No worries, it happens.” After all, this place does make the best biryani in town.

I think this was a good case of the Indian mentality, always assuming someone is trying to screw them over. Tit for tat, V Raghunathan called it, when people only remember their last encounter with someone, and make the decision to either cooperate, or defect for future dealings. This restaurant owner probably dealt with people trying to get free food from him, the place is always packed, and they do tremendous business, likely get ripped off once and a while by receipt scams. Guilty till proven innocent in a way, was the way I was treated. No “The Customer is always right” thoughts go on in food establishment like this. Perhaps, he was trying to defect on his deal with me recognizing my foreign accent, just like the cowardly chicken 65 guy. We will see what happens next time I go to Paradise, I think I am going to start sending my driver to pick up my food, these encounters are eventually going to end in something bad.

I don’t remember if I mentioned this, but I rehired Satyam. He showed me his wife's medical history, which couldn't have been faked since it traced back with official stamps over 7 years, it was quite depressing to see. I trusted that his owner had screwed him over in the deal, the demand is just not high enough to pay guys like Satyam a decent salary to be a driver anymore. I am paying the difference, and even loaned him 2000 rupees so that he could buy new clothes for his family for the current festival, a 10 day celebration where there are a few days you are supposed to wear only new outfits when joining your friends and family in celebration. His wife’s hospital bills made it impossible for him to do this, and I could see the regret in his eyes when he asked me for the money. He is far too old for this life of a driver, he has shown me moments of loyalty, such as when I left my wallet in the car going to subway, and had to cross the busy street to get back to it. Within seconds, he noticed my uneasiness of crossing the street and came running out with the wallet, telling me not to move, and confidently walking across the street to get it to me. After I finished my meal of two 6inch chicken tikka subs (they don’t sell foot longs here, and have different counters for veg and non veg orders), Satyam ran out once again and cross the road with me, standing between me and the coming traffic. It was a gesture, though small, that meant a lot to me, and made me thankful I brought him back.

Now, I want to pose a question to you Americans back home. Why is our economy so bad? This was asked to me by a Belgian guy at the Expat mixer. He got very passionate about the subject matter, and American’s over consumption, spending money they don't have, and starting wars with countries for no reason etc. He started yelling about it to me at this event, perhaps for excess alcohol consumption, and I reminded him that he was standing on a patio of a majority American population and that he might want to take it easy. It was uncomfortable for us both, I agreed with his dislike of the Bush regime, but also reminded him that he has never been the US, and shouldn’t generalize the entire population of people from the little information he has. He felt really bad about his venting, and apologized to me. I told him there was no need for an apology, I am certainly not a politically correct person, and I appreciated his honesty, though unrefined, over fakeness and insincerity. I am starting to have an identify crisis though, as I don’t want to be associated as just another American as its not the best reputation to have internationally (found that out immediately during my stay in Europe), I am not accepted yet as an Indian, and for the most part am cool with that as I feel like a jack ass for not knowing the mother tongue. On top of this I was told by my cousin in Australia that I have developed a strange Indian accent through my 2 months here so far. As my Uncle Ferdie nicknamed me 2 years ago in Middlesex, England, perhaps I am just The Wanderer.

-Jason

Some people back home call me Mowgli

After the booze cruise, I took a few days of seclusion to do something completely random. I left the dust filled city and spent the day in the wild. I left Hyderabad at 4am for the temple of Lord Shiva in Srisailam and had no idea was to be in store for me. All I knew was that I had my trusted friends, Sainik and Sumpath, who we call Pilot (he is a pilot) at my side to experience this adventure.

Hours earlier, I was doing the booze cruise, getting back in touch with a side of me I thought I left in NYC, but before the sun could rise, I remembered where I was, and had a thrill of the path I was heading on. I have never spent more than a few hours at a time in a car in India, so this 6 hour trip really put me in my place. There was no more need for AC, as we were cruising with the windows down at a hot pace of 55mph, by far the fastest I have gone in a car here. I have no idea why Indian highways are full of speedbumps, or why the roads don't give warning when approaching one.


The original plan was to leave the night before and not drive at 5am, but we found out that a 3 hour strip of the road is closed down after 6pm every day. Why would a major highway from one of the largest cities in the world to such a holy place visited by thousands of pilgrims shut down after sunset? Any guesses?

How about Tigers, Elephants, Sloth Bears, and tribals -yes, vicious tribals. Communist ones.

This week I made my way into the back country of India, the jungle. My friend Jake Thayer once nicknamed me Mowgli on a camping trip in Michigan, after I climbed a tree, and swung from a hose ties to it into a lake we were canoeing on. The name sort of just stuck with our friends, and though some might be offended by such a name, I sort of took pride in it, as I used to watch The Jungle book daily between the ages of 4-7.



Similar to the book, the Indian Jungle has a sense of mystery and uncertainty to it. I couldn't help but let my mind imagine how many dangers presently lay in store for me. I must say, that the thought of it it is a bit of a natural high. We jumped off the main road when we saw our first tiger. This 30 footer symbolized the entrance of a road that would eventually take us into the deepest part of the jungle any man had gone before. (at least in my mind) I grabbed my battery-deprived camera, took a picture with the animal statue, hoped it was the closest I would get to the real thing, and jumped into the the SUV cleverly named "Tiger Patrol."

As we speed deeper and deeper away from the Tata Indica, and into land never traveled before by a westerner I started seeing monkey's all over the place. These monkey's look a bit sick, red faced, shameless, and not as smart as the monkey's I hear about. They will steal your watch if you aren't careful though. After about 10 minutes of staring into the trees, hoping to see some orange, we came across another SUV. This vehicle had been abandoned for several hours. I looked around for traces of human life, a turban or some chuppels (sandals) at least but found nothing of the sort. Of course, it was well explained to the group in Telegu that the vehicle ran out of gas the night before, and the passengers had to walk 3 miles in the Jungle, right at the 6pm closing time to get back to the road. With God's good graces, Shere khan did not have these people for dinner, and they survived. We grabbed a tank of water from the car and continued our conquest.

I have heard of dangerous tribals, who decide toreject civilian life, and organize terrorist attacks that kill tourists. They run highly profitable smuggling businesses and constantly plot to take over Indian politics. These people are frequently sent to their maker by the many snakes and predators in the jungle. We rode by the Nazim's hunting getaway house and soon made it to the most beautiful view in Andra Pradesh. We were standing next to a house that looked like an ancient artifact of the region, looking out at miles of jungle thousands of feet below us.

Then I noticed our vehicle was no where in site. Perhaps the driver felt the obligation to run an errand while I was on a Tiger Safari, leaving me and my friends out to dry if we were lucky enough to see what we had come to see. The only thing that helped our chances was that there were only 6 known tigers in the region. The tiger population here is unfortunately nearly extinct.

