Fond Farewell

On Saturday night we said good-bye to all of our hosts at a farewell party organized by the Rotary Club of Jubilee Hills. It was a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, I looked forward to returning home, but on the other hand, I was saddened to be leaving my friends and host families. The past month was simply an unbelievable experience, with memories that will last a lifetime. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to explore India courtesy of Rotary, and many thanks to everyone who made it possible. In closing, I’m reminded of the words of Garrison Keillor, a famous Minnesotan: “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch!”

GSE Team and District Governor at Farewell Party. L to R: Jim, Becky, Dr. Sarat Babu, Angela, Noemi, & Greg

One small detail was left out…

I forgot to mention that all this driving is done while talking on the phone, and sometimes 2 cell phones! The cars are manual stick shift, too!–Indians are amazing mult-taskers! :)

Saytam, Trucker’s Strike, Plumbing and Building

SAYTAM – This is the large computer services company based in Hyderabad. We have been at ground zero in the collapse of the company. 53,000 employees are affected. We have driven by the headquarters almost every day. Along with the global business slowdown, Saytam has been a constant discussion topic. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Price Waterhouse has certified Saytam along with 92 other large Indian companies and then Saytam admits that the $1.8 billion it has on the books for capital reserves is non-existent. We watched the TV last night as the acting CEO basically evaded every question thrown at him along with the where abouts of the CFO. The head of the Indian School of Business (who is affiliated with the Wharton Business School) has resigned in disgrace as he was on the board of directors and had approved the activities.

Matyas (Saytam spelled backwards) is the construction and real estate arm of Saytam and run by the CEO’s brother. It had received the contract to build the Hyderabad light rail system and is about a year into construction. It looks like Matyas will probably go down in the dust along with Saytam and might pull one of State Banks of India with it. The two brothers have been arrested and are in a jail somewhere. The CFO has been found and is also in Jail. The HQ of Price Waterhouse Cooper in India was raided by the federal police yesterday as they try to determine the extent of what PCW knew about the fraud. There was an editorial in this morning’s paper asking what really went on. The two brothers had reduced their stock ownership from 27% down to 3% over the past several years while keeping the stock price high by the financial manipulations. So where did all the money go? Matyas, the construction side of the company, is coming under severe scrutiny also. They had won the contract to build the Metro Rail system and had started about a year ago. Very unique bid in that they would finance, build and operate the system for 35 years and then turn the system over to the city. Matyas was the lead player in the consortium to build the system (plus several others including the company that built the Tokyo system). But what makes the deal so interesting was that Matyas was actually set up to pay the city of Hyderabad from 1 to 10 Million dollars every year between now and the 35th year. So when the next payment / financial check happen in March, it will be interesting to see if they still are a viable company. The item in this morning’s paper was there are actually 41 companies under the Saytam / Matyas umbrella. Like I stated, we are at ground zero of this economic meltdown

TRUCKER’S STRIKE – There is a Trucker’s Strike that started on Monday 5th.  The government of India controls the price of petrol and diesel.   It is currently fixed at 51.1 Rupees per liter which makes it between $3.75 and $4.00 per gallon with diesel fuel about 20% less.   The price has not changed even thought the world price of oil has dropped below $50 per barrel.   So the truckers are on strike against the government and want the price of fuel brought down immediately.   So shortages are starting to happen.  The lines at the fuel bunkers (read gas stations) are getting quite long and several of them are roped off as they have no fuel.  Reading in the morning paper that aviation fuel is in short supply and some flights are now being cancelled because of it.   It all should get resolved in a few days but according to this morning’s paper, the two sides are not even talking yet. This has finally been resolved by about Thursday, Jan 14^th. The fuel issues got solved in 4 days after the Government fired the top 40 managers at the state oil company. The balance got resolved this past week when the government announced it would set up a commission to look into the issues. So we were out late Thursday night and discovered all of the truckers were back on the road.If they only can take one lane in the city, that means that there is miles long line crawling along at the pace of the slowest one. And as the other vehicle you have merge your way back and forth across the line.

