Day 8: Bangalore

In the light of day, the Infosys campus bears a striking resemblance to Stanford. Broad, pristine streets. Young men and women on their bicycles. Tall, modern buildings of tinted glass and steel. Cloudless, blue skies and glorious sunshine!

Only two meetings today. The first was with Srini Rajam, CEO of Ittiam. This is one of India's leading hi-tech firms and a great success story. One of the most interesting factoids about the company is it's recruiting statistics: for every 10,000 applicants, they only hire 20 people. Intense.

We then went over to the offices of Biocon to meet with Kiran M. Shaw. Last year’s India Study Trip voted Kiran the most inspirational speaker of their trip and we could certainly see why. She had originally wanted to pursue a career as a brew master but, unable to break into this traditionally male-dominated industry, chose instead to start her own biotech firm. With only a handful of employees and limited capital she began to build one of the world’s leading biotech firms and is now the richest woman in India. Her company is currently doing fascinating work developing enzymes to help in the fight against diabetes and head and neck cancers.

We returned to the Infosys campus for a traditional south Indian lunch and a nice afternoon siesta. In the evening we went our separate ways, having dinner with local families in Bangalore. Many of these families were relatives and friends of Chaitra and Tarun, both of whom hail from Bangalore.

A few of us decided not to do home stays and went out instead for an evening on the town in Bangalore. We went to this funky club called Fuga which was great – except for fact that each drink there cost about $20!

For those that did participate in the homestays, most (and I only say most because I haven't conducted a formal survey, but I'm pretty sure I could have used "all") had a phenomenal time. One of the highlights was for Janel, Tara, Marcelo, and Jason, whose respective homestay host families brought them to what could only be called a "birthday extravaganza". The Don (for indeed, that was the only way he was introduced to us and the only name we have for him even now) was turning 70, and as such, it was time to celebrate. Stage, music, video, flashy Indian dancers, heartfelt monologues from family members... and let's not forget, everyone dressed in black and trying to look like a member of the mafia... this was a party (and a homestay) to remember.

Vignette: Vikas' Lost 24 Hours...

It is worth taking a quick break from the flow of this blog to tell a quick story about what happened to one of the study trip members, Vikas, over the last 24 hours. He left us at the airport in Delhi to fly to Mumbai for an interview with a private equity firm. When he arrived in Mumbai he got in a cab to his hotel but unfortunately the cab driver had no intention of taking him there. Instead, thirty seconds into the journey he pulled the taxi into a dark alleyway and demanded all of Vikas' money. Vikas protested but was out numbered 2:1 with the cabbie and his friend who had been sitting in the passenger seat. He ended up having to pay $58 and being stranded in the alleyway. If this was not bad enough, when Vikas arrived for his interview, the head of the office was in the middle of closing a deal and so could not see him. Vikas waited for two and a half hours in a conference room only to be sent back on his way to Bangalore. So not the greatest 24 hours...