We played around this ruined house for a while, waiting for the driver to return. I felt more secure being 40 ft in the air, without a ledge or sturdy floors than I did on the ground with the reptiles and man eating cats below me. I did get weak in the knees at one point, and decided it was best to avoid such a silly fatality, and get back down to earth and take my chances with nature. Nature vs Nurture, Nature always wins. (Wedding Crashers)

Finally the car showed up, and we got in. My Telegu tour guide told us that the house used to be a guest house for tourists, because of the beautiful view, but the local tribals decided to bomb it only 3 years ago. I was shocked. These people were still around, and I am just glad I didn't do anything to draw their attention today.

Unfortunately/Fortunately The ride back was tiger-less. We did see more monkey's and even a group of deer, who had no fear of human interaction. Eventually made it to the temple. It is customary to remove shoes and I burned the most of the nerves off my feet during the 4k walk on black pavement to get there from the car. I was a bit ticked off to see that I was one of the few people to remove my shoes, as there was a local business that stored your shoes for you when you went inside the temple. The walk back proved to be worse, but I refused a piggy back ride from my 130lb driver.

The temple was fascinating, a lot of things going on. Long lines - you can't escape crowds in India unless you decide to take mother nature on a date. The temple was built in the 1500's, part of it was completely made of gold, and people were offering all of their hair on their head to the Lord Shiva in prayer. I have never seen so many bald men and women in one place. I was asked to shave my head, but I didn't think it would be a good look for me at this point of my life. Apparently the hair collected at this temple, and others especially in Tirupati is a huge business for trade with Europe and the West. The temple in Tirupati collects a ridiculous amount of money ($300 million per year) through offerings made by the 20 million hindu pilgrims. For a business with very little overhead, its surprisingly a global phenomenon, started in the 60's. The money is used for public affairs, people in Tirupati get a free place to stay for one night on their trip.

My first trip to a Hindu temple was met with a violent encounter. 2 Men got in a fight in the temple over their spot in line, starting hitting and pushing each other. I don't understand everyone's hurry. I live by the words in the movie Goodfella's : "Pauli might have moved slow, but that was just because Pauli didn't have to move for anyone.

I really enjoyed the beauty of India today, risked my neck, kept my hair and spent some time with the guys, who just enjoy their religious get aways from time to time. Beats the cement jungle any day.


-Mowgli

Hyderabad Booze Cruise

Hello,

First of all, for anyone that has been avidly reading my blog, I apologize. I have become totally infatuated with this city called Hyderabad, and have forgotten all about you.

That aside, tonight, I remembered you. Amid the collar popping, 3 open button down wearing, skirt flaunting, and snoop dog playing "drop it like its hot" crowd, I found you. I missed you.

Tonight I went on a fantastic, yes fantastic booze cruise.



Days before I was lucky to get sunburned to a crisp watching India play Australia in cricket.

Forget Snakes, Im dealing with Buffalo, Lizards, Stray Dogs, Cheetah's and Commercialism

As we speak, I have just had an intense confrontation with a guest in my humble abode. While watching the movie Hyderabad Blues, (more on this later) my eyes left the brilliant screen on my macbook for just a moment and landed on a reptile scaling my walls ever so suspiciously. The lizard, which was about a foot long, moved from one side of the room to the other before I could conclude my pathetic reaction. The fact that I had headphones on, probably contributed to the volume, but all I could think about the whole time was "Snake." After consulting with a friend back in the US, who this room actually belongs to, I realized that I was under no threat of attack from the creature, and it would probably produce the same results as a night of taking my malaria tablets. Nonetheless, there was no way I could fall asleep with this stranger hiding behind my clock tonight, my Malaria pills main side effect involve some of the strangest, most vivid dreams I have experience.

Funny enough, this was my second encounter with a new animal. This morning, I went to my car, and was approached by 2 solid looking buffalo. These animals definitely own the road here, and they are not intimidated of humans. They in fact will nudge a gate of a house open, and make their way right into living area. See below.






I will try post a picture of the gang of dogs that usually hangs out in this area. They also pose a threat, as they roll 6 or 7 deep. Stray dogs are all over the place here.

Yesterday I saw two fellows riding camels passing by a store that said Kamel on it. I was so close to getting the picture, but unfortunately an Autorick got in my way just as I was able to get my camera ready. Just a few blocks from there, and my office, supposedly a wild cheetah found its way onto the streets and attacked numerous civilians. I have been suspicious that one of the early morning noises might be coming from a large cat in the jungle, potentially a Cheetah. I started going on my terrace with a camera to try to get a better look on what is going on there, but haven't had much luck, will keep you posted though if this changes.

I see a lot of similarities with this place, and the cement jungle I was living in a few months ago.

Here is a picture of a mall I went to yesterday.


Probably not what you expected.

I felt like I was back at Crossroads Mall back home, and in fact spent a good amount of time in the Crossroads Bookstore, buying Indian Magazine among other books to entertain myself out here with. I was shocked to find an Indian Maxim. Someone had ripped the plastic covering off, so I was able to give it a read, and I must say, that Maxim India and the world I have seen in Hyderabad are nothing alike. There was nothing glocal about this magazine, except the women posing in the famous layouts were all Indian, and the riske articles written were by and for Indians, though in a tone not too far from home for an American like myself. Interesting read.

While at the mall I saw a TV similar to the HD TV I purchased before coming out here, but had to leave it with a friend because it exceeded my 50lb luggage limit. (and other things) It was listed as over $6,000, over 3x the price I payed for it. There is definitely a lot of purchasing power in this city, as even a microwave here costs +$200. Gas is way more expensive than the U, and I believe my phone and Internet costs are more when compared. Brands here carry more power than I think they do back home. A mixture of US, UK, and local brands, this mall was a logo overload for me. It was nice not having pushy salesmen in my face for once though. The highlight of the evening was spotting the infamous dollar store on the 3rd floor. I had a good laugh over that, and considered trying to buy something with my American currency.

There is about a 200% markup on tickets for the cricket match here on Friday between India and Australia. The 15,000 tickets were sold out in hours, as people slept outside the ticket office for nights waiting to get them. They are all on sale on the black market now, and range anywhere from $3 - $100. Apparently the commissioner of the stadium hot some heat from the media, as the stadium actually seats 30,000, but he had decided to reserve 15,000 seats for corporate sponsors. Today, a good portion of those tickets were instead put back on the market for the general public. I have decided to not go, as I think the game will be rained out, no refunds/make up matches here.

I referred to a movie called Hyderabad Blues earlier. It was not well done, and I may decide to write a post on it when I get heavy into my Bollywood movie reviews. All you should know about it, is its about an Indian from America, comes back to Hyderabad, hates the customs and traditions, gets pressured into marriage non stop, falls in love, yada yada yada. My only reason for bringing this up, is that the role played was the exact role which could have introduced me to Bollywood. All I need is one English speaking role, where I can utilize my pure American accent, while showcasing my extremely refined dance steps. Surely I can actor better than the ass clown that tried to be an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) in Hyderabad Blues.