PLUMBING – Bathrooms are an interesting challenge in India.   Bathrooms in Hyderabad are fairly normal, western looking affairs.  When you get into the rural areas that changes.   Showers are more of a challenge.  The bucket bath is the most common.  Even in Hyderabad, everyone has the buckets in the shower area (Greg posted a good picture on the blog).  Many shower heads do not work. so you fill the bucket with water and use a small bucket / ladle to pour the water over your self.  The question is whether you will have warm or hot water.  Most homes have solar water heaters (it might even be a government mandate), but the typical time for an Indian shower is at the end of the work day prior to the evening meal.  That means the water has had all day to warm up.  So the normal western process of taking a morning shower is a crap shoot as to whether you will have a hot one or not.   A couple of the places I have stayed have on-demand water heaters.  This is fine if you have reliable electric connection.  But for the week we were outside Hyderabad we would loose power everyday for at least an hour or so.   So for at least a couple of mornings it has been a cold shower.  I know that a couple of the ladies on the team have really struggles with this issue.

CONNECTIONS – Rotary connections in India have been incredible. The other day we visited Ramoji Film Studies – the largest film studio in the world according to the Guinness Book. It wasn’t so much the complex but the fact we got to spend 1/2 hour with the owner / chairman talking about film making around the world. New Year’s eve was spent at the Yellunu Club which is the club for the management of the Yellunu coal mines. The fact that many of the Rotarian in the town are ex employees allowed in. But the highlight was spending almost and hour talking to the head man. He has 70,000 and products 15% of all the coal in India. It was very interesting talking about coal, mining, energy issues now and into the future with such a high level person. Saytam situation has been commented on but it is interesting that one of the Rotarian has been on the news every night being interviewed about the situation and then he will be at the social function with us that evening

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION – Different approach to building then I have seen before. There is virtually no wood so concrete and brick are used. The normal approach is concrete pillars supporting a concrete slab. All the partitions are supported by bamboo while the slab dries. It seems strange to see the forest of bamboo poles holding up the slab. But they are all taken out and reused on the next floor. Of course there is bamboo scaffolding around the outside of the building. I was told that all buildings are constructed to last 100 years. Once the pillars and floors are done then the walls are all built with brick and then plastered over with concrete. I am not sure when they decide to install plumbing, probably before the brick walls, but electrical work is done after the walls are finished. They then go back in and channel out the runs for the electrical wires, and then replaster over the wires. They use marble / granite throughout the buildings for floors.   Sometimes it is put in before the walls are finished, which makes for strange sites under hte construction dust.  Wood working (cabinets, etc) are all made on-site.  There seem to be no prefab material used.  So everything is hand-made.  The other thing I find strange as all of the columns on the roof and the floor slabs have rebar that is ready for the next addition. It is like everyone plans to continue the buildings at a later date. But the exposed pieces of rebar are unsightly and it seems to me to be very vulnerable to rust in the monsoon season. We finally saw on top of the district police HQs, where they had put temporary concrete caps on the rebar to protect the exposed ends, but individual buildings don’t seem to be done that way.

Traffic and driving

Ok, so I thought MN drivers were bad, but I will now appreciate the orderly fashion in which people drive even if they don’t know the left lane is the passing lane!  In India, there is no rhyme or reason to the flow of traffic. There are people, cars, trucks, bikes, cows, dogs, goats, etc., all sharing the road together. The rules are meant to be broken on the roads. The drivers in India must be very alert and aware of their surroundings at all times as random pedestrians or cows/goats/dogs, buses or motorcyles, bikes/scooter/motorcycles, autos (taxis) etc. all jump out like an obstacle course at any moment. Driving in a car is always an adventure here as you weave in and out of the lanes, 2 lanes easily turn into 6 or 7  lanes as people all race to get through and pass everyone else.  There is no use of rearview mirrors or side mirrors–in fact, the side mirrors are many times non-existent or folded in because they would get swiped off by a car or bus next to you. 

