Day 10: Bangalore

I can’t believe this is the last day of the study trip! So sad! It’s seems like an absolute age ago that we arrived in Mumbai and began this adventure.

Today’s meetings were last but definitely not least. We were given a tour of the magnificent Infosys campus in the morning.

Touring the Infosys campus

We then met with Mr Narayana Murthy and his wife Mrs Sudha Murthy. They spoke for about half and hour each about the tremendous growth of Infosys, and about the philanthropic work of the Infosys Foundation. The Q&A session was covered by about half a dozen eager paparazzi with their cameras, which added some extra excitement.

Meeting Mr and Mrs Murthy

In the afternoon, we got to feature in another TV show, this time on a much bigger channel with much larger audience. It featured us (of course), some Indian students from some of the Indian technical schools, and of course, Mr. Murthy, along with the President of Cornell University (he and Mr. Murthy are close friends, and Mr. Murthy is also on Cornell's board... or something like that).

On the TV set

The final meeting of the day and the trip featured no guests. It was just us reflecting on our experience over the last ten days. Professor Roberts commended the six leaders of the trip, Sarah, Chaitra, Sandy, Prashant, Tarun and Salim for what he described as a “truly exceptional management job”. We all thoroughly agree with this and would like to use the opportunity of this blog to give a big shout out to all six of the leaders. They worked tirelessly putting together an unbelievable trip that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. Thank you so much. You guys rock and we love you.

We've been through a lot together, and will certainly look fondly back on the good times, and smile broadly when we tell about the "bad"...but for now, our time here has come to a close. Keep an eye on the blog as we may indeed add more pictures as we gain access to them, but for now, this is the India Study Trip blog team signing out… Namaste!

Group Hug!

Day 9: Bangalore

One of the perks of meeting with a food company is that you get fed well. Such was the case on the morning of day nine and our meeting with S. Maiya of MTR foods. We enjoyed a traditional breakfast of masala dosa in small intimate dining rooms above the kitchens. This was great... and would have been greater had our host stay families not all been doing their best just an hour earlier to stuff us completely full of the very same types of foods... probably bought from MTR's packaged food line!

Breakfast at MTR Foods

The afternoon saw us over to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who shared with us a variety of perspectives on the Indian business environment. They discussed issues like finding talent, whether being an Indian or having an Indian on board is critical (they believe it is), and where they see the next big opportunities. They, just like everyone else, are sure that India will continue to remain an exciting place for business.

Bangalore Venture Capatalists

We had a few hours to kill before dinner. We were all keen to experience a genuine Indian cultural experience. So we decided to go ten-pin bowling! Again, a little embarrassing to admit, but this was ridiculously good fun. Of course, the fun might have been aided by a few specially prepared drinks... aided our fun but most certainly impacted our scores in a rather downward fashion!

Dinner was also awesome. We sat outside, cross-legged on cushions at a modern restaurant called Opus. There was Karaoke so of course the Stanford GSB had to represent. Jason gave a powerful rendition of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, while Paul and his girlfriend Amanda sang ‘Sexual Healing’. I was personally very disappointed that virtually no one on the Study Trip had heard of Robbie Williams! Seriously, do we need a study trip to England next year to educate people about British teen-pop culture?!

"Robbie who?"

The evening continued getting better as we moved on to a plush hotel to party with the MBA students of Columbia Business School on their India Study Trip. We were excellent ambassadors for the GSB and had a great time mingling with these fine folks from New York.

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...

Day 4: Delhi and Agra

4.30am is a cruel time to be awake. Yet, that was when we all had to get up in order to miss the traffic on the way to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, we were still not early enough to miss all the traffic and the drive still took us nearly five hours.

The Taj Mahal was of course spectacular, and we took the obligatory touristy pics. India’s number one attraction not only lures millions of tourists every year, but also thousands of beggars and street urchins. It wasn’t possible to move more than a few feet without being accosted by individuals, many of whom could not have seen their tenth birthday, offering to sell you a postcard or plastic trinket.

Posing in front of the Taj

Sandy learnt a valuable lesson that day. NEVER sit down next to a giant cobra snake, even if there is an old guy with a flute telling you to. You never know when the snake will attack!!!

Where's Prashant?

It’s a little embarrassing to admit but the highlight of the day was actually our lunch at Pizza Hut! In the first instance, it was a welcome relief to our digestion systems to have one non-India meal. But the real treat was the bangra dance show that the waiters at the restaurant performed for us. None of us had ever seen anything like it in a Pizza Hut before, and Carloyn, Jason, Mika and Nao joined in showing off their funky moves on the Hut dance floor!