Bollywood movies watched so far....

1. Sarkar
2. Company
3. Corporate
4. Being Cyrus
5. Lagaan
6. Dil Chahta Hai
7. Don
8. Page 3
9. Swades*
10. Lakshya
11. Hyderabad Blues

Swades, also a story about an Indian coming back to his motherland from the US, is much better than Hyderabad Blues. I will look into writing short reviews for these movies and others I will be studying during my self education of Indian cinema, perhaps better suited for a separate blog altogether.

-Jason

The Archived Archives.

Today I remembered this blog while telling someone about the wedding crashing story in Bombay back in 2005. I have been unable to access this blog, as Google took over and it was a bit of a challenge to find my old account info to transfer. (I forgot my password) Having recently been much more focused and dedicated to my latest writing project, "A Hyderabadass," I have decided to resurrect this tale of my early 20's, when I first started my adventure of traveling the world and learning about international business.

Nostalgically,

Jason

Three Conclusions

Today I spent some time gathering my thoughts on my time so far in India, glanced over the +10,000 words I have written about this trip so far, and came to a few conclusions.

1) I have spent too much time worrying/writing about my driver, Satyam.
2) I have not spent enough time talking about the good people I have met here in Hyderabad.
3) I have spent just enough time talking about cricket.

Though you may disagree with the third conclusion, I will not budge, I love the game. Out of fairness to #2, that is all I will mention about it in this post however.

#1
About Satyam. He left me when I needed him the most. He saw my vulnerability, my dependence on him, and I have a deep suspicion that he tried to take advantage of my generosity and gullibility. We had a good run, him and I, but I have moved on to a new driver, one who speaks no English, bangs on my door half an hour earlier than our scheduled pick up time, mysteriously takes off during lunch leaving me stranded, and up until today had no number for me to reach him at. I haven't learned his name, and I am ok with it. I am still recovering from the trauma with Satyam.

The story in a nutshell is that Satyam possibly doesn't even have any kids, or a wife in the hospital, or the history of hardships I patiently listened to during our 3 hours/day. My suspicion for this deception was caused by events that took place last week, when he told me that a new driver would be filling in for a few days, because he had a family emergency. His first explanation was that his wife's sister had some problems with her scholarship money not going through at her college, she needed him to talk to the head master of the school. The next day, when my friend was in the car, he told some story about a bomb threat at the school, and having to go and help his sister in law. A few days later, after the new driver started, I received a call from Satyam, telling me he was not coming back. His story was that the owner of the car payed him less than what was promised, and since the new driver is able to work for less, he refused to pay Satyam what was originally promised.

Now, I don't know the truth of this story. It has taken a toll on me this week. I did have compassion for Satyam's situation, and wanted to find a way to help him out. I'm extremely suspicious that he is lying to me though, as his story doesn't add up, for why he took those few days off. I overlooked him being late 2-3 times a week, causing me to be late for meetings at my job. I overlooked him asking me for undeserving tips after I had been tipping him above normal expectation, he did buy me motivational posters for my office. But one thing I can't overlook is dishonesty. Therefore, if I get confirmation that his payment was fair, and he was not promised anything more, I will bid farewell to my first friend in Hyderabad. If his story checks out, I'm prepared to assist in helping him retain his promised salary, out of goodwill. I just don't know what to believe out here, since discovering how the Chicken 65 fellow had been ripping me off this whole time.

#2
Outside the streets and traffic of the city, and inside the homes of the Hyderabadi's you will find some of the warmest people on the planet. From reading this blog so far you might think otherwise, but I tell you now that i have only told a part of the story out here. There have been few places in the world I have been in my many travels that had such people, who truly define the word host. I found families that took me in in as a stranger in New Zealand, London, San Francisco, being the wanderer that I am, and today have ended up being people I now consider family. The family in Hyderabad is looking to follow similar suite.


I am staying with a family that is polar opposites of mine, even here in India, but still shares the qualities which make my visits here so memorable. They talk about their family with such pride, share pictures and memories of loved ones no longer around, and have done things to imply that I too, am now part of their family.



After spending much time to myself over the holiday, reading my design books and playing my guitar, I decided to come down to warm up some left over Biryani, since I haven't bought a microwave yet. (Haven't needed to with all the amazing meals being shared with me by this family) Rather than just an express microwave session, I was urged to sit down for dinner at their table, eat the leftovers after insisting I didn't want Aunty to take any trouble, but then being served some of the best tasting French Toast that she had waited since morning to give me. She told me how much her sons loved this meal, and told me that she considered me like a son, and I was deeply touched, while at the same time regretful for not coming down earlier. It is a weird dynamic for me, after having lived alone so long. I try to get by on my own, and avoid having other people fuss over me, but in this case, I am starting to realize that my attitude needs to change. Although I might feel bad about how much trouble Aunty takes over me, perhaps she feels bad when I don't let her take the trouble, the times I insist I can't have breakfast because I am late for work, or come home having already eaten dinner. The other day, she asked me if she could mix my rice with the pickle, a south Indian delicacy. First reaction might have been to refuse, as it is a bit uncomfortable, but feeling her warmth, I said OK. With a big smile, she mixed the food with her hands for me, explaining how this kind of food can only be enjoyed when mixed like this. It was true, the food tasted much better after she mixed it.

Yesterday, after my meal, I hooked up this family's new DVD player for them, as they wanted to show me a DVD of a recent family wedding. My 5 minute microwave voyage soon turned into a 3 hour evening, sharing memories and laughs with both Uncle and Aunty. The neighbors, who are renting a house from them have 2 young boys, same age difference as my brother and me. Out of coincidence, they have also moved here from the US, but their family is originally from Hyderabad. The older boy has taken a liking to me, and was very proud to help me with the DVD installation project. The younger boy, who is full of mischief but very fond of both Uncle and Aunty was also fascinated with what was going on. Perhaps my American accent reminded them of their home in California. Their mother told me that they admire me, and wonder where I am all day while I am in the office. Really nice family. Uncle's commentary on the little mischievous one is very amusing, and they both light up when around each other.




After the evening, Uncle asked me if I could come home early the next day (today) to go out to eat. I soon came to know that the occasion was Aunty's birthday. I left the office earlier than usual today, picked up some flowers, and fought traffic to make it home by 7. Soon after, the energy in the room became kinetic, as 2 new faces entered, with a camera, excitement, and bubbly personalities. They were the parents of Aunty's daughter in law. Both Aunty's were like sisters, and throughout the new found chaos, I was grouped in the pictures just like family. It meant alot to me, and I enjoyed being around these people on a Thursday night, which in the past has been a prime bar night. A lot of the conversation that goes on is beyond me as Telugu and I are in a fierce battle right now. Every so often someone will repeat what is said in English. Sometimes I wish that I could have this ability in normal conversations back in the US, where I can just screen 90% of talk out, and have someone just repeat the most important/entertaining bits to me. At dinner, there was a young boy running around in a Kulta Pajama outfit, traditional indian clothes worn at weddings and other proper events. Being a stranger, and coming to our table, one of the Auntys picked him and embraced him, as family. I was astonished how this was completely acceptable over here, but in the US might have been cause for a lawsuit. The warmth here extends beyond the climate and the food. Non stop smiles, and humor that even my ignorant ears can pick up from the tone and friendliness coming from the speaker.