There have been so many close calls for us on the roads that it is just best to close your eyes while riding as a passenger! There is no chance of reading or writing in the car because you are too busy holding onto your seat as you fly through the intersection or slam on the brakes for a pack of cows or an auto that cut you off to pass. We have started adding up points for the drivers like it’s a game of “chicken”–the cars wait to the very last second to decide who is getting through the lane first!!

Oncoming traffic is coming right at you and there is a bus immediately to your left as you are passing it, a young child and mother are crossing the street at the same time, and oh wait– there’s a car that is going to cross traffic to make a left turn and wants to do it before you and the bus and oncoming traffic get there, and that cow on the right will feel the breeze as we quickly swerve to miss…this is a typical day on Indian roads! The horn is the method of communication to the bus and the oncoming traffic and to the dog/cow and to the small child and mother that we are coming through and don’t want to stop.  Problem with that is, everyone is laying on the horn all time and is now just part of the everyday hussle and bussle to the point that people are desenitized to the noise! Just remember, you can drive in India without brakes, but can’t drive without a horn! Even the trucks have signs on the back to PLEASE SOUND HORN! What an adventure!

Sightseeing in Hyderabad

We have done a lot of sightseeing and experiencing the arts here in Hyderabad. We toured the Muslim tombs and Golconda Fort.  This was was a great history lesson, but we were rushed through most of it and the accent of the tour guide was very hard to understand.  The structures were absolutely breathtaking!

We went to the Ramoji Film City which is the largest film production company in India. They have many sets and some amusement rides, much like our MGM Studios or Universal Studios. The highlight of the day was meeting Mr. Ramoji himself.  He is a very powerful person in India with multiple businesses and a lot of fame.  We were honored to meet him and spend over half an hour with him to get to know him and his business. The Bollywood film industry is very popular in India.

I got the chance to go to a Bollywood film called “Gajini”.  It was so funny and illogical!  It is a comedy turned action film and sad love story…super cheezy!  I watched the whole thing in Hindi, without subtitles, but was still able to follow the story because of how cheezy and predictable the scenes were! 

As for the arts, we went to the Salar Jung Museum where all of the riches of the last Nizam ruler in Hyderabad are kept.  He was deemed the richest man in the world at one time before India gained independence from the British. At that time Andrah Pradesh was the only state ruled by a Muslim ruler, the rest of India was ruled by the British. In 1947, the entire country gained independence and became a democratic country.  It is quite amazing to see how lavishly the kings lived in their palaces and how poor the Indians were. I was told by one of my hosts that the British hindered development of the country as they only lived for themselves and the Indians were just slave labor for them.  Now that they have had 60 years of independence, they have made great strides toward development. 

We saw a play called “The Perfect Divorce”. This play had professional actors that flew in from Mumbai. It was a comedy of errors regarding marriage and divorce. We found it very ironic given the conservative nature of the Indian culture.  The play was in Hinglish and the actors dressed very western-like.  I gave it only 2 stars considering I fell asleep during it!

The Bolshoi Ballet Troupe performed and we were able to attend.  What an amazing performance it was!  I was so mesmerized by the beauty of the dance and the costumes were so lovely.

Back in Hyderabad

The train ride from Warangal to Hyderabad was a smooth ride.  We used the time to catch up on journaling and sleeping. Upon arrival in Hyderabad, our respective hosts were waiting to take us to their home.  My Host, Mr. and Mrs. Mahendra Baid, took me to their daughter-in-law’s fashion boutique, called Goodlum’s.  Shweta is the wife of their son Mahavid and is a fashion designer that uses vegetable dyes.  I must have tried on over half of her one of kind collection and purchased 2 beautiful dresses.  It is too bad I didn’t take any pictures of each outfit because they were all so beautiful!