Dancing in Pizza Hut

The journey back to Delhi was tortuously slow. But it made the evening’s New Year’s Eve celebrations sweeter when we finally got back to the city. We went to Dr Mo’s sister’s house. She works out here for an NGO and was a great hostess and threw a wonderful party for us all. Many of us, unfamiliar with the style and form of Latin dancing, were given a first hand show by our resident Don Juan de Brotons. We’d give you details…but what happens in Delhi, stays in Delhi ;-)

Parting at Mo's sister's house on NYE

Happy New Year everyone!!

Day 3: Mumbai and Delhi

Day three and we have another birthday. Hooray! Happy birthday Maya! In honor of your special day, we've included a traditional Indian birthday song in the blog:

Hey Maya, it’s your birthday
We’re gonna eat curry like its your birthday
We’re gonna sip hot chai like its your birthday
You know cos we don’t give a dabawallah cos it’s your birthday!

(Lyrics by Fi'ty Ruppee)

.

.

Maya on the mike

Having spent the first two days of the trip learning about the booming economy and success of “new” India, the theme of day three was “old” India.

We met with the traditional dabbawallah’s of Mumbai in the morning. For the last century dabawallah’s have been responsible for delivering hot, home-made meals for workers throughout the city at lunch time. There operation has become so sophisticated that a couple of years ago, they won six-sigma rating for their success rate of 99.9999%. None of the dabbawallah’s have any real education and many are illiterate. Yet through the simplicity of their system and a strong culture of discipline and duty, they have thrived and earned well-deserved international acclaim. On the day we met them, a crew from Sahara TV was there and a few of us (Prof. Roberts, Jose and Sarah) were interviewed and may even appear on national television!

Sara, Prof. Roberts and Jose being interviewed with the Dabbawallah's by Sahara TV

Before our next meeting we wanted to experience travelling on an Indian train – in the general class components. Mumbai trains are one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in the city. Commuters, desperately trying to find space in the crowded carriages, will often risk their lives by hanging from the sides or even sitting on top of the train. Luckily, we were not travelling in rush hour, so many of us found seats but it still made the London Underground look like the Orient Express in comparison.

Riding the Indian trains in Mumbai

Can anybody spot the tourist?

The final meeting of the day was arguably the best experience of our trip to date: a visit to Asia’s largest slum dwelling. This was an emotional and shocking experience, and words can’t really do it justice. The pictures below give some idea of the poverty we saw. Of Mumbai’s population, 20% live in apartments and houses, 60% live in slums and 20% are homeless. The 60% that live in slums occupy only 13% of the city area. The contrast between the slums we saw and the opulence of other parts of the city is saddening and shameful. Yet we saw a silver lining: thanks to the work of leaders like Jockin Arupatham, President of the National Slum Dwellers Federation, with whom we met, slum dwellers have more opportunities than ever, to get an education, a job and a concrete roof over their heads.

Visiting the slums in Mumbai

We left the slums straight for the airport and our evening flight to Delhi. We got to our hotel in the capital at around 10pm and all retired early, ready for an early start the next day….

Day 2: Mumbai

Day two in Mumbai. First things first, personal announcements. It's Salim's birthday! Hooray! Happy birthday, Salim! We love you, dude...

Salim: 33 years young today

The theme for the day was multinational corporations and finance. We had three meetings. The first was with a large conglomerate called Aditya Birla Group with diverse operations in manufacturing, energy and financial services. Two things were interesting about this company. One, the founder of the firm was a close personal friend of Mahatma Gandhi and has carried forward many of the Mahatma's teachings in the companies values. Two, the company seemed to defy conventional business wisdom (at least what we were taught in winter quarter strategy last year) that value can be added through the combination of multiple business units.

All of us with Aditya Birla Group

The second meeting was with Chandha Kochhar of ICICI Bank. We loved this woman. She was incredibly bright and articulate and gave some of the most interesting answers to our questions about trends in the Indian economy. The take away for us was the phenomenal trends in demographics taking place in India right now; it is the youngest country in the world and over the next twenty years is going to see a staggering growth in its middle class.

Finally, we met with Private Equity firm Warburg Pincus. We met a Principal and an Associate - both very impressive. For the non-finance dummies in the group, the meeting was hard work in places but I think we all left with a much better understanding of the booming private equity industry in India.