Today was a great day, and I have chosen not to comment on some of the political problems going on here, or the interesting news I have gathered that I want to share with you guys. I will save it for another day, as I am content with where I am right now,

-Jason

Bhangra Pictures

A few pictures from the post game celebration....GO INDIA!


















Australia is coming to play India next month in Hyderabad. I am trying to get tickets, but have heard its nearly impossible. Will keep you posted. Promise to write about other things instead of cricket coming this week...

-Jason

Preparing for War

Today this country went to war, and after a nail biting finish, came out victors of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup of Cricket. An emotional day, the city nearly shut down for it, and only 2 places in town were showing the game. I had the opportunity to watch the game with a great group of guys from Habsiguda, the area which I am staying. Tensions were felt early on, as the pub we chose by default only had one working tv and the only table we could sit at had a horrible view of the screen. The first play of a game was nearly a run out, India barely saved the wicket, and from then on I knew my blood pressure would be at risk for the next 4 hours. India batted in a modest 157 runs, which made my relatives in 3 different continents whom I spoke with at the break extremely nervous. Pakistan showed signs of early domination, but India stayed a threat by taking key wickets early on. The game came down to the last over, like most of these 20 over matches. Pakistan had only 10 runs to win off 6 balls, and hammered a six run boundary shot.

I made a mental note at that point that I would keep my cool if India lost, and started preparing myself for the disappointment, which seems to be ever present in the teams I choose to be a fan of. This was a bit different than my failing Cleveland Browns, or Chicago Cubs...This was my home. India doesn't have the reputation of being competitive athletes back in the US, so naturally to see them in the finals of a world cup tournament took pride to a new level. Just moments earlier, the place had been shaking with Bhangra music, chants in the native language for India to win, and the hardest high fives I have been associated with. The disappointed I have usually experienced in my days as a sports fan lingered in the back of my mind during all this, as it seemed to good to be true when India took the 9th wicket after slowing Pakistan's run rate to nearly 6 runs per over.

As it turns out, the very next ball, after my spirits had been weakened, India took the final wicket, catching a flyball. The place I was in, "On The Rocks" nearly crumbled, men continued to celebrate for an hour more, dancing Bhangra together and partying. The bar offered to buy everyone a round of drinks on the house, just as long as they closed out their bar tabs. My uncles who told me earlier they were preparing for war, celebrated in their respective locations. I danced with men I did not know, and felt no insecurity about it, as it was pure celebration, and something I needed after years of my teams letting me down. India was the last team anyone picked to win this tournament, and I hope that their success in South Africa, along with the reactions of the new style of the game will give cricket the support it needs to continue to grow.

I recently watched a Hindi movie called Lagaan, which was recommended to me by some relatives in Bombay. The movie is about a farming community in India 100's of years ago that were ruled under the British. After having their tax (lagaan) doubled by a corrupt British ruler, who was insulted by the refusal of his Indian subordinate to eat chicken (a vegetarian), a group of the Indian farmers were talked into playing the British army in a cricket match. If they won, they would be exempt of any taxes for 3 years, if they lost they would have to pay 3x the normal tax. The movie is an entertaining story about how these farmers learned the game, overcame adversary, and battled their abusive imperialist rulers. It had a "Mighty Ducks" feel to it at times, but there were moments where the filmmaker was able to brilliantly get an emotional response out of the viewer, such as a scene involving an "untouchable" being allowed to play with the rest, as his crippled arm became an asset in the form of a leg spin.

I thought about this movie many times during the match tonight. My recent focus on cricket in this blog is not because of the game itself, most of my fascination is with the fans. The national sport of India is actually field hockey, but cricket is what holds this country together. With corruption abound, misfortune in many aspects of life, exploitation, religious conflicts, and natural disasters, cricket allows for anyone to escape for a few hours, and put all thoughts aside and support your country. The streets were packed tonight with people cheering, riding on motorcycles waving the Indian flag, which I hear is the only time the flag ever comes out in the city. The mood will likely carry over to tomorrow's Ganesh Festival...The final day of the celebration where all the statues of the Elephant god will be immersed in the water.

I have heard of a place called Old City, which I have been cautioned to keep a safe distance from. Someone told me that it is rumored that Osama Bin Laden might hiding there, amid the 25% of the city living in poverty in narrow alley ways. Apparently tomorrow the crowds of people will pass through this heavily Muslim populated area, with the Ganesh statues, their drums, and red dye participating in the celebration. There has been a public warning of terrorism tomorrow, as a letter was delivered to the Chief of Police in Andra Pradesh. I am hoping that the day passes by without any disturbance or violence, and that all people here can enjoy their festivals, whether it is for Ganesh, Ramadan, or the celebration of cricketism, India's other religion.

The one disturbing part of the match for me was the post game interview. Pakistan's captain thanked the fans in Pakistan for their support, as well as all the Muslims around the world. I hope more people like me did not see this match as a religious battle. I am curious if people in India were cheering Pakistan on in this match. I know that I would never tolerate a fellow MSU spartan who was publicly a U of M fan during the epic college battles on the football field and basketball court. But, I don't really know much about or understand a lot of the conflict here, hopefully will gain more insight during the 4 months while keeping an open mind in the process.

Politics and religion aside on this one I hope, Lagaan was just a movie afterall. This game had 10,000 crores at stake though, and I heard something about gambling on sports here being illegal. I wonder if there was an Lagaan (tax) on any of those profits made.

Victoriously,

Jason

Monkey Noises

Its 6am Sunday morning, and all I wanted to say is that I was woken up, from a chaotic cluster of sounds from monkey's in the back yard jungle. Where am I?