My evening with Shweta and Mahavid was great fun.  They took me to a great restaurant called Little Italy, which is known for it’s gourmet vegetarian pastas and other italian food.  We also went to Eat Street which is a series of restaurants along a man-made lake.  In the lake is a large statue of Buddha.  At night, the lights are all lit up around the lake, along with the statue–they call it Necklace Road because it the lights around the lake look like a necklace from afar.  This part of Hyderabad is beautiful and appears to be more modern than the rest of the city.  Mahavid said it is the best part of Hyderabad.  After the dinner, I went to a dance club at the Taj Banjara Hotel.  The music was a mix of Trance, Indian Dance music and Hip Hop.  Lots of people were on the dance floor and the energy was infectious.  I loved it! 

The rest of my stay with them was mostly consumed by Rotary events, but I did have more close discussions about life, politics, religion, and business.  I learned a lot from them and became very fond of them in my three day stay.

Kothagudem to Warangal

On Friday, we drove from Kothagudem to Warangal, the site of the Rotary District Conference. 

My morning shower: a bucket bath.

The housing complex where my host lives.

The day started with tea at my host family’s house followed by a quick bucket bath and then a mad dash of packing.  The initial plan was for the team to gather at the house of Dr. Rao IPDG (Immediate Past District Governor) at 8:30am for breakfast. 

Of course, that’s 8:30 IST (Indian Standard Time, also known as Indian Stretch Time), and we didn’t arrive until 9:30.  For a schedule-obsessed American who consults his planner constantly, IST was initially a bit challenging, but I am gradually starting to adapt.  [Note to Mom and Dad: if you think I'm late to family events now, just wait until I return from India!]

Finishing breakfast. L to R: Dr. Rao (IPDG), Abraham, Noemi

Breakfast included idly (a spongy disc made of rice), vada (an orange-ish donut made of ground pulses), and sambar (soup-like broth with veggies).  All very traditional, and all so tasty!  It will be difficult to resume my morning routine of corn flakes and orange juice when I return to the States.

After saying our good-byes, we all piled into a Land Rover-like vehicle with Abraham, our guide.  There were three in the front seat (the driver, Jim, and Becky), three in the middle seat (Abraham, Noemi, and me), and poor Angela got tossed in the back with the luggage.  

Abraham's college.

Less than ten kilometers into our journey, we stopped to see Abraham’s college (he’s a history instructor).  We did our typical dash-shoot-depart routine where we’d poke our heads into a classroom, shake hands, say a few words, smile for the camera, and then depart. 

Next stop: the school where Abraham’s wife teaches.  This is for younger students (up to 10th standard), and there were lots of small children.  We were treated like rock stars by the kids.  More smiling, more pictures, more good-byes.

Children at the school where Abraham's wife teaches.

Continuing on our journey, we forked off of the main highway onto a narrow bumpy dirt road.  After a couple of bone-jarring kilometers, we arrived at a small village where Rotary is distributing plates and cups to school children.  In India, the government pays for lunch at public schools, but it doesn’t provide the dishes.  So Rotary is filling the gap.  The welcome we received was amazing.  School kids lined our path, clapping and screaming, and all of them were so eager to shake our hands.

Hearty welcome at a rural village.

Becky distributing plates and cups to school children.

Jim at a large water purification plant sponsored by Rotary.

The next stop was a water purification plant, another Rotary service project.  Every Indian tourist guidebook warns travelers to be careful about the water, and we’re certainly buying lots of bottled water on this trip.  That’s not an option for most Indians, however, and obtaining safe drinking water is a challenge here.  So water projects are big for Rotary.  We were given a brief tour of the plant and posed for more pictures before boarding our vehicle.

Sitting with students in a classroom.

Then we drove to the nearby Montessori High School.  Upon arrival, we were ushered into the office for a chat with the director, a local Rotarian.  When we walked outside we were amazed to find the entire school body (1400 students) assembled, eagerly waiting for us to climb onto the stage.  Noemi, as the educator in our group, was the special guest.  They asked her to give a speech to the students, and then they quizzed her with questions.