Jose: shamelessly exploiting the cheap labor in India

Having finished all the hardcore meetings, we had the rest of the day to relax and have fun. This started with a lot of drinking on the bus (swigging shots of Smirnoff from the bottle) and continued at the restaurant drinking many, many bottles of Kingfisher beer. We started Salim on a course of 33 shots of beer to celebrate his birthday, unfortunately we ran out of steam after about only six shots! The girls of the group painted their hands with mendhi while many others got their palms read. Unfortunately we are not sure the palm reader guy was for real. He seemed to have two standard predictions: all the women will get married, have kids and be successful; all the men will get married, have kids, be successful - and keep a mistress! He knows us so well ;-)

Women: love, family and success predicted by palm reader

Men: will take mistresses according to palm reader

The rest of the night / early morning is a blur to most of us as we write the blog. We went clubbing to probably the most crowded and loud club EVER. For the boring old guys (like yours truly) it proved too much to handle beyond 2am. But the younger kids in the group (Powers, Mittal, Dr Mo) had legs for another three hours of dancing, drinking and lady charming ;-)

Partying in Mumbai

Day 1: Mumbai

And so after a combined total of more than 650 hours of travel time—that’s in transit to the airport, sitting in the airport, sitting on a plane, trying to sleep while babies cried and kicked in the seat behind you, and finally, of course, sitting in the not-so-free flowing traffic which is so characteristic of Mumbai, India—the participants of the GSB India Study Trip all arrived safely and on time.

One great way to think of this is that 650 hours equates to about four months of lost productivity from a collective GSB mind, which we’ll of course remind you, represents a prominent and influential future world business leader—or something like that. Of course, arriving on time didn’t always necessarily mean arriving with enough time to sleep more than a few short hours before our first fully packed day of meetings. Not to be deterred by a lack of sleep though, all India Study Trippers were on time in the lobby of the ITC Sheraton in Parel, dressed in our finest business regalia, and herded onto our VIP transport vehicle.

Fifteen minutes later, whilst stuck in chaotic rush hour Mumbai traffic, we hear the bus driver shout out nine reassuring words, “does anyone here know how to drive a bus?” Unfortunately, this was not a joke. The driver couldn’t get the bus into first gear because the clutch had broken. Within moments, a tow truck appeared dragging our bus to the side of the road, allowing us to disembark and search for alternative transportation. Prashant and Tarun and the other leaders did an amazing job hailing down half a dozen auto rickshawwallah’s whilst dozens of locals standing outside the shops stared and pointed at us in amazement.

“Does anyone here know how to drive a bus?”

Our first meeting of the day was with Suendra Hiranandani, managing director of the Hiranandani Group, the country’s largest real estate development firm. We were given a magnificent tour of their primary development, Powai, containing residential and commercial space including its own lake, hospital, school, restaurants, retail stores, bowling alley and most importantly go-kart track. Mr Hiranandani gave us an overview of his operations and spoke on real estate trends in India, pushing forward world-class construction standards, and starting an empire from only a few thousand dollars twenty years ago. Very impressive stuff.

Visiting a call centre operations hub; part of the Hiranandani empire

Kishore Biyani, our second meeting, is fondly described as the Sam Walton of India. He has led a large conglomeration of various businesses over the last 20 years. His self-described mission is to provide everything that consumers want to buy. It started with the first branded retail clothing line in India, Pantaloon, and has now expanded to include many other businesses and products, even financial services). He also believes that future of business lies in what he calls the “creative economy”, as opposed to a past that was steeped in routine and process optimization. He believes that as technology automates more processes in our lives, a premium is going to be placed on creativity and originality, and the market will respond correspondingly.

The Group with Kishore Biyani

The final meeting of the day was with Shabana Azmi, a famous Bollywood actress, former member of India Parliament and ongoing activist on issues such as education and gender equality. She was highly inspiring, articulating personal stories of her motivation and her vision for the role of Government, media and non-profit sectors in tackling India’s many social issues.

Shabana Azmi: Bollywood actress, Politician and Activist

The evening ended for many with a trip to a local club - the Mumbai version of Tao in New York. Our top heavy boy / girl ratio almost prevented us getting in but fortunately we were in possession of the ‘skeleton key’ (a.k.a. British accent) which as any English man knows, opens any door. For the rest of the group, an early night recovering from jet lag proved to be a more attractive option...

When Lior gets that crazy look in his eyes, you know one drink ain't going to be enough