Saturday night in Hyderabad

Picture this. It is Saturday evening and you are out. You are seated at a table with fine white table cloth with 2 red fancy clothes covering it. The place is surrounded with men in bow ties, mustaches, and with a genuine interest in serving you, so that you may enjoy your evening. They care not whether your tip is 15% or 20%, because in reality, they know it will likely be less than even 5% your expenditure at their place of employment this night. You take a sip of your Antiquity whiskey, take a bite of your deep fried vegetarian appetizer, and take a deep breath. Look around the room, you see nothing close to a resemblance of a woman, similar to the audience in a San Francisco Gentleman's club minus the staff. A man to the right of you is repeating an obnoxious phrase, over and over again. You look at him, and realize he is directing his words to you, the only fair skinned man in the room. You become tense, understanding that you could wipe the floor with this fellow if you so choose to, but the consequence of such actions might involve a mob of 30 or more men chasing you, some who might decide to use a sword in their favor. This man continues to taunt you. You've been a guest in his city for over month now, and even share the same ethnicity as him, but yet he is adamant to let you know that you are different. You look at him with more intensity, violence has not left the back of you mind, but courage has now entered. You spend an extra minute staring at him while he is potentially abusing in a foreign language. It is neither Hindi or Telugu, as you have become aware when you are being insulted in these languages after a months worth of clumsy encounters. It is actually an ancient Indian Language called Sanskrit that this man has decided to use to speak his mind to you. After a minute of reading him and his crew, you decide to wink at him, and crack a smile to ease the tension. More words are spoken. You just listen, not understanding, but not diverting attention. The man and his crew start to move, and get out of their chairs. It is on. Three men walk behind you, and this guy gets up. You realize that he is wearing no pants, but a cloth around his waist, similar to a Lungi, an outfit worn by just a few men you have known, but deeply respected. Nonetheless, this man is a stranger and you have been insulted, you are ready. The man approaches, just a few feet away from you. Just then the place erupts with a volume of noise you recall from your college days in the Breslin Center at MSU. Forgetting your current situation you jump out of your chair, your tensed muscles flex, veins popping out of the side of you neck as you add your foreign accent to the chaos. Exchange high fives with your present company and much to your surprise, this man embraces you as an Uncle would embrace a nephew. Today India has defeated Australia in a cricket match for the twenty20 tournament in South Africa, and will be advancing to play Pakistan once again, but this time for the championship. The man who had a conflict with you earlier had been drunk and repeating "India always wins" with the tone to imply that you were not Indian. Your immediate reaction to India's Shanthakumaran
Sreesanth bowling Australian expert batsmen Matthew Hayden to take a crucial wicket from the Aussies was enough evidence needed to convince this drunken man not to hate you, but to take you in as his own countryman. His choice of using a language that even most locals wouldn't understand remained peculiar, but his embrace made your decision to make a night out of this cricket match worth it. You finally start to feel like you belong to this city, and wait in anticipation for Monday's finale. Your Uncle in Dubai calls you, your father back in the US calls you, men are hugging each other, screaming, showing the middle finger to Australian players on TV, and in the most emotional state any of these stoic characters have shown you so far. The world's number one rivalry in sports, India vs Pakistan will go down one more time, this time to decide the champion of the most exciting form that the game of cricket has allowed in its history. Americans back home, the time to adopt this game is now - I urge you all to watch this game on Monday. Goodlands is the place to watch it if you are in Hyderabad, the city will certainly shut down for this one, as it is not just cricket, or one of the biggest religious festivals in India's yearly calendar, this is India vs Pakistan. (U of M vs Ohio State is not even close in comparison).

That was my Saturday night after a morning of haggling with my bank to take my money without a 10% commission, finding out that the restaurant I had been going to had been ripping me off by only serving me 1/2 the quantity of Chicken 65 in my orders because I had an American Accent, my driver Satyam informing me that a substitute who neither spoke English or had a phone would be taking over next week just before I spent the Saturday afternoon in the office getting ready for my site to go to development. Only one thing on my mind right now, though, and that is victory. I just hope my new friend is in the bar Monday to celebrate our mutual teams success.

Intensely,
-Jason

Bombay Meri Hai

Had a great weekend in Bombay (Mumbai) this past weekend. Total change of scenery, active nightlife, and a warm welcome from family. A place I have been to over a dozen of times, each new visit is truly a learning experience. This time, my new experience involved visiting a fishing village called Versova Beach.

I witnessed the source of a majority of the food supply for the over populated city, and witnessed commerce at its best. The place is very primitive, with old huts and no resemblance of modern technology, garbage removal, or plumbing. (The smell upon arriving is something I wish not describe in words) Walking through a few alley ways with my uncle Ozzie, an experienced sailor and a hard ass, I was led to the beach, which was in low tide, therefore packed with buyers and sellers, nets from the freshest catch of the fishing boats that were anchored just off shore.

I have never seen so much seafood in my life, but the thing that fascinated me was the amount of business going on, by the most unassuming people. I came to learn that the fishing boats go out, have no idea of their catch, but through recent cell phone technology start taking bids for the catch before reaching shore. They don't want to bother with sorting out their catch, so sell the entire lot in bulk, unload it to shore, and get back to their specialized task of fishing, and let everyone else worry about the wholesale and retail. The buyer will take the supply a few feet from the shore, and will start putting it in baskets, still not separating the different types of seafood from each other, and sell it by weight to local fish mongers. These women will carry the baskets on their heads, walk across the beach, and start organizing their new purchase, which was marked up 200% from the original cost, and set up shop on the beach. Their only overhead is the ice they buy from the ice factory 1 km away to keep the food fresh. Now they start sorting out the catch, cleaning the prawns, and preparing for battle, as the negotiations with the buyers soon begin.

In Mumbai, there is a guilty pleasure that might be misunderstood as folks being cheap. People just love the thrill of a bargain, and I have been told people will go to these markets just for that itself, not really that concerned about the money saved in the process, or particularily that fond of seafood. It is a theatrical production, this bargaining process. I know of a man that goes to the market every Sunday morning, buys more fish than he requires, because of this thrill, and has been able to convince the beach vendors that by selling to him early in the morning at a slight margin, they can pack up and leave the beach and enjoy their Sunday without worrying about having to keep the fish fresh all dayor the extra inventory at the end of the evening which must be cleared, as they don't have the means to store the food for the next day.

Most of the customers at this beach are not like this man however, as in Bombay people are for the most part surviving. A person who is willing to transport the fish from the beach, just a few km into the city can earn quite a profit (in most cases marking up prices over 300-400%) on a daily basis, and that is how this city gets fed and how thousands of people earn their living. As a seafood lover myself, I am 100% satisfied with this service, the food is incredibly fresh, and prices are very reasonable. This form of business is one of the reasons that organized retail is still under 5% of the entire retail market in India.

Outside of the International Food Marketing crash course, I started my weekend joining in the humble lifestyles of my family in Andheri. It is here that I really look forward to my grandmother's cooking of fresh fish fry, chili prawns, mango pickle, and other dishes she is world famous for. There are also the old fashioned baths that require me to heat water on a stove, and mix with cold water before hand. Finally, I got to be part of another one of the Jones' house parties. These are amazing occasions that bring both family and friends together in a celebration of song and dance and delicious food.

This time the celebration was for my cousin's 23rd birthday, as she is off to Chicago to become a nurse. The true allure of a Jones house party is the immediate integration of new friends, in this case young, disco tech-going 20 year-olds with a traditional Anglo-Indian family full of conservative values but the ability to lose all shame and shake what their momma gave them on the dance floor. Without a fail, these parties will turn into dance parties, even if the electricity goes out for 30 minutes, and a 30 year age divide encourages otherwise. It is a beautiful thing.