Finally we stopped at a reception hall for lunch.  But first there was a Greenwoods-Yellandu Rotary Club meeting complete with introductions, gifting, and a flag exchange.   

After eating, we boarded our vehicle and headed to a nearby coal mine.  The senior manager is a Rotarian, and he gave us a tour.  This particular mine produces roughly one million metric tons (MT) annually.  For some perspective, total production in India is 450 MT.  From our vantage point, the 15 MT dump trucks looked like toys.  The scale is amazing.

Open-cast (surface) coal mine.

At this point we were running out of daylight, and it was time to drive, drive, drive.  Traffic in India during the day is a little unsettling for Westerners like us, but it is downright nerve-racking at night.  We had a close call with a bus that swerved in front of us and tilted precariously, but the real scare came when a large truck missed us by inches.  Oy vey. 

Thankfully we arrived in Warangal at about 7:30pm.  We were greeted by the District Governor, Dr. Sarat Babu.  We checked into the hotel, unpacked, changed clothes, and then headed over to the opening reception.  The event lasted a few hours, and we schmoozed with lots of Rotary big-wigs.  The day ended about midnight.

Rama Temple

We were happy to experience praying to the Hindu Gods in the Rama temple. Usually this would take 3-4 hours to get in and out of the temple due to long lines of people, but amazingly enough, we were able to get in within 15 minutes–The Gods must have wanted us to be there!

The outside was ornately beautiful and white cows were grazing at the entrance of the temple. Inside the temple were many beautiful statues of the Gods. We walked up a few flights of stairs to the temple moderator, called a Pujari, where he led us in prayer. We were given medicinal water and mint leaves to eat, but most of us refrained in fear of getting sick from the water. However, Noemi and I did eat the mint leaf…haven’t gotten sick yet! The room was filled with incense and had a quiet serenity throughout. We were given offerings by people on our way out and colored powder to put a bindi on our forehead. Super Wow!

First Week’s Adventures continued…

In Kothagudem and Khammam, we toured many service projects, The ITC and papermill sites. ITC stands for India Tobacco Company, but makes many more paper products than just cigarrette paper. They are the largest producer of paperboard products in the world. They had a great presentation and was a company Rotary Club, in that they all live on the ITC campus and have a private Rotary Club just for their ITC community.

We were able to tour the facility where plants and trees are grown and for papermaking. We were also given a tour of the papermill to see the entire papermaking process. Very neat!

The Rotary service projects we toured included water projects where wells were put in for small villages to have safe drinking water. Without the wells the village people walk many miles to get bowls of water, which is usually carried on their head. Other service projects included artificial limb centers and schools. It was quite amazing how much the artificial limbs change to lives of the people in need of them. With the artificial limbs they are able to walk, dance, ride bike, drive, eat, etc…

The school projects were also great to see. Rotary provided plates and cups to each kid as a means to be able to eat at school. Many of the kids are not able to concentrate and learn in school due to hunger. The schools provide meals for the kids and so are in need of dishes. We got the chance to present the kids with plates and cups. Wow! The kids were so excited to see us and all them wanted to shake our hands and wish us a Happy New Year!

Host Families in Hyderabad

Team leader, Jim, stayed with the GSE coordinator Raghov and Champa’s house. They had a beautiful home and garden in their home. Becky stayed with Sharda, Greg stayed with Vigi, Noemi stayed with Ravi and Vandana, and I stayed with Bina and MB.

Each home was lovely and they really made it very comfortable for us. Most of them had spent time in the United States at some point in their lives. The ladies of the Club showed us how to bargain at the craft show where Noemi and I bought some scarves and I got a rug. when we get back to Hyderabad in a few days, we will go shopping again for pearls and salwar kameez Indian dress. Hyderabad is the pearl capital of India…