One new observation I made this time, was that although 20 some years have gone by since I have been a part of this custom, the music selection has remained quite constant, and for these occasions it works. The pubs...now that is an entirely different story. They are still playing hit songs from 1990 -1997 at the pubs here, including Alanis Morissette's "Ironic," The Goo Goo Dolls "Iris," Tracy Chapman, Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses," and that silly song "Im too sexy."


The second night in the city I visited my family in Bandra, completely different lifestyles but still carrying huge hearts, like the Jones'. Knowing how I fancy a Kingfisher and a pub scene, they took me out Sunday night to the Hawaiian Shack. (where the songs above were played) A happening place for a Sunday night, we were all soon out of our chairs and dancing, though most of the people in the club was still sedentary. Being a particular adept dancer, I was not concerned, I have picked up parts of the Bhangra style of dance, and can release the moves when most appropriate. My family out in this side of town are extremely fun people, who never lost their family values while modernizing to the hip culture of Bombay. My uncle out here told me once about the difference of doing business with the heart and doing business with the soul. There is a lot of soul in Bombay, that is for sure.
Below is lyrics to the song that this post was named after....A Masala song that is played in all the weddings and dance parties. "Come to Bombay Meri Hai"



Verse
Come from England, come from Scotland, come from Ireland
Come from Holland, come from Poland, come from any land,
If you're looking out for a pleasant holiday,
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay, Bombay meri hai.

Chorus
Bom bom bom bom
Bombay meri hai
Born bom bom bom
Bombay meri hai

Our ladies are nice, they are so full of spice
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.

Wear a dhoti, put a topi and a small coatie
Mini or bikini is so good for you honey
If you ain't so gay then you can live the sadhu way
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.

Verse
Puri bhaji, bhelpuri you can try and tell
Idli dosa, hot samosa you will like it well
Once you come to stay then you won't like to go away
Come to Bombay, come to Bombay Bombay meri hai.



-Jason

jiminy cricket

My dad, Jim, raised me up to love cricket. I never understood cricket, much like a child does not understand the religion that he/she is brought up in, but it was part of who I was growing up, watching the matches in the late hours of the night, or the excitement of having my first real cricket bat that I could play with in the basement of my house, or joining my first real cricket team for my school in New Zealand, though my form resembled a baseball player much more than an orthodox cricketer. There are many things to be proud of, having an Indian heritage, but the site of the Indian national cricket team going toe to toe with the best in the world, and prevailing surely tops the list for me. I have taken much pride in seeing the country beat teams like England, Australia, South Africa and especially their rivals Pakistan. It has been my impression that Indian Cricket is not a sport, it is a religion. That is based on what I saw tonight, and how light the traffic was for my drive home during the game.

Tonight I experienced a match that will go down in history. It was the first International Twenty 20 match that India played in. The new set up, which basically took 1 day cricket, a shortened version of the 5 day test matches, and made it even shorter by removing 30 overs from each side's batting turn. (1 over = 6 balls being bowled) This made the game as short as an American Baseball game, and encouraged the players to take more chances while batting, rather than the usual defensive strategy used in the game.

India played none other than Pakistan tonight, in a heated match that really proved that this new format of the game will be widely accepted. India batted first, and batted in an impressive 141 runs in 120 balls being bowled. (each time a batter runs from one wicket to the other, it counts as a run. If the ball crosses a boundary on the ground, it is 4 runs, if it crosses the boundary in the air, it counts as 6 runs)

Pakistan batted well, but slow at first. Towards the end of their turn, they unleashed a series of sixers and four run shots, raising tension in the already nervous restaurant I was dining in. If you could believe it, the match came down to just 1 ball, as Pakistan managed to tie India in the 19th over.

The room I was in was depressed, drunk, and quiet, after the constant yelling, swearing, and other emotional outbreaks that were noticed just moment earlier. The final play of the game was brilliant, India managed to field the ball and throw the batsmen out, in a fashion that I have never seen in a match before. The game went to an unprecedented overtime, which took shootout scenarios in hockey and soccer, and attempted to incorporate them into Cricket. It was a sad attempt, as it was just a bowler aiming for the wickets with no opposition. Best out of 5. India made the first 3 wickets, Pakistan missed all 3. India won. It was some match, and will likely encourage this new style of cricket to continue, hopefully raising interest with the Americans, as its the only mainstream game I can think of that our countrymen back west will be reluctant to adopt.

Other commentary on my first real night drinking here....I got kicked out of my first bar. Not because of my deliberate breaking of the rules, but I tried to walk in to this place tonight without a girl and without nice shoes, instead wearing my Brazilian sandals. 2 minutes later I entered the same bar, wearing my crummy gym shoes, and a smile to let the silly bouncer wearing the beret and ridiculous looking red cowboy like shirt on know that I had gotten the better out of him. I was shocked to see that the place was empty with customers, yet filled with more of this silly outfit wearing employees, who seemed to be doing nothing useful but making me laugh. I met a friend there, who I shared a few drinks with. It was our first time meeting, as I had been put in touch with a former colleague who did their MBA with this fellow, but nonetheless, it was a great time getting to know someone new in the area. The most awkward part of the encounter, which was immediate, and tempting me to start laughing, was the music selection of the venue we were in. The couple only, yet 90% male bar chose to blast the song "my endless love" when I first started talking to my new friend in the city. I have been told that my poker face is discredited because of my uncontrollable dimpled smile, and I was really concerned that the song would be a distraction from my ability to make friends at this particular place. Well, I overcame an obstacle today, I am making slow but steady progress, and can hang with the best of them, even when tempted to lose it with such a song selection in such a venue. (You have seen Happy Gilmore I hope - "friends listen to my endless love in the dark....) I think it is rediculous that there are so many people at bars like this who aren't drinking, but supposedly working, and there are such formalities - such as couples entry only, while the majority of the people inside are still men..

Anyway, I am never bored here ,with all these new sensations being exposed to me. I am really excited for Bombay this weekend. (I prefer Bombay to Mumbai), the festival is supposed to be huge there. One last commentary on the cricket match....I observed an Australian fellow who was the team doctor for the Indian team. For my readers in the US, have you not been under the impression that the majority of doctors in the US, and probably the world are Indian. I just found this very ironic while watching the game tonight....

Patriotically,

-Jason

Biryani Nation

I have a confession to make. Today, for the first time in 18 months I ate a meal at McDonald's. A last minute decision, after finding out that the only Mexican restaurant in town was closed, I chose the golden arches. Call it homesickness, wanting to see a familiar face, or logo for that matter, or the country music lovin' cowboy hat wearin' Midwest side of me coming out, demanding to be a part of some form of globalization that I had not intentionally created, I dined with Ronald this afternoon. Truth be told, it was the only place I knew that I could grab a bite in 10 minutes.

It was splendid meal, to my surprise the service was unlike any Mcdonald's I have been to. The meal came out to only $1.50 USD. I was shocked to see a woman in the restaurant requesting that an employee charge her cell phone while she ate her Chicken Maharaja Mac. They had no problem serving her request.

My meal consisted of a McAloo Tikka burger (Fried breaded potato & peas patty that is flavoured with a special spice mix,) , coca-cola (which is far inferior to the local Thumbs Up beverage), and french fries. When I finished, my table was cleared for me, and I left content, yet guilty of replacing my usual Biryani meal, a rice dish Hyderabad is world famous for. Biryani was also a product of globalization centuries ago, but instead of being from the Americans, it was the Iranians who gifted this meal to the folks in Hyderabad, and the rest of India for that matter.


With all the changes that the corporation decided to implement into their menu here in Hyderabad, they struck a right balance of incorporating the multinational brand here, with the charm that McDonald's is famous for, while catering to the local taste of the people in India. An advertising agency, who's name escapes me, recently coined the word "glocal" in their campaigns. (global + local)

McDonald's even have created a different menu for locations in North India vs West India. My aunt's husband, a successful businessman in Mumbai told me that McDonald's success in the city, apparent by their many locations around the city, home delivery, and veg menu was contrasted completely by KFC. They are apparently perceived as being just another American company trying to exploit the exploding population with an American product, without changing it to fit the people here. They are not glocal. Driving home today, I saw a billboard saying that KFC was the best Chicken dinner meal in the World. They have failed to realize that they face a tougher competitor, Tandoori Chicken. If you have ever tasted yourself will understand that KFC stands no chance to becoming a widely adopted meal over here. There are just like Hollywood, who have failed at trying to promote their films in India for many years. , India, unlike other countries around, has not really adopted American movies into their lives, as Bollywood is far too popular over here, producing 3x as many films as the people in LA. Tollywood, slightly smaller but with just as loyal of a fan base, has also shown a strong presence, with actors that can split bullets in half in mid air, and other action-related phenomenons. In fact, 99% of revenue made in the film industry in India has been from Indian productions. The guys at Sony are finally taking a smart approach, by starting to fund movies made here, written for and produced by Indians. Can we expect to see KFC Tandoori chicken on the menu soon?

McDonald's here is actually what seems to be a classy restaurant, in the most expensive part of town, offering something that the locals appreciate, and enjoy. The crowd was upper class, dressed well, enjoying the social gathering of the establishment. The only hassle with the experience was having to go through security to get in the place, due to terrorist threats at this time because of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival this weekend, and recent bombings in the city.

Many of you have seen me in my red Ganesh t-shirt - I will have the chance to wear this shirt while celebrating this festival in Mumbai with my family this weekend. I read articles today, saying how the idols were going to be bigger than last year, up to 15 meters in height, while the mayor of Mumbai request to keep the size of the idols under 8 meters, to try to prevent pollution in the Arabian sea. Speaking of which, the Tsunami warning was called off this morning, after the Earthquake in Indonesia's Sumatra Island, topped 8 on the Richter scale. I had an aqaintance in college that had the last name Richter, and used to tell women that they topped 8 on his Richter scale, in hopes to charm them. That line can't possibly have any success in either Hyderabad or East Lansing, that one thing I am sure of.

My driver Satyam told me his wife is expecting a child in 8 months. There will be exactly the same number of years in age between his children as there are between my younger brother and I. I have decided to explore the possibility of writing a story about this experience with Satyam, and the conversations we try to have in our 3 hours together. He has told me about all the opportunities he has missed in his life which he wishes he would have taken, told me about how 15 years working a government job resulted in the branch just one day closing and him being out of work, after only taking the job because his mother was a servant for a government officer, and that seemed to be the best career path.
Perhaps it will be tale along the lines of "The Pursuit of Happiness," and Satyam can come out ahead in the end. Maybe even I can have Will Smith play the role, filmed here in Hyderabad.....

Just this Monday , Satyam gave me a gift, motivational posters on success to put in my office. He told me he believed in the words on them, and that he wants me to do well.If you have any ideas or suggestions for a kind gesture I can offer him especially with news of a new child on the way, please post a comment. I finally realized this blog required registering to post such things. Really annoying, I have since changed that setting so you won't have to deal with any hassles with such things going forward. (This is stuff I am working to keep off the site I am building)

Mcglobally,
-Jason

Roads Collapsing

This evening, a flyover (expressway) collapsed in Hyderabad in Punjagutta, which connects to Banjara Hills, where my office is located. An estimated 20 people so far have been declared dead from the incident, however many people are trapped under the road, and the area is under turmoil. I received news from my driver, Satyam, who called to make sure I was alright. Luckily I gave him the day off today, so I did not go into the office or gym on that side of town, otherwise I could have potentially been involved in the disaster. Neighbors have told me they expect a strike or riot of some sort to come out of this. Still not too sure how this happened, as the news is only in Telugu, but it was raining pretty hard today and I believe that to be related to the cause.

This is the fourth time I have just missed a disaster in my travels. The first was being in India during the famous Tsunami years ago, which had friends in Kalamazoo, MI worried about my well being. Luckily I was in Goa, just north of the disaster. The second escape was in London, where I studied abroad, and just 2 weeks after moving out of Russell Square, a terrorist attack on the subway and bus system occurred on the very route and same time I took to get to my job at the Hammersmith Walt Disney Internet Group office. The third was 2 weeks back, days before coming to Hyderabad, the terrorist bombing that happened in a public park. And now, this flyover collapse. I am extremely thankful for my luck, and feel sorrow for the families involved, hopefully this matter is handled quickly by the government.

Shooken up at the moment,

Jason

Organized Chaos

I have lived in Hyderabad for 10 days now and have spent a complete day just sitting in a car. 30 hours in my Tata Indica with my driver, Satyam.

I don't think Americans will ever appreciate what the Indian driver experiences on the roads here, until seeing first hand the chaos. Uncle told me a story this morning about a US professor who came to Hyderabad to teach a course. Halfway through his stay, he admitted to his fellow colleagues that he came to India an Atheist, but will be leaving a religious man, as he found no explanation besides God on how the traffic in this city manages to work with such little casualty to civilians. I agree 100% with him, it is a perfect example of organized chaos.

Here is a video to give an example of the road rules in India.

I haven't decided on the most efficient way to spend 3 hours of daily commuting. Most of the time is spent in a language struggle with Satyam, either trying to understand him, or trying to tell him something. Still, he probably understands me more than most people. He tried to cheer me up after the church incident, and has explained to me his philosophy on life, wealth, happiness.

When I asked him if he enjoyed living in Hyderabad, he responded to me "Sir, it is who I am." A year ago, his wife fell ill with a disease that has had her in bed for 4 months, in and out of the hospital. He told me about past jobs that hes been at, hoping to get to a comfortable situation in life where he can work hard, but yet have no problem providing for his family. Yesterday, I realized that he had some hopes in working for me that might not have been too realistic. He clearly has no idea what my business is, but assumed I had come to start an IT company in India. He asked me for a job in in my company, saying that he could be a watchman or do work with our office building, and said he would be willing to do anything, or learn how to do anything. He is constantly trying to sell real estate to me that he doesn't own, which is just hilarious. One time he asked I would hire him as my driver back in the US so he could immigrate to America. I responded jokingly, telling him that the US roads could not handle his driving ability.


Satyam's son is 8 years old, speaks perfect English, and his father hopes to send him to college so that he can work in one of the large IT buildings. I recently heard that the majority of people in the city are really confused about the IT buildings in the city. They can't understand what is being built inside them, but still continue to romanticize the thought of their children someday working inside them.

The most interesting thing of my stay so far has been trying to understand the thought process of people here. It is not my place to judge whether or not their beliefs and customs are right or wrong, but I think the first step in my understanding of them is to embrace the differences. Keeping an open mind over here is critical to any foreigners survival - I can just picture the danger of slipping up just once, and letting personal beliefs cause conflict with locals.

Uncle told me an incredible story this afternoon. We were sitting down and going through his grandson's wedding album and he turned to a page of him and a friend blessing the married couple. He told me that it was his best friend for 60 years, who ironically has the same name. They talk everyday and I was surprised to hear about their history as social activists. He told me that early in their youth, they would have noble thoughts and one day decided to make a social statement and both get married to widowed women.

I would have thought nothing of this, but I had just read an article about the abuse and alienation widows in India can experience. Thankfully this is horrible mentality is fading away. Uncle told me that his friend and him were disgusted with how the women were shaved, deprived of good clothing and food, just because their husbands had expired. He said that his friend and him did this break a tradition that he knew were wrong. It was a touching story, which I may not done justice in trying to recap on this blog.



Chaotically,
-Jason

24 Minutes to shut down

I had one electrical converter in my possession, which connects me to the Internet, media entertainment, photography and videography equipment, and the telephone, and I have lost it! So for tonight I have just 24 minutes to update the blog. The past 2 days have been incredibly busy. I have immersed myself in this project, and building a positive relationship with my technology partner out here. In the coming 3 weeks, the project will undergo a blueprinting process, where we identify all the possible features and applications that will go into the site, prioritize them, lay out a visual design for organizing the information while simplifying the entire customer flow, and presenting this information in a testable format that we can get qualitative research with before executing any development work. To add to this challenge, I have created a mini project that will have the team do individual competitive testing on relevant sites, introduce them to the US market for the industry we are entering, and consolidate findings into an actionable presentation that we can incorporate into our qualitative research as well as our list of priorities for our engineers... I apologize if that was all jargon and incredibly boring, as I don't know exactly who is reading this, but after a few comments felt I should say something about what I am doing, besides the embarrassment of my everyday Larry David like actions.

I picked up a new book, by Donald Norman called "The Design of Everyday Things." I met Mr Norman at a Guy Kawasaki speech in Silicon Valley a few months ago, and he seemed to have built up quite the street cred, so when I saw his book on sale in a small book store in Secunderabad for just 300 Rupees, I had to pick it up. In addition, I picked up a few ancient Sanskrit written stories (now in English) which Uncle has referred to in his Brilliant stories of political and ethical lessons during our daily conversations. Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita are all on my 4 month reading list during this tenure. I am also fascinated with learning about the Nawabs and the incredibly wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad. As I dive into them, I may from time to time refer to them, as I have a tendency, as Alex Grabowski will tell you, to try to transcribe stories into real life situations. According to Uncle, these stories have been heavily incorporated into German Politics, as there 5000 year old tales still apply to life today. I can't comment as of yet, but am excited to learn.

I will be adding a video of this city soon this week, as I am excited to use my mac for video editing again. Stay tuned for that and pictures (yes, including my driver Satyam) to come soon.

A few interesting facts...I saw today that India's retail market is projecting at being valued at nearly 1,200,000 crores, with less than 4% of it attributed to organized retail.

Weird News Story Update! (Below)

Man Swallows Knife to Avoid Trial

An Indian businessman accused of several bank scams swallowed a knife to avoid being brought back to India for trial. He refused surgery as doctors said it could be fatal to fly with a knife in his stomach. The authorities finally caught up, however: bringing him back on a plane full of medics. The knife is still lodged in his gut. (courtesy of http://truemors.com)

Best,

Jason

Going to the Chapel

5:30 am - my driver pounds on my door to remind me of my plans to go to the only English catholic service in the church in my area.... damnit!

I had mentioned to him that I would like to meet some English speaking folks in the area, so I planned on an early Sunday morning. I arrived at the 60 year old church about 10 minutes early, so I decided to go in and spend some time collecting my thoughts, and catching up on sleep. At this particular church, shoes were not allowed inside, so I had to leave my dress shoes outside, where it was raining.

Just as the service started, I was suddenly publicly scolded by an elderly woman in a sari, who spoke no English, but just made hand gestures at me and yelled at me in Telugu. I genuinely tried to understand her communication, but gave up a few minutes into the confrontation and put my head down and shrugged. I hoped she would lose interest and let me be. Moments later, an nun informed me that I had to move immediately. I had been sitting in the women's side of the church!

I turned around at once (I was sitting in the front row) and noticed a complete gender segregation of the church. Slightly embarrassed, I got up and moved to a row on the men's side. A group of 5 men simultaneously stood up, shook there heads and quickly left the row to move elsewhere. Perhaps I had offended them with my unintentional attempt of trying to break the local custom. It was then the fear of my possible demise in this city out of arrogance and ignorance became apparent.

The priest spent an hour speaking of being humble, but I couldn't stop thinking about the several men who let me embarrass myself. At least they could have warned me during the 10 minutes I sat praying in the women's side of the church, like the outstanding catholic that I am. On a side note, the music at this service was particularly interesting. They had a keyboard with drum beats that resembled techno or trance music in the background of the hymns and songs, which people were singing completely off key, but loud. I found it ironic that such music, which I have only experienced in Ecstasy filled clubs and beach parties was played in such a sacred place, where I was forced to remove my shoes, and sit only with men, (some of which refused to sit anywhere near me)

I form no judgment on today's events - I was in the wrong. Hyderabad- 1, Jason - 0. Upon returning home, I engaged in a 2 hour series of stories from Uncle, who taught me ancient Hindu tales and how they have been used in modern politics both in India and around the world, especially Germany - completely fascinating. Out of frustration with my constant disruption of the social norms in this area, I told my driver to go home and hang out with his boy, and decided to spend the day in solitude writing and reading, and let Hyderabad carry on without me this Sunday afternoon.

Most humbly,

Jason